Creative juices will be flowing freely for all to see at the Sundre Community Centre this weekend.
The inaugural Sundre Fine Arts Expo, which takes place Saturday and Sunday, will feature not only live demonstrations in a wide variety of media, but also a live painting competition, said the main organizer.
“We have artists coming from all across Western Canada,” said Melany Sealy, a local artist who owns Rusty Brush Art and Gifts.
“A lot of them are award winning and well known,” said Sealy.
There will be all kinds of different works of art on display, she added.
“We’ve got silversmithing, pottery, photography, painting, glasswork — and that’s just scratching the surface,” she said.
The artists, who hail from B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, will be offering live demonstrations of their crafts at booths they’ll have set up. As of last week, 20 artists were lined up, plus a few additional guest artists who will pop in throughout the weekend. Doors at the community centre will be open to the public free of charge from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, she said.
On Saturday at 1 p.m., there is going to be a live 30-minute painting competition. Artists can choose whatever subject matter inspires them, but the paintings all have to be done using acrylic, she said.
Once the timer expires and the artists put down their brushes, people will get a chance to vote for their favourite piece, she said, adding a silent auction for those paintings will follow, with proceeds benefiting the Mountain View Food Bank.
The value she sees in promoting art inspired Sealy — who last year spearheaded the first Art Battle ever held in Sundre — to invest the time and effort in organizing the inaugural fine art expo.
“I go to a lot of different art shows,” she said.
“Sundre’s never really had an art show that encompassed more than locals.”
Although a few Sundre and area artists will be at the expo, she sought to further expand the talent pool by reaching out and tapping into other creative people who are out there to bring different art forms and styles into the community, along with a crowd.
“I just want to showcase the different types of art,” she said.
Art offers a substantial source of interest that opens the door to entice an entirely different demographic of people to visit Sundre, she added.
“Art is big all over the world.”
However, Sundre, she feels, lags behind other municipalities in terms of bringing art into the community.
“This is a good way to get more, and different types, of people,” she said, adding many visitors already come to make the most of Sundre’s outdoor recreational opportunities.
“But nobody really comes for art.”
Many of the artists who will be coming from out of town already have a dedicated fan base established, and Sealy anticipates some will undoubtedly follow them here. Once in Sundre, these new visitors will be pointed in the right direction for where to eat and shop locally while they’re in town, she said.
“It benefits the community that way as well.”
The expo’s goal is not to turn a profit, but rather simply to offer the public a chance to explore a variety of artwork. Provided all goes well and the public shows enough interest, Sealy said she hopes the event will become annual. The municipality had previously approved grant funding in the amount of $1,000 for the expo along with numerous other requests.
“This is a family-friendly event,” she added, encouraging anyone to come check out the work that will be on display.
“From smaller souvenir types of artwork to larger pieces, there’s going to be something for everybody.”
