Colourful Clock by Michel Williatte-Battet which was inspired by William's art.
-by John Gillis
An exciting new season is about to launch soon at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts in Inverness.
For each of the past number of years, it’s become a tradition at the Arts Centre to open with an exhibit of Inverness County’s student artists.
While the tradition continues this year, it is with a twist – The Hot Potato Show will open alongside the Student Art Exhibit on Saturday, May 5th, from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. The exhibits will run until May 27th.
“We’ve been working to help young people embrace what we do here, especially from the fun side of creating art. We’ve had a very positive response to date to this collaborative practice where 19 of our young artists have been working with established artists in the community,” The Arts Centre’s Olivia Ball told The Oran this week.
Ball is a practising artist herself and she was partnered up with a young student who helped give her a new perspective on her artistic practice working with small metal.
“Hopefully, this experience will help expand this young artist’s view of what mediums are available to work in,” Ball added.
The Oran’s Frank Macdonald was another artist who collaborated with youth on this project. Macdonald told The Oran that it was the practice in this exhibit for the senior artist to create a new work based on what the young person first submitted.
“It was quite intimidating to come up with something given the excellent quality of the work being presented by the youth,” he added.
“We have a very full season lined up here at the centre,” said Ball. “With our annual Hands Dancing Show, we also have a slight change this year. Alongside our Hands Dancing works we’ll be showcasing an exhibit juried by Ray Cronin, former Art Gallery of Nova Scotia curator, called Small Treasures. While the deadline for inclusion in Small Treasures has passed there will be time and room for inclusion in Hands Dancing,” Ball noted.
The centre is also proud to be working closely with talented gardener, Cody Hiltz.
“He’s a talented artist and he’s working on improving the grounds and planning on growing vegetables on the grounds as well,” said Ball.
This season will also see a continuation of the Art Centre’s Influx series beginning in June.
“Once again, we’ll be drawing upon the wealth of talent here in Inverness County, hosting ideas talks, musical events inside and outside, and much more. We will have a Craft Together group running where participants can work alongside some established artists and craftspeople in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. We see it as a bit of a two-way street – creating offerings for the people and the artists here of all ages as well as inviting participation and input from visiting artists, seasonal residents, and so on. We had a very positive response to the Influx series last season and we hope to build on that this season,” Ball added.
Ball also wished to remind the public that the Arts Centre is available for bookings and rentals.
“Keep an eye on our ads in The Oran each week to follow our activities, visit our official website, or follow us on our Facebook page to keep abreast of what is happening here,” Ball concluded.
