A group of local artists are reconvening to put on a diverse art exhibition in south Nanaimo.
On Sept. 6, 9 Artists by the River present their second annual art show. Once again it will take place on founding member Lauren Kent’s property by the Nanaimo River, with each artist in their own tent in Kent’s garden.
Group member Barbara Ann Scott said the inaugural show was a success.
“It went very well indeed. We attracted quite a crowd and everyone sold quite a bit of work,” she said. “We were very happy and it was great to talk to the public and explain about our work and it was in such a beautiful setting.”
The other returning artists are Brenda Kelly, Janis Uvanile, Lynne Cross, Bonnie Stebbings, Lynda Morrison, Frank Kobe and Bobbi Jordan. Together they represent a range of artistic styles and media, including painting, mixed media, fabric art, collage, jewelry and ceramics. Works range from the realistic to the abstract.
“I do mixed media,” Scott explained. “I’m an experimental artist and I love collage so I’m always finding paper, making my own collage paper and I’m just very excited by design and composition. Lines and shapes and patterns and colours and I express my concepts abstractly.”
This year’s show will be a little different from last year. Due to COVID-19 the artists won’t be serving tea and homemade baked goods. Other pandemic safety measures include spacing out the artists, providing hand sanitizer and using directional arrows to guide visitors around the exhibits. The artists will also be collecting visitors’ contact information upon entry for contact tracing purposes “should anything happen,” Scott said.
Scott said the 9 Artists by the River are retired and very enthusiastic about their own art, but it can be difficult to find a place to display one’s work. She said that means artists have to take matters into their own hands.
“There are very few opportunities in Nanaimo to actually display local art and so artists get together and they arrange private shows open to the public so that we can display their work,” she said. “It’s similar to the Hammond Bay Studio Tour or the downtown ArtWalk, things like that. We’re trying to be very creative and give opportunities for people to learn about our art and view it and maybe buy it, too.”
WHAT’S ON … 9 Artists by the River at 1940 Burchell Rd., behind Cedar General Store, on Sunday, Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
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