ARLIS/NA Ontario

 

2007 Spring Meeting – Grimsby Public Art Gallery & Studio Tour
Public Art Galleries in Small Centres – Roles and Resources

I invite you to join us for our 2007 Spring Meeting being held in Grimsby on Friday April 27th to explore the roles and resources of a public gallery in a smaller centre. Grimsby is my hometown and I was lucky enough to have been around when the gallery first opened in 1975. To read more about the dream of one man to make art in our town public, and to hear more about the meeting and the places we will visit please click here.

Please bring your ARLIS/NA membership if you are planning to renew your membership or become a new member of the Ontario Chapter of ARLIS/NA. See the membership page of our website http://arlison.org/membership.htm. Contact Robert Fabbro or Janet Muise if you have any questions.

Friday, April 27th
Meeting Fee is $20.00
RSVP by Friday April 20th

Friday April 27

7:30 – 9:00 Carpooling 1 hour without traffic and 1 ½ - 2 hrs with traffic
or
8:00- 9:00 Bus departs Bay Street and arrives in Grimsby around 9:00

9:00 - 9:30 Coffee & 50/50 Draw (bring your Toonies)

9:30 – 11: 30 Business Meeting

11:30 – 12:30 Rhona Wenger, Art Gallery Director
the workings of a public art gallery in a smaller centre
what is Wayzgoose?
on exhibit “Dialogue” Marianne Riem (local artist!)

12:45 – 2:00 Lunch at Grimsby Gables

2:15 – 3:30 visit with painter Carolyn Dover at her studio

3:30 – 5:30 Scenic tour to be decided – Stay tuned!

5:20 Bus departs Grimsby 5:20 and arrives Toronto at 6:30

6:00 Reservation for dinner at the EastDell Estates Winery

Saturday April 26 (Optional)
“Wayzgoose Annual Book Arts Fair”. See the web for more information.

Making art public

Since the early 1970’s, Bill Poole had been bringing art to the streets of Grimsby, literally, with the creation of the Grimsby Art Show on Nelles Blvd and later a Fall auction to raise funds for the Mentally Challenged. By 1975 he and others in the community had rallied together with the idea that Grimsby should have its own gallery. They connected with the public library, found a room downstairs and so the gallery born. Sometime later an addition to the library was built and they had their very own space. As Bill said of the time:

“We didn’t have any money but we had a great time”. In
the article he recalled” …one time we had an idea to bring
a cow into the gallery for an exhibition by Wendy Cain…
she had a collection of works based on cow brand products
that was whimsical, something like the work Andy Warhol
was doing with soup cans, so we brought in this cow and the
kids loved it” The News, march 15, 2000

Yes the place was full of kids and it was messy and the “smell of the cow didn’t go away for weeks”. There were brown bag lunches with the artists, and the creation of Wayzgoose and it too was messy and beautiful and inspiring. There was a beaux arts ball, with murals painted right on the wall. Bill who was a teacher in the OCA printmaking department, and his staff brought in prints of OCA students who could sell their work in Gallery 19, where none of the works cost more than $19.

One month there might be an exhibition of works by Fred Hagan and the next the works by a young sailor who took great pictures through portholes. Those are the times I remember. That was a long time ago. And looking at the gallery website it still seems a very busy and involving place with many volunteers from all walks of the community.

While preparing for this meeting I was speaking to a friend about our upcoming meeting at the “Grimsby Public Art Gallery”. His immediate response was, “What? Grimsby has an art gallery? Really? Whose art do they show? Do they have a collection? I was surprised that he was surprised because I just assume now that many towns this size have a public gallery. Although I had some answers for my friend, it occurred to me that my answers might be out of date and so it is my hope that our visit to the gallery will update and clarify.

I especially hope to learn about those resources that we, as librarians and workers in the field of visual arts might use in the work we do, as well as those resources by public galleries across the province. If you have any experiences to share or resources that you use in your work it could certainly add to our collective knowledge.

Places & Plans for the Day

Carnegie Library – Business Meeting
I was delighted to discover that our childhood “Carnegie” library, where we will begin our meeting, had been restored and recycled to remain a vital and active place in the community as a home for the Grimsby Historical Society/Archives, Literacy Council of Niagara West and FORT, Foundation of Resources for Teens. The day I visited, a group was meeting to organize “The Stories of our Lives” where seniors were invited and assisted in documenting their life stories.

Grimsby Public Art Gallery – Roles and Resources
From the library we will move next door to the Art Gallery where staff will be preparing for Wayzgoose, the Book Arts Fair that will be taking place the next day. The gallery director, Rhona Wenger will be speaking about the history of the Fair and of course about the workings of this gallery. Also in the gallery will be the works of Marianne Riem titled Dialogue. The gallery website says of the exhibition: “In an ongoing conversation spoken with words of steel and stone Marianne Reim discusses spiritualism, family, loss, love – aspects of humanity that significantly impact us all”

Lunch at the Gables
We will have lunch at the Grimsby Gables a charming century house on Mountain Street, and although we could walk the 2 blocks, we will probably need to drive as we will be heading to the west end for our studio tour immediately after lunch.

Studio Visit with Carolyn Dover
I first saw the paintings of Carolyn Dover during a visit to the Grimsby Public Art Gallery a few years ago and it took my breath away. The works showing in that exhibition were of the Niagara Peninsula and in particular the vineyards on the bench of the Niagara escarpment. I had never seen my home territory expressed on canvas in such a vibrant and imaginative manner.

Carolyn will spend about an hour with us in her studio where we can see her work and learn what her experiences have been in the art community of the Hamilton and Grimsby area.

Scenic Tour
At this point the meeting will be formally over and we will have about 2-3 hours to tour the area. There are a number of possibilities and what we choose may well depend on the weather.

If the weather is with us we could do a walking tour that will give you a better sense of the town and it’s history. I hope there is time for a detour to a lookout with the best escarpment view ever!

If the weather is wet, those of us in cars may want to head east along the #81 that runs along the base of the escarpment to places like Jordan Station or visit a few of the numerous wineries and meet at the EastDell Estates later for dinner.

6:00 pm Dinner with a view
Keeping with the vineyard theme, we have reservations at the EastDell Estates Winery that is fairly close to Grimsby but enough of a drive to give you a taste of the Peninsula and the changes that are taking place as well as those areas that are being given a new life through the viticulture.The view from the restaurant is certain to give you a sense of place and season.

Art, History, Nature and more in Grimsby – The 2007 Spring Meeting

Thanks to everyone who joined us in Grimsby for the 2007 spring meeting. Thanks especially to our nominating committee Lynda Barnett, Tammy Moorse and Lesley Bell for inviting our newest members Kalan Greenwood and Shanna Saltzberg. Welcome to both Kalan who is now our Student Rep and Shanna who has offered to help in fundraising with Kalan and Daniel of the membership committee. Heather Saunders, also a student has generously offered to chair the Archives committee that will be organizing the ARLIS/NA Ontario Chapter material.

Lesley Bell stepped forward for the position of Vice Chair, and has already helping with plans for the fall meeting. (Elections were not held in the fall, as it was a very full agenda in Buffalo). These 2 positions will continue into the fall, when there will be elections for all positions except for Chair. Lesley will be the Chair as of January 2008.

I look forward to meeting with the executive in the near future and hope by the end of the month that the various committees will have met and be able to report their plans and how we the membership can play a part in their plans.

It was a pleasure to welcome members to my hometown and the newly refurbished “Carnegie” library and the Grimsby Public Art Gallery” where we were treated to a closer look at the workings of a gallery in a smaller centre. Surrounded by the art of Marian Rheims, director Rhona Wenger spoke about the activities, the challenges and future plans of the gallery and a peek at the hot-off-the-press Wayzgoose 2007 Anthology.

More about the day in Grimsby about the meeting...photo-essay of the day

After a speedy but tasty lunch at the Grimsby Gables we were off to the studio of Carolyn Dover who lives locally.  Carolyn paints not only rich vibrant landscapes of Niagara Peninsula vineyards, that first attracted me to contact her, but also very personal almost surreal portraits and still life works that are coloured by her experience in the Middle East and her feminist view of women in our culture. These experiences were shared very generously with us throughout her slide presentation and following a more informal visit as western light streamed in the large windows overlooking one of the few remaining orchards in the town.

And then there were 6, as most everyone headed home following the studio discussions, but for the rest of us there was a quick look at the most historic area of town, including homes built in the late 1700’s and a then drive up the escarpment, past Beamer’s Fall’s and to the conservation area with one of the best walks offered by the Bruce Trail, ending in a great view of the whole peninsula and on a clear day Toronto seems only a stone’s throw.

The day’s end found us amidst those very lands we had viewed in Ms. Dover’s paintings, the Niagara Bench overlooking vineyards that seem to stretch clear to the lake. This was EastDell Estates Winery and the view as the light changed was beyond my expectations. We held the 50/50 draw amidst this fine setting with the help of our server and I am pleased to say that our new Vice Chair Lesley Bell won the draw! We have photos to prove it!

Wayzgoose, the book arts fair, took place on the following day and was an optional activity for those attending the meeting. I was fortunate to attend and discovered not only the printers and binders who have contributed over the past 29 years but a new group of young artists making unique and creative graphic novels and prints. It was great to see the works of artists of Open Studio, the Al Stein and George Walker to name a few. Next year celebrates the 30th year of this gathering of printers, which originated at the Grimsby gallery. Perhaps a day trip of ARLIS/NA Ontario members will be in order, followed by a hike up one of the best Bruce Trail routes in the area. Mark your calendars.