Everyone at Vtape was saddened to hear that we have lost artist, activist, and community anchor James MacSwain. His close friend Andrew James Paterson has kindly written the remembrance below for us, for which we thank him warmly.
James MacSwain, May 16, 1945 – September 6, 2025
“Halifax-based multidisciplinary artist James MacSwain departed from this earth on Saturday afternoon, September 6th of 2025. Jim’s passing was completely in character. His final bow was a house party or wake, attended by a community of friends and admirers who imbibed champagne and celebrated his life.
“Jim was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He grew up quickly realizing he was queer (in all senses of that adjective) in this conservative small town. Twenty years after leaving Amherst, Jim made a film called Amherst (1984). His signature voice-over narration provides a deadpan inventory, or, frankly, an autopsy of his home town. However, as the Super-8 film concludes, Jim reminds the viewers that his voice-over is a personal narrative and thus cannot be trusted.
“Between 1974 and 1978, Jim was the artistic director at the Gargoyle Puppet Theatre. His flair for puppet theatre led him to stop-motion animated film, which became a cornerstone of Jim’s artistic practice. Collage was a through line throughout not only Jim’s art but also his life. Jim was social in his art practice and also in his selfless involvement in Halifax’s artist-run community. He taught animation at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He volunteered tirelessly for Centre For Art Tapes and Atlantic Filmmakers’ Co-op and other artist-run organizations. From 1989 to 1991, Jim worked at the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre in Toronto. He was a mentor to small-gauge filmmakers as well as to the Halifax and Atlantic queer communities.
“Jim’s film and video titles include Flowers (1984), Amherst (1984), Amoeba Culture (1989), The Medicine Show (with Gregory Wight, 1990), Mother Marilyn (1996), Nova Scotia Tourist Industries (1998), Starboy (2006), and The Fountain of Youth (2010). But MacSwain was not only a filmmaker and video artist. Every year he would rigorously assemble accordion books as presents for his friends. He compulsively created and exhibited collages at galleries such as Hermes and others.
“James MacSwain was the subject of a retrospective DVD issued by the Centre For Art Tapes (2010). He was the spotlighted artist for the Images Festival in 2011. Also in 2011 he was awarded the Portia White prize for artistic excellence and community commitment. In 2023, James was the subject of a feature documentary called Celestial Queer, by Sue Johnson and Eryn Foster. Celestial Queer… that title is so Jim.” – Andrew James Paterson
James MacSwain’s films are distributed by CFMDC, and his videos by Vtape. Both organizations have been working toward a screening of Celestial Queer, Sue Johnson and Eryn Foster’s documentary about him, along with a selection of his short works, for the past several months; keep an eye on our websites or social media for updates.
Image credits: home page and above images courtesy of Sue Johnson & Eryn Foster.