Keeley Haftner (b. 1985) is a process-driven artist who transforms garbage into sculpture in an attempt to locate its lost material and affective value. She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2011 from Mount Allison University (MTA) with a triple major in Sculpture, Printmaking and Painting, and completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2016 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in Fiber and Material Studies.
Haftner has presented and exhibited in numerous conferences and festivals, including Currents International New Media Festival Santa Fe, Nuit Blanche Toronto, and AASHE Minneapolis. Haftner was a recipient of the 2015-16 Arts, Science & Culture Initiative Collaboration Grant with collaborating scientist Will McFadden (UChicago),
and she is soon to be published in the upcoming 3D Additivist Cookbook for related work in the field of recycled 3D printing and filament production. She was the New Brunswick winner of the 2011 BMO Financial Group’s 1st Art! Art Competition, and has participated in residencies within Canada, the U.S, and Iceland. Haftner is the founder and previous director of Street Meet Festival for street and graffiti art, now in its fourth year of international programming. She has exhibited work nationally and internationally, and received national attention for her 2013 public sculpture commissioned by Saskatoon’s Placemaker Program which provoked conversations around sustainability and public art throughout Canada.
The Open Studio artist-in-residence program is made possible through support from the Canada Council for the arts, the New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage, and Culture, the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation and the Town of Sackville.
Image:
Elemental Sculpture
Wood scraps (laser engraved), street glass (worked molten)
15.5″ x 5.5″ x 4.5″
2017
Image courtesy of Paris London Hong Kong