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Laurie Bare Opening Reception
A free fun activity out of the snow Okay so the snow might be piling up out there, but don’t worry! The Art Gallery is a warm and cozy oasis in the middle of all this winter weather. Whether you're looking to escape the snow or just in need of a little artistic inspiration, the Quesnel Art Gallery has got you covered. Not only is the Gallery showcasing unique pieces each month, but the gift shop is always full of locally-made treasures to help you weather the rest of winter. Plenty of local potters handmade mugs to keep your tea and coffee warm. Cute and cozy quilts from local quilter Wendy Fisher. Soft silk scarves hand-painted by Carolyn Thompson, there's something for everyone. And if you're missing friends and family who have flown south for the winter, why not send them a card from the gift shop? There are plenty of options to choose from, and a warm message from you will be sure to bring a smile to their face from afar. So, when the stress of the snow starts to pile up, head to the Quesnel Art Gallery & Gift Shop for a little respite. You'll find a quiet, cozy environment to step away from the cold and be surrounded by beauty. Why not make the most of this winter weather and treat yourself to a visit to the Quesnel Art Gallery today, it’s free!
We are looking back at an artful year, while preparing for new things to come in 2023! 
 Our Beaux Arts Bazaar is still happening! You can shop all the way up until December 23rd here at the Gallery, so keep us in mind if you need a last minute gift. We have unique handcrafted items to fit any budget. Stocking Stuffers, Co-worker gifts, cards, ornaments and so much more! If you haven't been in here, be sure to check it out!  Don’t forget that the Art Gallery & Gift Shop are full of unique handcrafted local gifts! Our very talented members have come up with some inventive ideas this year. From glassware, pottery to woodwork, textiles, and a bit of everything between. You're sure to find something special for those hard-to-shop-for ones on your list. Cards sent at Christmas are something special, and we have some especially beautiful hand crafted cards. With local touches these cards can mean so much more wherever they end up, sending along a little Quesnel love. Original watercolour cards of Barkerville in the winter, impressive photographs of local wildlife. Support our artists this holiday season or any occasion you need a card, we always have something new!  Decorating the tree can be quite magical, a true work of art no matter how it's done. Collecting ornaments over the years is something almost everyone does. Holding so many memories and meaning, a special gift that stays around. Every year it's so exciting to see what our members make to hang on our trees. This year we have a wonderful selection of one-of-a-kind creations. Make someone smile with these thoughtful and affordable gifts! While small gifts are great, we also have incredible pieces of art for extra generous givers. Wall clocks, canvas photo prints, original paintings and artworks, rare pottery and sculptures. There are some items you may have never thought of, so come see what you can find for someone still on your list. "Art is a form of love. Art is the ultimate gift. Art heals life." -Robert Genn The Gallery & Gift Shop Holiday Hours TUESDAY-FRIDAY 10:00AM-4:00PM OPEN DECEMBER 27-30 - Final week of the year CLOSED JANUARY 1-17 - For repairs and maintenance - Shae Lightening (Gallery Assistant) The final shows of the year are on now! Holiday season is really just around the corner and it’s going to be a fun one! Excitement at the Opening: The gallery was buzzing with pride and joy from a very diverse group of artists at our last opening event. Over 60 people came to enjoy the opening of the show ‘A Spectrum of Perspectives’ including the artists, who ranged in age from 4 to 84.  For many of these artists it was their very first time having their work displayed to the public, which is very exciting! We look forward to seeing more from these artists in the future, they work out of Spectrum Art Studios which offers a variety of workshops and classes.
The 29th of September was the last day to see the show, it’s all packed up and delivered back to the proud artists. Preparations are beginning for our next show now, if you want to see some more photos from any of our shows follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all the latest information and updates.
Beaux Arts Bazaar:
Here it comes again, Beaux Arts Bazaar! The gallery will become host to a large variety of talented artists and crafters to offer a lovely local Christmas shopping experience. In the past we have been lucky to have the Quesnel Farmers Market join us at the Rec Centre for their Saturday Christmas Markets unfortunately due to restrictions they were unable to have their event for the past few years. This year is their exciting return, giving you even more wonderful vendors to shop from! The Holiday season is a busy time for us in the Gallery & Gift Shop, we are very grateful for the support of the community and our dedicated volunteers! With the busy season comes the need for some helping hands, if you or anyone you know would be interested in volunteering with the Gallery & Gift Shop we would LOVE to hear from you! Please stop in for more information on how you can get involved in the Gallery or with the Beaux Arts Bazaar! Thanks for reading and until next time, best regards Shae Lightening  Hello everyone, New Exhibit: Here at the gallery we are preparing for our exciting new exhibit, ‘A Spectrum of Perspectives’ from Quesnel’s own Spectrum Art Studios. This show is a unique collection of work by over 15 emerging artists from ages 4 years and up, who are studying under the talented artist & teacher Tanya Shymko. The title represents the spectrum of colours, ages and influences we see through art, this is evident when observing the wonderful range of pieces together in one room. We will be hosting an opening reception at the Gallery on Thursday, August 18th from 7:00PM-9:00PM with all of the artists in attendance. The opening reception is a chance to hear where the inspiration for the show came from and meet the artists who put so much work into this exhibit. There will be coffee, tea, and treats and a brief introduction from the artists who made this show possible, we hope to see you all there! The variety of mediums filling up our space right now is bringing so much colour and joy to the white walls, I’m sure it will inspire and delight anyone who walks in for the next few weeks until the show ends on September 29th. If you can’t make it to the opening reception, be sure to check out the show on our regular business days, Tuesday through Saturday 10:00AM-4:00 PM. Temporary Closure: Due to scheduled maintenance of the building the Rec Centre will be closed from September 5th-18th meaning the Art Gallery and Gift Shop will be inaccessible and therefore also will be closed. We are planning on starting back up on the 20th of September where you can still catch the showing of ‘A Spectrum of Perspectives’ for its final weeks in our Gallery. Behind the scenes we will be working on some exciting new projects for the future, keep up with our blog posts to be the first informed! With Summer coming closer to an end we will be relying on the incredible support of our volunteers to keep the Gallery and Gift Shop up and running for its regular hours. We are deeply grateful to our volunteers and supporters in this wonderful community. If you are interested in volunteering, please come visit or give us a call at the Gallery!  Hello wonderful people of Quesnel! When’s the last time you stopped into the gallery and gift shop? I’ve been spending most of my time here lately, if you’ve popped in recently you may know who I am, and if not I’d love for you to stop in and say hi! My name is Shae Lightening and I’ve been with the gallery for several months now, and I have to say it’s been an inspiring and motivating experience to be a part of the incredible art community we have here in Quesnel. The future of the Art Gallery and Gift Shop is bright and full of new ideas. I'm very excited to be a part of it all and can’t wait to share that excitement with all of you. It’s always changing here, we have to be adaptable with so many talented local artists bringing in a variety of wonderfully unique items. The gift shop is full of original artworks, from cards to sculptures and all sorts of interesting items in between, there is sure to be something to treat yourself or someone you love. Although making a trip to the gallery is a treat in itself, you never know what might catch your eye while you stroll past the paintings, or what conversation could spark while surrounded by art. The local talent we showcase in the gift shop is genuinely inspiring, it might even put you in the mood to do some crafting and creating of your own! The Gallery and Gift Shop are open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm -- come on over and see the incredible local talent we have on display.
We look forward to seeing you at the gallery and gift shop in the coming weeks, and I would love to hear what your thoughts are on our current Gallery Show. I’m here all summer long Tuesday through Saturday 10-4 , stop in and say hello!
- Shae Lightening (Gallery Assistant)  Hello People of Quesnel,
How are you this fine day (as long as it's not hailing outside)? Things here at the gallery are looking pretty blue. Not sad, literally blue. Our current show by indigenous artist, Darin Corbiere, is called "Ingrained Stories: What the Wood Said to Me" and it's on until June 25th at the Quesnel Art Gallery and Gift Shop. This exhibition is a departure from what we normally show at the gallery, but it is relevant to current events in BC and couldn't be shown at a more important time. Darin Corbiere's works are at times unsettling, detailed, and powerful, featuring ink drawings on pieces of wood. The works are shown under black light, which brings out the colours of the ink, while drawing viewers in to see the details. On top of using this unconventional lighting system, there are stories posted on the walls accompanying most of the works. Darin Corbiere mixes indigenous mythology with personal stories and beliefs to create a fantastic experience in this exhibition. He discusses Sitting Bull, Mother Earth, the Catholic Church, and stories surrounding origin and sexuality. This show could not have come at a more important time; when these are the voices and stories that need to be heard. James Darin Corbiere is from Wikwemikong, an Indigenous community on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. He is Anishinaabe, and was living in Prince George, BC, until recently. He now resides on Vancouver Island, and came back for a few days to install the show. We also have prints available in the gift shop for purchase, and images of the show online if you are unable to attend in person. Do not miss this timely, and significant show. I will post updates on what's coming up in the gallery in a separate post. - Tanya Nielsen (Member-at-Large) Twitter: @QuesnelArt Facebook: Quesnel Art Gallery Instagram: quesnelartgallery  Hello, Everyone!
Happy, sunny days are here in Quesnel, and we are celebrating this at the gallery with a new show. 'Resonate' features the works of Judith DesBrisay and Cheri Maisonneuve and is running from now until May 28th! Come in and see it or check out the show on social media, we have posted images of it on Facebook. 'Resonate' celebrates the works of two of Quesnel's favourite, long-time practicing artists and their shared medium, resin. A couple of the works are done as a collaboration between these two artists, but the majority are either the abstract working of DesBrisay, or portrayals of the ocean by Maisonneuve. The works are breath-taking, and very shiny, do not miss this show or the opportunity to purchase one of these works through the gift shop or through emailing us at quesnelartgallery@gmail.com. This is the last month to submit a proposal for our 2022 exhibition year! If you are interested in showing at the Quesnel Art Gallery next year, make sure that you get your submission in by May 31st. We have an online application found here. We will be reviewing submissions in June and informing people of their status by June 30th. We are already excited about some of the submissions we already have and we can't wait to put together the full line up! We also have a Community Show opening up July 3rd and running until the 29th. It is a new venture for us, and we are calling it the 'A Summer Garden'! Bring us your works related to the theme of what you think of, or see, in your garden during the summertime. We will start taking in works at the end of June, so start working on those masterpieces! If you have any questions about the 'Summer Garden' show, please contact us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or our website. We're looking forward to filling the gallery with sunshine, flowers, and all good things green. We are also thinking about ways to have workshops this summer! We missed hosting them last year, but we made up for it with the tile kits for the community mural (which you wholly embraced, thank you so much for that). We are thinking about potentially doing more kits for another project, and a couple of guest lectures. It is going to be an exciting summer! The members' meeting is being held on Zoom on May 31st, at 2pm, if you are interested in attending and learning more about what's going on at the gallery, send us an email at quesnelartgallerymeeting@gmail.com and we will send you a link. Our AGM is coming up as well on June 21st, 2pm, email us (again) to let us know that you want to attend and mark the date on your calendars! Our next show opens up on June 3rd, and it is "Ingrained Stories - What the Wood Said to Me" with Darin Corbiere. That is everything for now, keep checking our social media and our website for more updates! - Tanya Nielsen (Member at Large) Twitter: @QuesnelArt Facebook: Quesnel Art Gallery Instagram: quesnelartgallery |
AuthorShae Lightening Archives
July 2022
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