What we do
Halifax Design Festival celebrates the unique voices in our region, builds bridges across disciplines, and explores the role of design in our daily lives.
What we want to see
A future in which our broader community recognizes and understands design as an essential expression of our cultures.
We value:
Curiosity: We ask questions rather than draw conclusions.
Inclusion: We insist that diverse perspectives influence our path.
Collaboration: We foster cross-disciplinary exchange to strengthen our design community.
Future thinking: We look towards a sustainable future and look for innovative ways to get there.
Fiscal responsibility: We steward our assets with integrity, balancing our mission and vision with the resources we have.
Who We Are
Alissa Kloet
Alissa Kloet, BFA (Keephouse) is a textile designer with over 10 years experience organizing arts events in Halifax/Kjipuktuk. She has a passion for supporting and celebrating the local creative economy.
Keephouse brings Alissa Kloet’s explorations of colour and shape onto textiles. The focus is on using natural materials and employing small scale production to create pieces that are thoughtfully made.
Co-Founder & Director
Andrea Tsang Jackson, M.Arch., Ed.M., (3rd Story Workshop) is a textile artist and quilt designer based in Halifax/Kjipuktuk. Her work takes the traditional craft of quilting and applies it to a contemporary context, using bold graphics as a way to explore place, belonging, and agency. Andrea pushes the limits of the quilting and textile media by exploring scale and moving traditionally domestic objects into the public realm.
Co-FounderAndrea Tsang Jackson
Sara L’Espérance
Co-FounderSara L’Espérance is a registered architect, educator, and co-founder of SUPRBLK Studio in Halifax. She is interested in the spaces between architecture, community, and everyday life, designing homes and places that are adaptable, joyful, and rooted in their context. Through both her practice and her teaching at Dalhousie University's School of Architecture, Sara is passionate about exploring how design can make cities more creative, inclusive, and connected.