Jessica Steele - Paper Collage Artist

Jessica Steele - Paper Collage Artist

From Blackout Podcast by Israel Ekanem

April 6, 2026 · 38 min · Episode 370

About this episode

Jessica Steele discusses her work as a paper collage artist and her artistic process.

Jessica Steele is a paper collage artist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She holds a BFA in Fibres from Concordia University and a Diploma of Fine Arts from Dawson College. Working primarily with hand-cut vintage print materials such as books and magazines, Jessica explores how meaning shifts when familiar imagery is separated from its original context and recombined into new relationships. Though collage is often associated with spontaneity, her process is tactile and methodical, involving the careful sourcing, cutting, and arranging of printed fragments to create surreal compositions. She is particularly interested in how a single shift in scale or position can alter the reading of an image, inviting close looking and curiosity. Jessica’s work has been exhibited across Halifax and collected in Canada and the United States. She was selected as one of four emerging artists in the 2025–26 Visual Arts Nova Scotia Mentorship Program, a competitive 10-month initiative supporting the professional development of early-career artists. View her work at jessicasteele.ca or on Instagram @artbyjessicasteele

People in this episode

Host: Israel Ekanem

Guest: Jessica Steele

Topics covered

  • paper collage
  • art
  • emerging artists
  • visual arts
  • creative process

Keywords

  • collage
  • art
  • Halifax
  • vintage print materials
  • surreal compositions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Concordia University, Dawson College, Visual Arts Nova Scotia

Places: Halifax, Nova Scotia

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