James MacSwain, born in Nova Scotia, received a B.A. in English from Mount Allison University and studied theatre arts at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. In 1973 he settled in Halifax where he began a career in theatre and arts administration. Since 1980 he has been working in film and video, receiving Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Nova Scotia Arts Council grants as a media artist. He has been a former board member of the Nova Scotia Arts Council, the Independent Film and Video Alliance and the Canadian Conference of the Arts. Two years ago he retired from his employment as the Director of Programming for the Centre For Art Tapes. MacSwain was the recipient of the 2011 Portia White Prize.