Reading in the park - Erin Nelson

This magazine derives its name from a mistranslation of acronyms: when I first moved to Halifax, I thought that the signs around the city requesting that citizens keep out of the park after dark, refrain from smoking in public places, resist the temptation to swim in the harbour, et cetera, came straight from the mouth of Her Royal Majesty.

When I learned that it was not the Queen, but rather the Halifax Regional Municipality that was concerned with my garbage disposal and the distribution of parking tickets, the city seemed to take on an industrious blue colour. It’s this initial sensation – that particular excitement and wonder – that I want to represent with the establishment of this small, creative outlet for the artistic and imaginative people of Halifax.

I want Her Royal Majesty to be a public creative space open to the entire Halifax community. It is not affiliated with any university, and is funded through generous sponsors, for whose support Halifax is grateful. Submissions are open to anyone who lives or has lived (or even just existed for an extended period of time) within the Halifax Regional Municipality. Works that build or explore the relationship to community are encouraged; drawings, paintings, recipes, comics, essays, photographs, and words in any format that touches this theme in a meaningful way – the theme being the creation of a public space to appreciate beauty, inspire and be inspired – should be submitted to the editor and deputies at our Submissions page

To foster this sense of openness, the first issue of Her Royal Majesty is anonymous; this is also to try to look at the idea of making art solely for recognition or self-image, to consider whether or not we appreciate art differently when affected by the knowledge of who the artist is, and to explore the validity of a quote by an artist in the community who told the Globe & Mail in an interview that Halifax is “creative simply for creativity’s sake.” Names of those artists who do not wish to remain anonymous will be published in the second issue; publication will be every other month.

Yours, majestically.