Unwanted Species

Unwanted Species is an online auction organized by artist Steve Higgins in support of the Indigenous Butterfly and Pollinator Garden located on the Dalhousie University campus. The auction will be held from June 27th to July 17th and all proceeds will be donated to fund the Garden.

The auction items include all 90 installation artworks of “A Few Unwanted Species” by Steve Higgins, from the exhibition “Plant Kingdom” curated by Frances Dorsey at Dalhousie Art Gallery, exhibiting until July 10th, 2022.

This auction is hosted by Steve Higgins with support from Dalhousie Art Gallery. Please note all artworks are to be picked up in-person at the gallery (July 27-30, August 3-6), shipping is not provided.

Steve Higgins is an artist whose works include sculpture, drawing, and occasionally printmaking. He has exhibited for over fifty years across Canada, in the United States, Brazil, Europe and Japan. In 2013 he was awarded the Nova Scotia Lt. Governor’s Master Work Prize for his sculpture installation Beyond the Terminating Vista (Rebuild) at Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery. He currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia and teaches part-time at NSCAD University.

Introduced in June 2021, the Indigenous Butterfly and Pollinator Garden will develop into a pollinator-friendly green space that will be a welcoming place for bees, birds and butterflies, and provide student-based, experiential learning opportunities.

The garden was produced by Dalhousie Art Gallery in collaboration with members of Dalhousie’s Indigenous Advisory Council; designed by gardener and artist Frances Dorsey in consultation with Mi'kmaw artist and scholar Michelle Sylliboy; and is affiliated with the exhibition, Plant Kingdom, guest curated by Frances Dorsey, at Dalhousie Art Gallery.

The garden honours the spirit of Mi’kmaw artist Mike MacDonald who planted multiple butterfly gardens across the nation(s).

For more information about the garden: http://www.butterflypollinatorgarden.com