==========Our Mandate=============

The Khyber Arts Society’s Mandate is:

“to foster critical thought in society by operating an artist-run centre that presents non-commercial contemporary art exhibits and facilitates dialogue, social interaction and information exchange for professional and emerging artists and interested members of the general public. Programming activities will be challenging, artistically rigorous, interdisciplinary and responsive to the needs of the Khyber users.”

Khyber Arts Society believes that our society at large demands a diversity of ideas expressed in artistic forms which are created without commercial motivation.  By operating an artist-run centre our mission is to foster critical thought in society by curating contemporary art and by facilitating dialogue, social interaction and information exchange for the public at large by providing presentation space and information support services.

Our mission statement: The Khyber Arts Society engages a growing audience in creative discourse through the contemporary arts.

==========The Khyber==============
The Khyber, est. 1995, is a non-profit, artist-run centre located in an historic, three-story building in downtown Halifax. The centre presents contemporary art exhibitions, artist lectures, panel discussions, performances and offers art classes to youth. We are located in a Victorian-Gothic style building which used to be known as the Church of England Institute when it was erected in 1888.

The Khyber is a focal point and meeting place for the community, besides exhibitions we also offer: concerts, “Khyber Kids” educational program, lectures, and various fundraising events in between exhibitions. We currently have 180 members most of whom are from NSCAD’s student population. The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia rents an office on the main floor.

The Ballroom Gallery (which originally used to be a gymnasium) features three 10ft blocked in window bays, architectural ornamentation along the east wall and two lighting tracks runnung the length of the room. The ceilings are 16ft high. Exhibitions in the Ballroom are chosen by a selection Committee that consists of two members of the KAS Board, the Director, and two members chosen from our membership. This process ensures that the Khyber programming is responsive to the immediate concerts of the contemporary art community.

The Khyber has a television monitor, two dvd players, a projector, P.A. System, basic tools for installations, a mini-fridge, and a variety of plinths.

===========Le Khybre==============
Le Khyber, établi depuis 1995 est un centre d’artistes autogéré situé dans un bâtiment historique du centre-ville d’Halifax. Le centre présente des expositions en art contemporain, des lectures publiques de textes, des événements de performance et de discussion ainsi que des ateliers pour les plus jeunes. Le centre est établi dans un édifice d’architecture gothique victorienne appelé « Church of England Institute » lorsqu’il fut érigé en 1888.

Khyber est un lieu important de rencontre pour la communauté, au-delà de nos expositions nous offrons également : concerts, « Khyber Kids » programmes d’éducation, lectures et diverses levées de fonds à travers notre programmation régulière. Nous avons actuellement 180 membres qui sont pour la plupart des étudiants universitaires du NSCAD (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design). The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia loue un bureau au rez-de-chaussée. La Ballroom Gallery (qui était un gymnase à l’origine) se caractérise par ses trois oriels bloqués de 10pi de hauteur, qui sont une ornementation architurale longeant le mur Est, et par ses deux rails d’éclairage tout au long de la pièce. Le plafond a 16pi de haut.

Les expositions de la Ballroom sont choisies par un comité de sélection comprenant deux membres du conseil d’administration, le directeur ainsi que de deux membres choisis du centre. Ce processus fait en sorte que la programmation de Khyber répond aux préoccupations de la communauté des arts contemporains.

Khyber possède un téléviseur, deux lecteurs DVD, un projecteur, un système de son, les outils de bases pour le montage d’expositions, un miniréfrigérateur et une variété de socles.