We sat down with artist Anna Syperek and Andrea Terry, director and curator of the StFX Art Gallery, to find out if it’s possible to making a living as an artist in Antigonish.
It’s a question that haunts creative people everywhere: can I actually support myself doing what I love? For visual artists in particular, the path from passion to sustainable income often feels impossibly precarious. But in Antigonish, some artists have found ways not just to survive, but to thrive—though not always in the ways you might expect.
A bit about Anna from her website: “Anna Syperek is a Nova Scotia artist working in watercolours, oils and etchings, living in the Antigonish area on the shores of St. Georges Bay with her husband, a filmmaker, where together they raised three daughters. Born in England of Polish and English parents and raised in Oshawa, Ontario, Anna moved to Antigonish in 1971 when she was 20. In 1980 she graduated with a BFA in painting and printmaking from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. She then returned to Antigonish to set up her own etching/printmaking studio at her home overlooking St. George’s Bay. Well known for her etchings, watercolours and recent oils, Anna has also taught art part time at St. Francis Xavier University where she also set up a community printmaking workshop.”
When Anna first arrived in Antigonish decades ago, not quite finished with art school, her first instinct was clear: “You can’t sell work unless you have an art gallery.” So she and her husband started one—the Main Street Gallery—which ran for a couple of summers.
The fact that her initial thought as a young artist was to start a commercial gallery is vital to understanding the life of a visual artist: you need galleries to sell your work if you want to make a living. Antigonish has numerous current and former galleries, including names residents would recognize like Down To Earth Art Gallery, the Lyghtesome Gallery, Red Sky Gallery, and Old Barn Galleries & Gardens. These institutions don’t simply sell art—they create community, provide legitimacy, and offer crucial infrastructure for artists to connect with collectors and audiences.
The financial reality of being a self-employed artist involves significant uncertainty. “There’s a lot of ebbs and flows,” Syperek acknowledged. “You never know when the next cheque’s going to come in.” She and her husband maintain a garden, have borrowed money at times, and once faced a tricky situation when a gallery didn’t pay while they were in Europe. But they’ve thrived as independent artists despite the financial uncertainty.
Anna’s works are known the world over, and “found in galleries in the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, in the Canada Council Art Bank, the Nova Scotia Art Bank, Petro Canada, Via Rail, Canadian Airlines, and other corporate collections, and in numerous private collections across Canada, Europe and the United States.”
Andrea Terry, who directs the StFX Art Gallery, offered a complementary perspective on the life of an artist from the institutional side. With a PhD in art history from Queen’s University, Terry spent about 10 years teaching at various universities across Canada before transitioning to gallery work—first at Thunder Bay Art Gallery, then at StFX when a position opened in 2019.
The StFX Art Gallery operates fundamentally differently from commercial galleries. As a public gallery, it doesn’t sell artworks. Instead, it pays artists standardized fees set by Canadian Artists Representation (a union for artists) to exhibit their work. If someone expresses interest in purchasing, the gallery connects them directly with the artist, staying completely out of the transaction.
“We pay artists who show in our gallery,” Terry emphasized. This model addresses a critical question co-host Anuj raised: what if art doesn’t sell? Shouldn’t artists be compensated just for being presented? Public galleries answer that question with a resounding yes.
The gallery’s approach reflects a broader philosophy. “I look at the StFX Art Gallery as a space to promote the appreciation of local, regional, even provincial and national art,” Terry explained. “So it’s a space of learning and appreciation.” With free admission and Saturday hours to avoid parking fees, the gallery aims to make art “as accessible, as democratic, and as inviting and engaging as possible.”
Key Insights from Anna Syperek and Andrea Terry:
* Galleries Are Essential Infrastructure: Artists depend on a healthy ecosystem of both commercial galleries (which sell work and split proceeds) and public galleries (which pay exhibition fees and focus on education). Without these institutions, connecting with audiences and generating income becomes exponentially harder.
* Geography Matters for Sustainability: Living in a small town significantly reduces costs compared to cities, making an artist’s life more financially viable. However, artists still need connections beyond their immediate community to generate sufficient income.
* Multiple Income Streams Are Essential: Syperek supplements gallery sales with part-time teaching at St. FX (a practice the university has maintained for decades, hiring practicing artists to teach students). This provides “a small but steady income” while enriching students’ education.
* The StFX Ecosystem: Since the late 1980s, StFX’s art department has hired part-time practicing artists, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. Students work with active artists, while artists gain steady supplemental income.
* Teaching Is Learning to See: Syperek discovered that teaching drawing fundamentally involves “learning how to see, not how to draw.”
* Public vs. Private Galleries Serve Different Functions: Commercial galleries sell work and split proceeds with artists. Public galleries pay exhibition fees but don’t sell, instead focusing on education, appreciation, and giving artists exposure without sales pressure.
* Cultural Richness in Small Places: Despite limited population, Antigonish offers sufficient social and cultural richness to sustain artists. The combination of university, galleries, community events, and engaged residents creates a viable ecosystem.
* The Return Beyond Money: When asked about gratification beyond income, Syperek noted she’s “never worked apart from painting and drawing” (except three weeks in a restaurant and four weeks in a daycare). The lifestyle itself—the independence, the creative practice, the community engagement—constitutes the real compensation.
* Showing Up Matters: Both guests emphasized that successful artists actively participate in community events, openings, and conversations. Syperek attends Antigonight, does live painting demonstrations, and maintains warm relationships with collectors and admirers.
The conversation revealed an unexpected divide in how people from different backgrounds approach art. Co-host Anuj, whose son is a professional tuba player in Chicago, shared his struggle in understanding the artist lifestyle: “He tells me every time I have some doubts, I am an artist because I want to be an artist. Economy comes later.”
The economics question highlights why public galleries matter. They provide free access to art for those who can’t afford to purchase it, democratizing cultural participation while also paying artists for their work.
Antigonish’s art infrastructure includes several key venues beyond St. FX and commercial galleries. The People’s Place Library has exhibition space with a sign-up sheet for displays. The Tall and Small shows artwork. The Arts House offers exhibition opportunities and coordinates various markets—weekly summer art fairs, plus seasonal markets for Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
For emerging artists, the advice was consistent: put yourself out there. Attend craft fairs and art fairs to get work into galleries. Bring portfolios to gallery directors. Submit work for group shows. Show up at openings and engage warmly with visitors. Build relationships. Create opportunities rather than waiting for them.
The StFX Art Gallery is currently displaying “Our World in Photos – Connections,” a photo voice project by young Bardi Jawi artists aged 8-15 from a remote area of Western Australia. The connection came through StFX professor Ann Fox, who encountered the work during her 2024 sabbatical and arranged for it to travel internationally, giving young photographers global exposure.
Looking ahead to summer 2026, the gallery celebrates its 50th anniversary with an ambitious juried exhibition. In 2020, the gallery relocated to a professional space in Mulroney Hall with specialized lighting, reinforced walls, protective window filters, and a glass door.
For the anniversary, the gallery has issued a call for submissions from artists living in Pictou, Antigonish, and Guysborough counties. A jury will select 50 works by 50 different artists for the exhibition. The catch: artworks must never have been seen publicly before, ensuring fresh discoveries for visitors.The submission deadline is mid-May 2026.
As the conversation concluded, Anuj offered practical wisdom: “One of the best gifts you can give to anyone is a piece of art. Because that creates a relationship that lasts over life, even beyond. And we have tried to do that and has been so appreciated by people who receive the gift.”
This sentiment captures something essential about the artist’s life in a small town. It’s not just about making a living—though that’s certainly challenging and requires creativity, multiple income streams, and regional rather than purely local connections. It’s about creating lasting relationships through beauty, transforming how people see the world, and building a community that values cultural richness alongside economic sustainability.
Can you make a living as an artist in Antigonish? The answer appears to be: maybe, if you’re resourceful, willing to supplement gallery income with teaching or other work, build relationships across the region, and define “making a living” to include the non-monetary rewards of independence, creative fulfillment, and community engagement.
As Syperek’s decades-long career demonstrates, it’s possible—not easy, never entirely secure, but possible. And for those who feel, as she does, that they simply couldn’t work at anything else, that possibility makes all the difference.
See Anna’s artwork on her website: http://annasyperek.ca/
Anna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annasyperek
StFX Art Gallery: https://www.stfx.ca/art-gallery
