HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-06-25, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015.
Walkers’ work celebrated with season-opening exhibit
Our landscape
Ron and Bev Walker will be the centre of attention Saturday
night, to celebrate how involved they’ve been with the Blyth
Festival Art Gallery for the last 40 years. Both will have work
exhibited at the Gallery this weekend, including “Corn and
Clouds” by Ron, above, which is used for this year’s Blyth
Festival poster. (Photo submitted)
Continued from page 23
County and beyond.
“It has grown into an iconic
institution,” Ron said.
As much as the Gallery has grown
over the years and included talent
from all over the country, Ron and
Bev are proud of the Gallery’s
mandate and how it has endured
over time. Like the Festival, there
has always been an emphasis on
producing local work and supporting
Canadian artists and over the years
the Gallery has stayed true to that.
It wasn’t always easy, Bev says.
The pair pulled heavily from their
Toronto contacts to bring artists to
Blyth in the early years and with
Ron just getting Huron County’s
new art program off the ground, the
early years of the student show were
a bit of a “horror show” Bev says.
It is through the quality of the
work at the student show, however,
that Ron and Bev have truly seen
their hard work and effort, and the
effort of so many others, come to
fruition, as the art has steadily
improved over the years and is now
at a level neither of them ever
imagined it would reach.
As the success of the Gallery
continued to grow, the Blyth Centre
for the Arts then began introducing
workshops featuring various
different types of art, including
printmaking, photography, pottery
and puppetry, among others.
“It’s worked well,” Ron said.
“Forty years is a long time.”
The anniversary is certainly a
milestone worth celebrating, says
Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt,
which is why he chose one of Ron’s
paintings for this season’s poster.
“I was really drawn to the idea of
a landscape,” Garratt said. “It’s a big
part of what it means to be here and
to work here.”
He said that his choice went far
beyond the quality of the work, but
also illustrated all that both Ron and
Bev have meant to the Huron
County arts community.
“I wanted to honour the
contribution they’ve made over the
last 40 years. It’s hugely important
and not just in the work they’ve
created, but in all the artists they’ve
brought through that space, it’s
really quite incredible.”
Garratt says he finds the Gallery’s
work to be hugely important to the
Blyth Centre for the Arts and he also
respects how both the Gallery and
the Festival have co-existed in
creating art in partnership with one
another, but at the same time
independent of one another.
“From The Beginning – The
Founders’ Retrospective” opens
Saturday, June 27 with an opening
reception at 6 p.m. and runs until
July 18. The Walkers’ exhibit will be
followed by “A Vision of Home:
Michele Miller” which runs from
July 24 to Aug. 15 and finally with
“A Trick of the Light: Greg
Sherwood” from Aug. 21 to Sept.
12.
All shows are located in Memorial
Hall’s Bainton Gallery and
admission is free. They can be
viewed before Festival performances
and at intermission, as well as
during regular Festival box office
hours.
For more information on the Blyth
Festival Art Gallery, e-mail
gallery@blythfestival.com or call
the Festival box office at 519-523-
9300.
Continued from page 23
the beginning – more bands are
poised to join and will be announced
soon.
The Artisan Market will showcase
all styles of creative expression.
From jewellery to photography, food
and original canvasses, HuronSound
has something for everyone.
Artists/Artisans include: Adria
Anderson a flash artist from Clinton,
Sonali Menezes a multi-media artist
based in Guelph and Toronto, and
more.
Three professional musicians will
be a part of a panel exploring trends,
their musical influences, and how to
self-promote – how to get your name
out there.
This event is made possible
through the generous support of
Libro Financial, Huron Business
Development Corporation, Imagine
South Huron, Huron Arts &
Heritage Network and Blyth Arts &
Cultural Initiative 14/19 Inc.
Event venue is wheelchair
accessible. For accessibility
concerns contact the organizers at
huronsoundandart@gmail.com
Proceeds from this event benefit the
Blyth 14/19 Initiative.
Through the generosity of our friends, family, neighbours and service groups
we raised$37,262
for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
THANK YOU
FROM THE FIRE RIDERS
From left: Paul Josling, Jeff Elliott, Shawn Loughlin, Heather Elliott, Jeff Josling, Cindy Kerr, Paul Kerr, Rick Elliott, Shanann Josling,
Donna Walsh and Marg Anderson. Absent is Fire Rider Jessica Carter, who completed the Ride alongside her team.
HuronSound Fest
coming July 18