Welcome to 2020! This January, there are new exhibits at Artspace, the Art Gallery of Peterborough, the Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cavan Gallery, and Galerie Q.
If you are looking for some new activities, consider dropping by Creating Space at their new location in the PACE building in downtown Peterborough. The Art Gallery of Peterborough will also be offering some free events, partnering with the Peterborough Field Naturalists for Family Sunday on January 5th and putting on a Snofest Art Mingle on the evening of January 23rd, featuring vault tours refreshments and more!
Note: Peterborough’s First Friday Art Crawl will resume in February, and the Arts And Heritage Centre Of Warkworth is taking a break until early spring.
Artspace presents ‘___a lineage of transgression___’
Entitled ‘___a lineage of transgression___’, this two-person show curated by Liz Ikiriko features work by Kameela Janan Rasheed (a Brooklyn-based transdisciplinary artist, writer, educator, and former public high school teacher) and Jamilah Abu-Bakare (a transdisciplinary artist and writer who recently earned her Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago).
Their work is driven by the written word, and includes film, audio, 2D images, and collage. These mediums are used as a tool to challenge the limitations of systemic definitions of Blackness and womanhood.
The exhibit leads us to think about and reconsider definitions and labels that can confine us, and what it means to accept reject or expand upon these ideas.
An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, January 10th, with the show will display until February 22nd.
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.
Art Gallery of Peterborough presents ‘locked in a way’, ‘217’, and ‘duet’
From January to March, the Art Gallery of Peterborough is presenting three exhibitions: ‘locked in a way’ by Matthew Hayes and Victoria Mohr-Blakeney, ‘217’ by Sasha Opeiko, and ‘duet’ by Jack Bush and Francisco-Fernando Granados.
All three exhibitions open on Saturday, January 18th with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m., and run until Sunday, March 29th.
‘locked in a way’ by Matthew Hayes and Victoria Mohr-Blakeney
‘Locked in a way’ is a short film by Matthew Hayes and Victoria Mohr-Blakeney. (Photo courtesy of Art Gallery of Peterborough)
Peterborough-based independent filmmaker Matthew Hayes and curator and writer Victoria Mohr-Blakeney have collaborated on ‘locked in a way’, a short film that explores the confining and isolating landscape of grief.
It features the last recorded conversation of Victoria and her mother Renate Mohr, speaking about a creative collaboration they were not able to finish before Renate’s death.
‘duet’ by Jack Bush and Francisco-Fernando Granados
Presented in partnership with the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, ‘duet’ pairs together modernist and contemporary abstraction by Francisco-Fernando Granados and the late Jack Bush.
Referencing the ongoing reciprocal relationship between the past and the present, the work of Granados and Bush create a conversation between contemporary digital and site-specific pieces and paintings and prints from the mid-twentieth century. The juxtaposition incites the viewer to consider the ongoing influences of the past upon the present and the connection between the two.
The exhibit is curated by Fynn Leitch and Leila Timmins. There will be an artist talk with Granados from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th.
‘217’ by Sasha Opeiko
The title of this exhibit by Sasha Opeiko refers to section 217 in the fourth block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which contains a highly radioactive mass of melted matter named The Elephant’s Foot that formed during the reactor’s meltdown in 1986. Opeiko’s work includes graphite drawings on gessoed aluminum and a series of 3D printed objects based on the site, which is only accessible through images obtained from a remote camera and so remains obscure.
‘217’ references the extreme environmental catastrophe and the fact the direct effects of the disaster were never fully perceivable, though they were far-reaching. Opeiko brings images of this hidden place to our attention, emphasising the mysterious and making a personal reference to her own childhood experience in Belarus following the calamity.
The Art Gallery of Peterborough is located at 250 Crescent Street in downtown Peterborough and is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. It offers free admission, barrier-free access, and a gallery shop. Parking is available in the Del Crary lot. For more information, call 705-743-9179 or visit agp.on.ca.
Art Gallery of Northumberland presents ‘Traces’ by Felicity Somerset and Peter Large
‘Traces’ is a collaborative exhibit of drawings by Peter Large and fine art photography by Felicity Somerset created over the span of three years.
The two artists explore traces of 19th-century rural life in eastern Ontario through their respective mediums. Old barns, sheds, and silos captured in various stages of dereliction tell visual tales of working people’s daily lives, imbued with the sense of mystery that comes from knowing some, but not all, of the story.
An opening reception will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 11th, in conjunction with the opening of ‘About Face’ by Cobourg visual artist Christopher Smith.
A presentation by Somerset and Large will happen from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday January 22nd, with the show on display until Sunday, March 1st.
The Art Gallery of Northumberland is located at on the third floor of the west wing of Victoria Hall (55 King St. W., Cobourg). Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The gallery is closed on Mondays. For more information, visit www.artgalleryofnorthumberland.com.
Creating Space is now open to the public at PACE in the former PCVS building in downtown Peterborough
Creating Space is a small nonprofit organization whose mandate is to offer a safe accessible space for all, offering free access to art supplies and creative ideas. With knowledgeable volunteers on hand and refreshments available, all members of the public are encouraged to drop by.
The space offers a chance to strengthen interconnectivity and foster resilience within the community by bringing people together to experiment and create. Painting, drawing, crocheting, knitting, beadwork, sewing, cross stitching, and screen printing are just a few of the available options.
Apart from the free drop-in space, low-cost workshops are also offered on Friday evenings.
Creating Space is located in room 17 at 201 McDonnel Street in Peterborough, across the hall from the daycare. Regular drop-in hours are 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.
For more information, including Friday evening workshops, email creatingspaceptbo@gmail.com, call 705-808-5645, or visit creatingspaceptbo.ca or www.facebook.com/creatingspacePtbo/.
If you would like to donate even a small amount to this venture, please visit patreon.com/creatingspaceptbo .
Cavan Art Gallery now showing ‘Paintings Panorama’ by Valerie Kent
‘Paintings Panorama’ is a show of painter Valerie Kent’s work, including a collection of en plein air pieces, winter scenes, her abstracted marketplace series, and her newest series of abstracted florals. The show will be on display until March.
Cavan Art Gallery is located at 1535 County Road 10 in Cavan. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 705-944-9444 of visit www.cavan-arts.com
Galerie Q presents ‘Winter Frolic’ by Juan Cristobal, Ginet Leblond, and Christian Bergeron
Galerie Q will be showing ‘Winter Frolic’, a selection of lovely winter scenes by well-known Quebec artists Juan Cristobal, Ginet Leblond, and Christian Bergeron.
Originally from Chile, Juan Cristobal moved to Quebec, where his mother ran an art school, at the age of 17. He has drawn and painted the city and surrounding landscapes ever since. Ginet Leblond, who will now be part of the permanent collection at Galerie Q, focuses her work on historic scenes of Quebec. Originally from Charlevoix, Christian Bergeron a self-taught artist known for his vibrant personal style.
The gallery is closed for the first week of the new year, opening on Saturday, January 8th and resuming their regular hours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. Drop in for a taste of winter charm, and peruse the new selection of work on display.
Galerie Q is located at 1521 County Road 10 in Cavan-Monaghan. For more information, visit www.galerie-q.com.
