Since the late 1970’s Nina Canal has worked in three disciplines: Music, Painting and the Chinese Internal Arts of TaiChiChuan, HsingY’I Chuan and Qigong.

A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Nina arrived in London at age six. After graduating from Hornsey College of Art, with a BA in Fine Art, Nina relocated to New York City, where she soon became a part of the infamous avant-garde downtown Manhattan post punk, music, art, and film scene. An indelible bond with the city that came to inspire her was formed, literally from the moment she set foot on the tarmac at JFK in October of 1976.

Her musical debut was in 1977 as guitarist with the Gynecologists. She played guitar on Dark Day’s 1979 debut single, “Hands In The Dark” b/w “Invisible Man” on Lust/Unlust Records. Nina participated in numerous musical projects with Rhys Chatham, and others, playing electric guitar, drums and as a vocalist. She also performed in her own and others performance pieces, in various downtown Manhattan venues of the time.

In 1978 Nina, Jacqui Ham, and Sally Young formed the band Ut. A rock trio who created both a unique sound and approach to playing their own music. Ut was recently featured in My guide to No Wave music by EverythingEvil and No Wave Girls: NYC/1979 by Peter + Maria Hoey.

During this time Nina also created her own line of hand-painted fabrics and clothing from her tiny studio in SoHo. She made one of a kind clothes out of her own painted fabric, sold to designer stores in Manhattan and beyond. She also painted fabric yardage for clothing designers, and worked on costume fabrics for the original La Cage Aux Folles production on Broadway.

In these ways, Nina made her mark in NYC as a musician, artist, and fashion designer. In 1981 the band migrated to London, ultimately releasing seven records on Blast First/Mute Records, and recording and touring until 1990. They are re-mastered and available on OUT Records at Bandcamp.

In 2009 Nina co-composed and performed “The Tiger’s Mind”, in a major exhibition of British composer Cornelius Cardew’s work at CAC Brétigny sur Orge, Art Centre near Paris, France.

Ut re-grouped in 2010 to become the featured band in “Theoretical Music,” a conference about the NYC scene, at the Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY.

Nina has continued to play with both Rhys Chatham and Ut.

In 2022 Pierre Bal Blanc commissioned Nina to compose a musical backdrop to When I State That I’m An an Anarchist, - a conceptual performance piece, which was initially presented in April 2022 in Ostrava, the Czech Republic, at PLATO Art Centre.