You're invited to celebrate the Pearl Ellis Gallery’s 33rd anniversary of operation in Comox as it moves upstairs into its new location.
This first show will be the gallery members’ anniversary show. Along with the Comox Archives and Museum, the gallery will host a grand opening reception this Saturday.
The gallery and museum will officially open its doors at 3 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3:30 by Mayor Paul Ives. The doors will remain open until 7 in the evening.
Following the official opening, the gallery and museum will begin its normal hours of operation starting Sept. 13. The hours will be Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery/museum will be closed Monday.
The new members’ show will run from Sept. 10 to Oct. 2.
There will be work by 70 local artists on exhibit at this inaugural show.
Visitors to the gallery will be treated to a tremendous variety of artistic styles and media.
Artists such as Bev Johnston (2010 People’s Choice winner), Saskia King, Marco Montess, Brian Buckrell, Diane Knight and Hans Larsen will display their work. Media represented will be oil, acrylic, watercolor, metal, fabric and photography.
A complete list of artists registered in the show can be found on the home page of the gallery website at www.pearlellisgallery.com.
Visitors to the gallery / museum will be immediately struck by the welcoming open spaciousness and natural lightening.
The new lighting is bright and environmentally friendly. The warm colour tones of the walls and flooring plus the presence of the large windows make it a pleasurable experience to spend some time viewing the art or historic displays.
In addition to the celebration upstairs there will be a reception downstairs to mark the last show in the old location. On Sept. 10, the downstairs gallery will stay open until 7 p.m.
Visitors can view both shows, giving them a chance to bid farewell to old as well as hello to the new.
The farewell show, The Bold and The Beautiful by Ablaze Metal Art and Leonard Barrett, opened Aug. 31 and will run until Sept. 19. The hours of operation for the downstairs location will remain 1 to 4 p.m. each day for the duration of the show.
The members' anniversary show is always a special occasion as it gives the membership a chance to not only celebrate another successful year in operation but to renew its commitment to promote local artists.
As well, this year marks the fifth year that the gallery has been able to raise enough money to allow it to continue to present a $500 bursary to each of the three local high schools. Since the beginning in 2007, the gallery has given out $10,500 in bursary funding.
The gallery continues to show local artists at its satellite galleries established at the Comox Community Centre on Noel Avenue and the Comox Library.
Visitors to the community centre are treated to art exhibitions displayed in the hallway showcases. These exhibits along with the artwork at the Library are changed every three months.
There are up to five or more valley artists featured each time at the community centre while one artist is featured at the Library.
In addition to the satellite galleries, the Pearl Ellis co-ordinates two three-month shows at the cafeteria at St. Joseph’s Hospital at which 10 per cent of all sales are donated to the hospital.
Each day during the anniversary show there will be a guest artist available to meet the public to discuss their work. Along with the opportunity to meet the artists each day, there will be a ‘meet and greet’ this Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.
The gallery purchases of art are tax free and during the reception any member or new member receives 10 per cent off all art purchases.
The gallery is located at 1729 Comox Ave. Admission is free. For details, see www.pearlellisgallery.com.
— Pearl Ellis Gallery