The Comox Valley Art Gallery celebrates the launch of its Winter Program opening on Nov. 20.
The lineup includes CVAG’s 41st annual Christmas Craft Fair, a window project installation entitled “Gift” by local media artist Carrie Tannant, two student shows featuring work from NIC fine arts department, along with two community make-art workshops.
The Gallery extends an invitation to the community to gather on the plaza for the opening reception at 5 p.m. on Nov. 20. Starting at 5 p.m., there will be snacks, beverages, opening remarks and some “Moonlight and Magic” provided by their community partner Elevate the Arts.
Downtown businesses will also be open late as part of the “Moonlight and Magic” event on Friday night.
The Fair, which runs from Nov. 20 to Dec. 26, “showcases diverse high-quality handmade creations by over 60 regional artists and provides a wonderful opportunity to buy local gifts at reasonable prices,” says Rhonda Burden, CVAG’s gift shop manager and organizer of the Fair.
The gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 20, with extended hours from Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. starting Nov. 21 and continuing until Dec. 26.
On the opening day (Nov. 20) customers will receive a 10 per cent discount and CVAG members will receive a 15 per cent discount on most items.
The opening event will also celebrate two exhibitions.
“Window Project: Gift,” is a site-responsive installation by local media artist Carrie Tannant, on view 24/7 until Jan. 1 in CVAG’s street level Window Gallery. “Gift” invites us to consider our perceptions and interactions around giving and receiving.
“Gifts can say hello, express love and kinship, celebrate life transitions, tell stories, engender reciprocity, invite generosity, and demonstrate status, amongst other things,” said Tannant. “They can be mysterious things that bring with them a momentary feeling of gratitude or wonder, an awareness of potential or a sense of place. By design and by chance, gifts affirm our cultural relations and, in many ways, it’s what we recognize as gifts that makes us what we are.”
Two fine arts student shows will run back to back in the CVAG Community Space. The first is “Mix”, an exhibition of paintings by 13 students from North Island College ECUAD fine arts degree program (Nov. 20-Dec. 4). The second exhibition, “Telling Story”, includes photo-based works by seven art students studying at NIC (Dec. 12-26).
As part of CVAG’s community Make-Art workshops, two “everyone welcome” events will be offered to the public. On Nov. 28 from 1-5 p.m CVAG will host “Collage Party: Send and Receive,” facilitated by Sonia Stastny, curator of Studio B Gallery. A $5 materials fee and preregistration is required to join in on this collage card-making party. On Dec. 12 a solstice celebration drop-in lantern making event will take place in the studio from 1-5 p.m., with a community lantern gathering at 5 p.m. on the plaza. The event is by donation.
The opening events are family friendly, free and open to the public. Admission to the gallery is by donation. For more info visit the gallery on Facebook and at comoxvalleyartgallery.com