Call to artists: Paint the Ports

 

 

 

Paint the Ports is a collaborative effort pairing the previously held events Paint the Port (Hantsport) and Paint Windsor with the addition of a third event Paint Avondale. Scheduled to take place this September 7th between 10am and 4pm in the communities of Windsor, Hantsport and the Avondale peninsula, artists will be creating artworks live on site accompanied by a gallery style sale.

 

We will see artists setting up in designated areas such as the Windsor waterfront park, the grounds at  Churchill House, the Avondale Church, Avondale Sky Winery, the Mounce Mansions, and other unique and historic sites and small business throughout each community.

 

Although this is primarily a Paint themed event, registration is open to artists working in all mediums and supports artist at all levels of artistic development. Each town will have a “home base” where the participating artist's work will be on display and for sale for the duration of the event. All participating artists are invited to join us again during our 8th annual "Harvest Festival of Art" Members Group Showcase, which coincides with Culture Days, September 26th -28th, 2014. Here artists are encouraged display the artworks begun during Paint the Ports. All non-HCAC members who participate in Paint the Ports will be eligible to become HCAC members at the discounted rate of $20 per year and take part in all of our other regular activities.

 

As a part of our promotional material we will be putting together a map, which includes the three communities with artist locations clearly labeled. This map will be distributed prior to the event via social media, through local tourist promotional material produced by the Avon Chamber of Commerce and through our community partners such as Avondale Sky Winery, the Bread Gallery, T.A.N. Coffee, Hantsport's Town offices, local tourist bureaus and local motels and inns. We also aim to promote the event via newspaper and radio advertising. Copies of this map will also be given to all participating artists to hand out during the event, this way visitors can begin their tour of the Avon River area at any point.

 

There is a $30 entry fee to participate, snacks and refreshments will be provided by the Hants County Arts Council.

 

Registration forms are available on our website www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca and artists must register by August 16th to be included in promotional material.

 

 

 

Spring Newsletter, 2014

Spring is in the air and the Hants County Arts Council is itching to get growing!

2013 proved itself to be an incredibly exciting year for our group, seeing us participate in the most events to date; 14 if anyone is counting!

2nd Annual HCAC Group Show at Bread Gallery,  March - April,  2013

We kicked off the year with our second annual, end of winter show at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn. In April we joined forces with the Avon River Heritage Society to bring you the 15th annual Great Little Art Show in Newport Landing, which turned out to be the first of many collaborations with this group throughout the summer.

15th Annual Great Little Art show,  April 26th - 28th, 2013

Together we applied for funding from the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage to revive the museum’s Heritage Artisans in Action, extending the event into a series of themed demonstrations.  

Heritage Artisans in Action: Metal,  July 28th with G.A. Jank and Steve Veinot

In July we were invited by the Hantsport Area Revitalization Committee to help revive the town's event, Paint the Port, a plein air painting event. 

Carol Morrison on location at Paint the Port in Hantsport on July 20th, 2013

In September, many members came out again to create art on-site in Windsor in support of the 6th annual, Paint Windsor.

Jessica Uhlman onsite at the Spitfire Arms pub as a part of Paint Windsor,  Sept 8th, 2013

October saw our 7th annual Harvest Festival of Art and the awarding of the 2013 Hall of Fame award to Pat Gould-Thorpe, presented by Dr. Avery Vaughan. Sponsor T.A.N. Coffee in Windsor also invited our members to participate in a month-long exhibition held in their Water Street location as an additional means of promoting the weekend-long festival at 69 Cedar St.

Hall of Fame Awards at the Harvest Festival of Art, Oct 11th,  2013 

We were barely into the new year before we began planning for our 3rd annual group showcase at the Bread Gallery which opened on February 15th and continued until March 30th. This highly anticipated show welcomed over 20 artists to participate, showcasing a wide variety of mediums and styles. The end result was a very lively and colourful showcase, introducing many new artists from our ever-growing membership.

Opening night at the HCAC's 3rd annual end of winter group show at the Bread Gallery,  Feb 15th,  2014

Thanks to the continuing surge of local support, we have decided to devote this year to building on our community collaborations. We recently received approval for funding through Support4Culture to facilitate a creative cultural collaboration with the Avon River Heritage Society, who will in turn be providing the council with a permanent home, which will act as a venue to host cultural events and activities.

We will be kicking off this collaboration on May 9th with the opening of the 16th annual Great Little Art Show, which will also coincide with the reveal of our communal studio space and the launch of our Artist in Residence program.

We will once again be presenting the Heritage Artisans in Action series by hosting five themed events throughout the summer, which will focus on artists and artisans who work in traditional and contemporary styles.

This September we will officially be adding Paint Windsor to our event roster. This annual passion project, now in it’s 6th year, has previously been organized by beloved local painter Kelly Mitchelmore. With Kelly’s upcoming departure from the community, our group hopes to continue on in her footsteps. We plan to build on the strong foundation she has created with this annual celebration of our artistic community and the people who together make it a unique and special place to both live and visit. We wish Kelly the best of luck in Montreal and we will definitely miss her valuable contribution to the local arts community.

We have once again aligned our Harvest Festival of Art to take place during Culture Days, September 26th - 28th,  and this year we are inviting our members to devise creative ways to interact with the viewing public throughout the weekend-long event. 

For example, a group of local fibre artists will be on site, creating a hooked rug depicting a local historic building. Visitors will learn the basics of rug hooking and they will be encouraged to join in and contribute to the creation of the piece. Artists with ideas for other interactive activities are encouraged to contact us.

The Avon River Heritage Society and The Hants County Arts Council recognize the support of the Province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Communities, Culture & Heritage. We recognize funding from the Support4Culture, a designated lottery program of the Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries and Casino Corporation. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Culture Division to develop and promote our cultural resources for all Nova Scotians.

It is through the support of our members, community and volunteers that we are able to provide this ongoing programming and we are grateful for everyone’s time and effort to make our events so successful!

In 2015 we hope to be able to continue building on our collaborations and events, creating annual traditions that we as a community can depend on. 

If you would like to play a part in the ongoing growth of the HCAC then please join us at our Annual General Meeting on April 30th at 7pm at  the Superstore at 11 Cole Drive in Windsor or contact us by email at: tacha.reed@gmail.com

    

www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca

Paint Windsor 2013

Once again Phoenix Hollow B&B invites you to enjoy a day of art, and charity with the 5th annual Paint Windsor. While the artists preform and create throughout Windsor their art is for sale at the B&B and treats are provided by the local restaurants. 

Part of all proceeds go to the Hants Community Hospital Auxiliary Society and the rest to the artists. Come to the B&B to view the work, visit your artist on location and enjoy. 

This year's participating artists are:

Kelly Mitchelmore - Painter
Laura Uhlman - Watercolour Painter
Brittney McIsaac - Acrylic & Oil Painter
Jessica Uhlman - Mixed Media Painter
Al Simm - Iron Sculptor
Mary Lou Bennett - Jewellery
Liz Robinson - Acrylic Painter
Jim Tracey - Folk Art
Beverly Hubley - Acrylic Painter
Jaki Durocher - Painter & Potter 
Tacha Reed - Fibre Artist
Claudia Dobson - Acrylic - Realism Painter
Sandra Aucoin - Chalk Pastel
Karen W. Harvie - Acrylic & Watercolour Painter
Andrew Harvie - Wood Carver
Angela Riley - Musician
Terrie Greencorn - Acrylic / Mixed Media Painter
Hugh A.Sweeney - Jazz Musician

Local Artistic Opportunities on the Rise

Just in case you missed this article in the last issue of What's Going On? here it is again!

Local Artistic Opportunities on the Rise
BROOKLYN BAKERY TO Host 6-Week ART Show

by Heather Desveaux


It almost goes without saying that artists thrive on opportunities to create, so it is not surprising to learn they also encourage new ways to promote what they produce.  Art shows increase opportunities for artists to sell works but also motivate them to create more, according to the President of the Hants County Arts Council, Tacha Reed. "Regular shows give me access to other artists, who in turn provide me with inspiration and a sense of belonging. Both are essential ingredients to my creative process," she says.


Reed credits the annual Great Little Art Show, organized by artist Andrew Fisher, hosted by the Avon River Heritage Society and now in its 14th year, for providing a drawing board for the Arts Council to organize its own annual group show, Festival of Art, now held in October. Reed says the frequency of art shows is very important to artists in rural areas such as Hants County.  "In the city it is so easy to go out and make contact with other artists, and living here we are naturally limited to a handful of the art-related functions so the more of these functions we are able to participate in, the better." She adds, "I personally would love to have a hand in creating a constant space for artists to be able to come together to exchange ideas and create."


Reed isn't the only one. In recent memory,  the Utata Gallery and Inspire Art School, both artist-run facilities in Windsor, have unfortunately had to close their doors. It's left local artists feeling a little frustrated, but more determined to have a permanent home.  After Utata closed, HCAC members tried to find places that would "fit",  like the upper level of the Avon Spirit Museum during its summer season, the Fort Edward Gallery, and HCAC member Jaki Durocher's Inspire Art School, where the group held its meetings until it recently closed.


Enter Brooklyn business owner Joan McKenzie. McKenzie, a dairy farmer turned real estate contractor who sought to have a building for community-use when she was planning her bakery business.  Located in the former Brooklyn Home Hardware, the turn of the twentieth-century building she purchased features a unique space that needed to be used for something equally appropriate.



McKenzie aptly named her business the Bread Gallery.  "I've dabbled in artsy things, but I mostly come from a family of art collectors and admirers," says
McKenzie. "So I thought it would be neat to mix the two together and it seems to be working out so far," she said. 


McKenzie intended to start hosting art shows when she opened the bakery last May, but opted to not bite off more than she could chew. The Bread Gallery hosted its first small show in December with two local artists. A larger HCAC show featuring twelve members' works will open on March 9 and run until the last week of April. This way, participating artists can also be in the Great Little Art Show at the ARHS Museum in Newport Landing: a traditional, key fundraiser for the museum being held April 27-29.


Reed says the partnership with the Bread Gallery makes sense because
artists are also entrepreneurs. "Thanks to other local entrepreneurs, like Joan
opening the gallery, Kelly Mitchelmore hosting fundraising events like Paint Windsor, and Kathy Monroe planning the Avondale Art Fair, Hants County
artists now have several opportunities to show and sell their work locally," she says. "Over the last year the HCAC has received a great deal of support from the local community and many other arts and culture-based business have stepped forward to join as members."  Last year the group changed the venue for the Festival of Art to the historic Vaughan Shand Centre, another recently renovated historic building intending to promote its own unique blend of personal and community awareness.


With her 1950s Airstream housing her mobile art boutique currently
located in Ellershouse, Reed has her own plans to renovate her garage to an open studio where she will be joined by folk artist Jim Tracey when she re-opens in the spring.  "I can't take the Airstream everywhere so it would be nice if we didn't always have to travel such long distances to share our work with the public."  - §

Participating artists at The Bread Gallery are:

HCAC Group Show opening March 9th at The Bread Gallery

June Brown
Carlos DaRosa
Dora Davis
Terri Greencorn
Andrea Hardy
Gerald Jank
Carol Morrison
Sharon Olgilvie
Tacha Reed
Sue Robinson
Pauline Sullivan
Jim Tracey

Winter 2012 Newsletter

The past year witnessed significant changes for the Hants County Arts Council, and with change brings more opportunities to be both creative and innovative!

In April we saw a large turnover in our board of directors. Long-standing President Sandra MacDonald stepped down to spend more time with her family and to devote herself to her new role as manager of the Winding River Art Gallery in Stewiacke.



David Howells, Kristie Sheehy, Al Bergin with Stewart
Creaser and Lorraine Vasslo from Avondale Sky Winery.

Vice President David Howells, and past Festival of Art Organizer Kristie Sheehy, stepped down to organize their show Three Faces of Realism along with painter Al Bergin.

This show ran throughout October at the Public Archives in Halifax and was a destination during Nocturne.

Jaki Durocher also stepped down from the board to devote more time to her work. In April, she and Dawn Josey held a show at the Public Archives in Halifax called HERSTORY; a tribute to the influential women in their lives.



Carlos Da Rosa, Jaki Durocher and Dora Davis

Joining the board as our new president was Tacha Reed. Since moving to the area Tacha has opened Flying Cloud Boutique; a mobile shop featuring the works of nearly 30 Nova Scotian artists and artisans.



Several members of the HCAC including Dora Davis, Carlos Da Rosa and Jaki Durocher joined Tacha and musician Christina Martin to celebrate the shop’s grand opening in July by creating a mural of Blomidon. 

We also welcomed a few new faces to the board this past spring, names I’m sure you will recognize from their work being featured at the Festival of Art in previous years – painters June Brown, Liz Robinson and Sharon Ogilvie.

Andrew Harvie, our web master and membership coordinator, took on the role of Vice President and began our monthly Pub Night / Lecture Series held at the Flying Officer’s Mess at the Spitfire Pub. Open to members and guests of the HCAC, this series has featured informative sessions with artists and members of the creative community including Twila Robar-DeCoste, Evan Maxwell, Ron Hayes, Carol Morrison, artisan Pamela Kinsman of Signature Glass, and Laurie Daulton, manager of the Acadia University Art Gallery. Andrew is currently putting together the roster for the autumn of 2012 (winter and spring are booked!), so if you have a story or technique to share, or if you would know of anyone who would be a good speaker, then please feel free to contact him.

Windsor’s art community thrived in 2011 combining craft and charity through various local events. The Hants Community Hospital Auxiliary Society (HCHAS) hosted their 5th annual gala at the Cocoa Pesto featuring many of our HCAC members. Once again it was a huge success promoting art while raising funds for the Hospital!

Last September HCAC member and owner of Phoenix Hollow, Kelly Mitchelmore, hosted the 3rd annual Paint Windsor. Featuring local visual and performing artists, Paint Windsor has evolved into a celebration of trade and community, involving everyone from iron welders and painters to musicians and cake decorators all creating works on site throughout Windsor! This years 4th Annual Paint Windsor promises to be even better – held once again at Phoenix Hollow on September 9th 2012. 

This past year we found that we had outgrown the canoe club as a venue for the Festival of Art, so in October we held our 5th annual event at the newly renovated Vaughan Shand Centre. The event was a great success and we are already planning for the 6th annual event which will coincide with this year’s Pumpkin Festival, October 12th -14th 2012.

In the meanwhile we have also had the great fortune of being invited to host a group show at The Bread Gallery in Brooklyn this March. Any members interested in participating please contact Tacha at tacha.reed@gmail.com before February 15th for more information and to book a space.

Over the next year we plan to continue growing the council, collaborating with local groups and providing even more art-related events, workshops, information and opportunities to you, our members. To that help achieve that goal, we would like to add 5 to 7 new members to the board of directors this year. We are looking for a variety of skill-sets, so that we can expand what we do as a society. Opportunities include: art director, director of marketing, public relations, fund developer, web designer, sales and workshop coordinator. We are looking for team players who are willing to devote an hour or so a week to growing the HCAC so that we can better serve our membership.

On January 19th the second edition of our Arts Digest was delivered to 17 000 homes in Hants County. Before we can distribute the remaining 2000 copies to local business, galleries, boutiques, tourist bureaus and the airport the digests must be folded and packaged.

On February 18th Liz Robinson will be hosting a get together at her home in Garlands Crossing so that we can meet as a group and package the digests while also brainstorming on where we would like to take the HCAC over the next few years. Members are encouraged to bring a list of ideas along with a snack to share while we sit down and plan for our future. The gathering commences at 1pm at 150 Underwood Road, all members and potential members are welcome!

2012 really does present a world of opportunities for the HCAC and we hope that you will all join us on this wonderful ride as we grow!

Over the last few years the HCAC has taken that first giant leap into the 21st century by joining the world of Social Networking and beginning our blog to promote our artists and the events that we host. Our blog has become the home for our seasonal newsletters and we would love to see our members contributing content. Whether that is coverage of local events, promotion for upcoming shows, art reviews – anything art-related is welcome! You can also keep up to date by following us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hantscountyartscouncil or on Twitter @hantscountyarts

Don't forget that our website also has room to display YOUR events. All you need to do is let us know the details and we'll be happy to do what we can to help publicize your arts-related events.