As many as 30 artists will be displaying a variety of work at the Sundre West Country Centre this weekend.
The Sundre Art Society is hosting the 44th annual show and sale, which is open to the public free of charge. There will be door prizes — artistic, take-home pieces such as small, custom paintings created and donated by the artists — as well as refreshments, said society president Lila Weiss.
This year’s theme, Feathers, stemmed from an original idea to have a focus on birds. While organizers liked that idea, they thought it would be a bit too restrictive and instead decided to open it up by choosing a related topic that could include birds while not specifically limiting artists to that subject, she said.
Weiss said she was “curious to see how the artists will respond” and looked forward to seeing how they will interpret the theme and the ideas they will come up with as a result.
The event starts this Saturday, with the doors open from 1 – 5 p.m., and continues on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The format will be largely similar to past years, said Weiss, adding organizers are expecting anywhere from 25 to 30 artists, who cumulatively will be exhibiting about 150 works of art in a variety of media including water colours, oils, acrylics, pastels and coloured pencils.
Artists from Sundre and the immediate surrounding area are granted an opportunity to display more of their work than those who come from farther away as part of an attempt to entice more local talent to showcase their art, she said.
“We have a local audience so it’s nice to keep a majority of the paintings local,” she added.
Some are coming from Didsbury, Bowden and Rocky Mountain House, with the rest being from Sundre and area. Artists who feature their work at the show and sale must be members of the Sundre Art Society, and can join — if they’re not already members — at the show for $20, she said.
“Anyone else that is interested can also join,” she added.
Proceeds from sales throughout the weekend are divided between the society and the artists, with the former taking a 10 per cent share and the rest going to the artists to help them cover or at least offset the costs of their materials and time, she said.
Those funds, combined with membership fees, in turn help the non-profit society cover the cost of putting on the show, as well as hosting a couple of workshops throughout the year, she said.
The society is doing well, with the annual art show remaining stable after so many years. Some of the members gather at the Sundre Municipal Library for a monthly Saturday paint-in during the fall and winter months, she added.
Anyone interested in learning more about the art society or perhaps getting involved is invited to either drop by this weekend’s show and sale, or can alternatively contact Weiss at 403-636-1493.
