"Homegrown" by Carmahn McCalla

Part of the InterCHANGE program of temporary public artworks within the redeveloped Cogswell District

Artist: Carmahn McCalla
Artwork title: Homegrown
Year: 2025
Dimensions: 12”W x 84”H each
Medium: Series of 15 vinyl banners on lightposts
Location: 5 single banners on Barrington St. in front of Scotia Square on both sides of the street; 5 double-wide banners in roundabout at Barrington & Nora Bernard St, on the south side.

About the artist

Carmahn McCalla (@carmahnm.art) is an African Nova Scotian and Jamaican visual artist whose work explores Black identity, nature, and the mystical. Rooted in digital illustration, her multidisciplinary practice spans animation, painting, graphic design, and web design. Largely self-taught with formal studies at Dalhousie University, NSCAD, Athabasca University, and OC Art Studios, Carmahn has exhibited work in festivals, businesses, and public projects. Her illustrations and animations appear in books, theatre, and murals, all reflecting a commitment to celebrating underrepresented voices.

Full profile

About the Artwork

Homegrown is a love letter to the wild and familiar flowers that shaped my childhood in Nova Scotia. It’s a visual series rooted in memory, place, and Black identity.

I created these works to share the beauty of the flora I grew up surrounded by: the dandelions we blew apart on school playgrounds, buttercups held under chins, the mayflowers and lady’s slippers tucked deep in the woods of East Preston. I remember goldenrod and lupine lining the highways during road trips to New Brunswick, and thistle growing quietly along the paths to Crystal Crescent Beach. These plants weren’t exotic or rare; they were simply there. Ordinary, yet unforgettable. Woven into everyday life, holding stories of childhood wonder and summer days.

Through this series, I wanted to honor how something as simple as a flower can hold deep emotional and cultural meaning. By pairing native plant species with common Black hairstyles, Homegrown becomes a reflection on how African Nova Scotians, like these plants, are deeply rooted in this land. Our presence is not new, nor imported. It’s generational. With over 400 years of history here, our roots run deep, planted by ancestors who endured, adapted, and blossomed. Homegrown celebrates that legacy; the quiet, steady ways we grow, and the beauty that comes from being both grounded and free.

Location

5 single banners on Barrington St. in front of Scotia Square on both sides of the street;
5 double-wide banners in roundabout at Barrington & Nora Bernard St, on the south side.

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