This July, you can visit an open air art show at the Miskwaa Art Studio & Outdoor Gallery on the banks of the Miskwaa riverm see a museum of dolls at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington that children are invited to loot and plunder, take in an exhibit by Christian Morrisseau at The Gallery on the Lake, see Amanda McCavour’s installation at the Arts and Heritage Centre in Warkworth, view an abstract show by Holly Edwards at the Art Gallery of Bancroft, and explore a stellar two-person show of work by Henry Melissa Gordon and Rocky Lawrence Green at the Wildewood Gallery in Maynooth.
Of course, the First Friday art crawl returns to downtown Peterborough on July 5th, and throughout the summer there will be activities and workshops at Artspace related to William Kingfisher’s ‘Enawendewin/Relationship’.
Miskwaa Art Studio & Outdoor Gallery in Trent Lakes hosts an open air art show in July and August
If you are in the Bobcaygeon or Buckhorn area this summer, make a point of stopping in to see the open air art show and sale at the Miskwaa Studio & Outdoor Art Gallery.
The gallery will display the work of a number of area artists from on the beautiful property surrounding the studio. Owner and artist Daniel Marlatt invites everyone to come, see the art, and enjoy the outdoors on the banks of the Miskwaa Ziibi river (an Anishnaabe word meaning ‘Red River’).
Admission is free and all are welcome to drop by and enjoy the art and the scenery throughout July and August, weather permitting.
The Miskwaa Art Studio & Outdoor Gallery is located at 250 Edwina Drive in Trent Lakes, between Buckhorn and Bobcaygeon. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Art is hung outdoors weather permitting. For more information, call the gallery at 416-889-0096.
Arts and Heritage Centre of Warkworth presents ‘Memento’ by Amanda McCavour
McCavour, whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, creates large-scale installations by machine sewing onto fabric that dissolves in water. Once the design is stitched onto the fabric, it is then dissolved leaving only the threads — creating delicate-looking yet surprisingly sturdy structures. In this installation, she has created a hanging array of poppies.
This is a great opportunity to see the work of this acclaimed textile artist! The show will be on display until Sunday, July 28th.
Ah! Arts and Heritage Centre of Warkworth is located at 35 Church Street in downtown Warkworth. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit ahcentre.ca.
Gallery on the Lake in Buckhorn presents ‘Aadasookaanag’ (Traditional Stories) by Christian Morrisseau
Christian Morrisseau, son of iconic Canadian painter Norval Morrisseau, carries on the tradition of creating beautiful colourful canvasses imbued with cultural meaning. In English, Aadasookaanag translates to ‘traditional stories’. which are depicted in bright colours and compelling compositions in this series of paintings.
Come to The Gallery on the Lake for the opening reception, and meet the artist in person, on Saturday, June 29th from 1 to 4 p.m. If you can’t make it, the show will be on display until Friday, August 2nd.
The Gallery on the Lake is located at 65 Gallery on the Lake Road in Buckhorn. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, call 705-657-1108 or visit www.galleryonthelake.com.
Art Gallery of Bancroft presents ‘I’ve Used up all My Courage’ by Holly Edwards
Holly Edwards works intuitively, each mark leading to the next as she creates her abstract pieces. Working with many different methods and mediums, Holly allows her paintings, sculptures, and mixed media work to evolve in an organic way, revealing themselves to her as she explores the processes of mark-making and sculpting.
‘I’ve Used Up All My Courage’, the title of Edwards’ exhibit at the Art Gallery of Bancroft, relates to the experience deciding to focus on art as a main occupation and jumping into the world of abstraction.
This show will be on display at the Art Gallery of Bancroft from Wednesday, July 3rd until Saturday, July 27th. An opening reception will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 5th. Holly will be in attendance and will also be giving a talk describing her work and process.
The Art Gallery of Bancroft is located at 10 Flint Avenue in Bancroft. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday. For more information, visit www.artgallerybancroft.ca.
Wildewood Gallery in Maynooth presents ‘Two Solitudes’ by Henry Melissa Gordon and Rocky Lawrence Green
‘Two Solitudes’ at the Wildewood Gallery in Maynooth features the latest painted portraits by Henry Melissa Gordon alongside new work by Rocky Lawrence Green.
This promises to be a wonderful exhibit with the work of these two talented local painters. Not to be missed! An opening reception will be held at the gallery from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 30th.
Wildewood Gallery is located at 33012 Highway 62 North in Maynooth. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 613-338-3134 or visit them on Facebook.
Artspace in Peterborough presents ‘Enawendewin/Relationship’
‘Enawendewin/Relationship’ looks at the Anishinaabe practice of planting gardens in such a way that each plant is positioned in such a way as to promote the health of the whole garden. The garden can then thrive without much care. In the past, this allowed the Anishinaabe to go off travelling and return later to harvest their gardens and gather supplies for the winter ahead.
Curated by William Kingfisher, this project explores Enawendewin in the wider context of community and our relationships with each other and the world around us. Three gardens have been planted at Artspace, The Mount Community Centre, and in Curve Lake, and four visiting artists — Lisa Meyers, Ron Benner, David Deleary, and Anong Migwans Beam — will use these gardens as sites of learning and creation, considering what the garden can mean in today’s world.
The artists will also conducting workshops and community activities throughout the summer, culminating in a group show at Artspace in November.
Artspace is located at 378 Aylmer Street in downtown Peterborough and offers barrier-free access (to all but Gallery 2) and free admission during regular open hours: Tuesday to Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Parking is available in the municipal lot on Hunter Street between Aylmer and George. For more information, call 705-748-3883 or visit artspace-arc.org.
Visual Arts Centre of Clarington features ‘BOOP Museum’ by Sameer Farooq, and a corn roast with artist Ron Benner
This exhibit by Sameer Farooq, curated by Sandy Saad, is a fictional museum made up of dolls of all shapes and sizes. Built to be accessible to children, this ‘museum’ encourages participation and questions the way the function of objects can change in the museum setting.
Museums have a history of taking cultural artifacts from various cultures, which has been referred to as looting. In the spirit of looting, Farooq invites children from the community to come and “loot” his BOOP Museum at the closing of the show!
Farooq is a Canadian artist of Pakistani and Ugandan Indian descent, whose work has been featured at galleries and museums around the world.
The BOOP Museum exhibit will be on display until Friday, July 5th and, on this final day of the exhibit (for one hour from 4 to 5 p.m.), children between the ages of 4 and 10 are invited to plunder the exhibit and take whatever dolls they choose. This could be a fun time for young children looking for something to do (you’ll need to sign up your child to participate).
Later in July, there will be another fun free event! On Friday, July 19th from 5 to 7:30 p.m., all are welcome to visit the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington for some freshly roasted corn and barley soup made by artist Ron Benner himself! Singer-songwriter Frank Ridsdaler from London, Ontario, will also be performing live music during the event.
This corn roast is in conjunction with Benner’s commissioned project in the Loft Gallery. A year-long site-specific installation, Benner created ‘Trans/mission: Barley-Corn-Maize’ in response to the history of the building housing the centre, which was an operating barley mill in the early 20th century.
The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington is located at 143 Simpson Avenue in Bowmanville. Hours of operation are 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Friday to Sunday. Admission to exhibits and artist talks is free. For more information, visit www.vac.ca.
