The Parkside Art Gallery is seeking local artists to help celebrate its 20th anniversary by contributing to the first exhibit of 2020.
The show is aiming to capture life in the Cariboo with a love for winter.
“We are asking for the public to create images of winter to line the walls of the gallery, whether you are an artist or not,” said Kathy Crawshay, one of Parkside’s volunteers. “Artwork can be done in any style from detailed to abstract as long as you identify the activity you are showcasing.”
The gallery has set a goal to showcase 100 or more things people in the Cariboo enjoy doing in the winter. Completed artwork will be accepted from Jan. 14 to Jan 29.
“We had done an open show in the past where everybody could participate,” said Crawshay. “We had people aged three to 90 years old who participated in that show. The gallery was full and we thought we should open it again to the community.”
Crawshay said artwork submitted with an intention to be sold needs to be accompanied by a Parkside membership. Memberships can be purchased for $15 at the reception desk inside the gallery. Residents looking to just showcase their work can without a fee.
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“Most people who stay here tend to love the winter,” said Crawshay. “There are so many things a lot of us do during the winter.”
Submissions can include illustrations, paintings, sculptures, photography, knitted items and more.
“It can be anything that relates to the Cariboo winter,” said Birgit Bienek, a volunteer. “That’s what was wonderful about the previous show we did like this, some of the submissions were totally out of the box.”
Crawshay had come up with a list to brainstorm ideas. That list included: Snowmobiling, skiing, ice-fishing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, curling, snowman building, dog sledding, bird watching, tracking, bonfires, hot chocolate parties, winter trees, winter skies, frozen waterfalls, ice boating, hockey, bocce on ice, hibernating, reading, quilting, knitting, woodcutting and woodstoves.
The gallery is asking interested residents to send an email to Parkside at parkside centre@shaw.ca – stating the winter activity and what medium it will be showcased through.
Crawshay said the artwork does not need to be framed. The opening reception will be held on Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We want this to be a lively and fun first showcase,” said Bienek.
