Skip to content

Museum’s GR8-by-8 art project a showcase for local creators

gr8-art

This month’s exhibition at the Heritage Gallery features more than four dozen works by local artists.

The art show, the gallery’s largest to date, is unique in that all the works on display are the same size: 8”x8”. Yet according to organizers, that’s where the similarities end.

“This is the most diverse collection of art we’ve had in the gallery this year,” said Michael Riis-Christianson, curator of the Lakes District Museum. “We have photography, watercolour paintings, fabric art, and mixed media masterpieces by artists of all ages. Some of the works even include organic items like grasses, flowers, and leaves.”

The exhibition is part of the museum’s GR8-by-8 Art Project, an art competition designed to foster creativity and raise money for cultural programming in the community. Participants will have a chance to win more than $1,400 in prizes.

Cameron Hart, president of the museum society, says the community’s response has been overwhelming.

“Initially, we hoped to sell 24 eight-by-eight canvases,” Hart noted. “Those sold quickly, so we bought another two dozen. They went out the door, too. We ended up selling 74 canvases and receiving 55 entries in three age groups. It’s been amazing.”

The two-month exhibition will conclude on November 20 with an awards ceremony and silent auction. All 55 works, many of them by well-known local artists, will be sold to the highest bidders. But potential buyers won’t know who created the works until the end of the silent auction.

“The big reveal will happen late in the evening of November 20,” Hart said. “There are some amazing entries, many by artists who aren’t well-known in the community, and we want to keep people guessing.”

Art collectors will be able to bid in person and by email. They can also vote online for their favourite piece of art in the exhibition, according to Riis-Christianson

“We’ll be producing a digital auction catalogue for people who can’t make it to the November 20 event,” Riis-Christianson said. “We are hoping to raise a couple of thousand dollars for arts programming in 2025 and beyond.”

Anyone wanting more information on gallery programming can contact the Lakes District Museum by telephone (250-692-7450) or email (ldmuseumsociety@gmail.com).