On Saturday night, artist WhiteFeather hosted a vernissage in her apartment. Thirteen artists (including myself!) presented everything from interactive art installations, to music, to video, to paintings, poetry, and photography, to our peers and friends.
It was totally awesome.
Jackie seated at my installation, typing away. Photo credit Biff Mitchell.
My goodness neat things like this need to happen more often! Nights of wine, food, music, art, poetry, and great company... Sadly (and frustratingly), events like this are truly rarefied in Fredericton. There aren't any venues for exhibiting work in progress or fresh works, there's a distinct lack of critical dialogue, the seeds of camaraderie haven't yet blossomed.
Saturday night is hopefully the beginning of a shift towards a more accessible arts community here. I think of this vernissage as a butterfly splitting it's cocoon and shaking the husk loose: we know we've got a tremendous amount of talent in this town, and we're starting to show it in a big way.
Perhaps a critical mass has been hit. Maybe the senior and emerging artists got tired of being isolated in our home studios. Or it could be that we've realized galleries can't support us in every way we need. It doesn't really matter what the catalyst is, so long as the momentum continues and we continue to deepen our practices with events like this.
I hadn't realized how much I needed an event like this. I feel recharged and motivated and connected, let's see what comes of it!
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