Alan J. Syliboy

Alan Syliboy (born 8 September 1952) is a Mi'kmaw artist, author, and musician from Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia, Canada. Syliboy began working in various artistic mediums beginning in the 1970s, including painting, mixed media, illustration and video. He has also published books and created films and music. His work has been exhibited a numerous galleries across Canada and the world. A proponent of making art accessible, particularly within his own community, Syliboy designed T-shirts and paints drums.

Early life

Syliboy was born 8 September 1952 in Millbrook First Nation near Truro, Nova Scotia. He often went from Millbrook to Truro with his grandmother to sell baskets. Syliboy began drawing as a child and cites his grandparents as an early influence, encouraging him to become an artist. Syliboy received the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2002. Also in 2013, A mural featuring a butterfly, entitled 3D Butterfly, was installed in the main lobby of the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. The work was created through a partnership between the airport and the province of Nova Scotia and painted over three days in August 9–11, 2013. The event was a feature event and live-streamed over Twitter and Facebook. Further, the mural "depicts a butterfly/man and is done with the double curve motif which symbolizes life. The butterfly represents the freedom of the soul to wander and it flies in the ray of Grandfather Sun, the giver of life." The mural, painted on canvas, toured Nova Scotia in 2015 and was exhibited at St. Francis Xavier University, and Creamery Square, Tatamagouche. The mural has been cited a main attraction of the airport.

In 2017, Syliboy was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Francis Xavier University.

At the 20th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2025, he won the award for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year for Marks on the Ground, in a tie with Celeigh Cardinal. In the same year he contributed a cover of Joel Plaskett's "Nowhere with You", featuring a mix of the original English and translated indigenous language lyrics, to the Plaskett tribute album Songs from the Gang.

In January 2026 an international arrivals area at the Halifax airport opened and featured Syliboy's artwork.