Call to artists: 4th Annual HCAC Group Showcase at the Bread Gallery

With winter only just begun the arts council is back to work planning for our first event of 2015, our annual end of winter group show at the beautiful Bread Gallery in Brooklyn! 

 

Now in it's fourth year this group showcase has become so popular among members that we have decided to make it our first ever juried event. For this show we are looking to represent as many different mediums as possible, showing off the best of our best from 2014! 

 

A look back at our 2014 showcase including work by Will Cooper, Carlos DaRosa, Brian Fraser and Sandra Aucoin.

 

 

In an effort to avoid overcrowding the space we have limited the number of spots available, by doing so we hope not to discourage anyone from  participating, but rather we encourage all of our artists to submit the works you are most proud of for consideration.

 

 

* The cost is $20 per member to participate. This fee goes towards advertising costs, which includes an ad in the Hants Journal, an ad in The Grapevine (distributed throughout the Annapolis Valley) and posters distributed throughout Windsor and nearby communities. Additional handbills will be provided by the Bread Gallery.  New members are welcome to participate; there is no additional fee to apply for the showcase.

 

* Each artists is asked to submit a high resolution photograph for each of the proposed works that they would like to display. If selected these images will be used for advertising purposes.

 

* Consideration will be given to new works that have not yet already been displayed. Please read over consignment contract for all conditions.

 

 

 

Dates and Times:

 

Artwork may be dropped off at the Bread Gallery the weekend of January 31st and February 1st during business hours; Saturday 8am - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 4pm.

 

Take-down will be the afternoon of March 29th between 3pm & 4pm. Please contact us if you need to make alternate arrangements for drop off or pick-up.

  

An opening reception will be hosted by the Bread Gallery on Saturday February 7th from 2-5pm.

 

To apply please email images to tacha.reed@gmail.com before January 18th.

 

Selected artists will be notified of accepted works by email on January 20th.

Celebrate Culture Days at the Harvest Festival of Art!

 

Now in it’s 8th year the Harvest Festival of Art is the Hants County Arts Council’s biggest show of the year!

Once again we are taking over 69 Cedar Centre to celebrate Culture Days with a pop-up gallery show and live demonstrations.

Join us at 7pm on Friday September 26th for an opening reception and the presentation of this year’s Hall of Fame Award. 

The showcase continues Saturday the 27th from 10am - 5pm and Sunday the 28th, 10am until 3pm and members of the Needles and Hooks fibre group will be on-site working throughout the weekend on their rug hooking of the "Old Stone House".

Built in 1699, this Acadian house located in Poplar Grove is the oldest in Canada, east of Montreal, and once served as a mission.

 

Right now this historic gem, currently owned by photographer Sherman Hines, is listed for sale, and could be yours for 2.195 million dollars!

Needles and Hooks plan to have the rug completed for the next Great Little Art Show scheduled for May 8th - 10th, 2015, and together we will be auctioning the piece off as a fundraiser for the Arts Council and the Museum. For updates on the progress of their rug and all of our many activities, be sure to follow the Hants County Arts Council on facebook!

 

This weekend, while on your Culture Days tour, be sure to stop into 69 Cedar Centre for a chance to see what our members have been up to this past year!

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Call to Artists: Artisans in Action, Aug 3rd

The Hants County Arts Council is still accepting Pottery, Ceramic and Metal Artists for our Fibre/Textiles/Pottery/Metal Artisan in Action event taking place August 3rd, from noon until 4pm at the Avon River Heritage Society Museum in Newport Landing.


This live demonstration and sale is a part of Avon River Days and we expect it to be well attended.

To register please email arts@avonriver.ca before July 14th at 5pm.

Making ourselves right at home...

Now that we are into June, I wanted to give you a quick update on our recent activities. In May we were happy to begin our community collaboration with the Avon River Heritage Society to produce their 16th annual Great Little Art Show. Brandt Eisner of Swoon Fine Art and Antiques joined us as our guest speaker, opening the show with a few encouraging words about creating art not to suit a perceived audience but because it is meaningful to ourselves, the creator. The show proved to be a successful fund-raiser for the museum, raising over $1100.

 

In May we officially took over the front room upstairs in the museum in Newport Landing, which now serves as a drop-in studio space for our members and guests. Thanks to donations from our members, including a great deal of reference books from Dr Avery Vaughan, we have the beginnings of a cozy resource centre/communal studio space.

Every Wednesday we now host a fibre circle for those who felt, knit, hook, spin or weave, and every Thursday we host a painting circle. Stop in between 2 and 5 to take part, these circles are open to the public and there is no charge to participate! This space is also available to rent out at a low cost for our members looking to host workshops and lectures. Please contact us if you have an idea for a course or talk that you would like to lead.

We are continually looking for more donations of supplies and reference material for our drop-in space, so if you are looking to destash, then we will be more than happy to take those art supplies off your hands!

 On the first of June the museum officially opened for the season and we kicked off our first event in our Artisans in Action series, which was devoted to Wood and Leather. We were very happy with the attendance and we are looking forward to our next event in the series on July 6th, devoted to Metal and Glass. We are still accepting artists for this and all other upcoming Artisans in Action events. If you or anyone you know is interested in participating please contact us at HCACinfo@gmail.com or arts@avonriver.ca to register.



Ellen Murphy of Mule Mother Books









Tim Connolly of Back Home Woodcarving

Every second and fourth Saturday wood carver and heritage gardener Alfred Carter has been joining us on location as our Artist in Residence, cultivating a M'ikmaq, Acadian and New England Planter inspired garden. Now that the soil has been prepared he will begin transplanting local edible and medicinal plants this Saturday between noon and 4pm, and he will be back again next weekend for the Full Circle Music Festival, June 20th -22nd, to help promote his project.

Alfred Carter carving his marker for one
of the edible plants in the new garden

In addition to our studio space we have also taken over the majority of the main room upstairs at the museum, which is now known as the HCAC's Artist's Landing Gallery. We currently have artwork on display by a handful of our members, but we are still looking to add more work. Art is sold on a consignment basis with a small portion of the sales going back to the museum. If you are interested in showing your work please contact us at HCACinfo@gmail.com.

Artist's Landing Gallery

If anyone was wondering "just how do I get to the Avon River Heritage Society Museum?" well then visit their website www.avonriver.ca and enter your address on their "Find Us" page, Google will do the rest! There is so much to see along the shoreline of the Avon River, I guarantee it will be worth the drive. When you get near the Avondale Peninsula keep an eye out for one of ours or the museum's many signs... just follow the arrows, you're almost there!



Save the Date! Artisans in Action Wood and Leather!

Save the date! Next Saturday the Avon River Heritage Society Museum and Artist's Landing officially open for the season and we are celebrating by hosting our first Artisans in Action event of the year!

Taking place the first Sunday of the month until October, June 1st kicks off the season with a demonstration and sale featuring Ellen Murphy of Mule Mother Books and our Artist in Residence for the summer, Alfred Carter! See you next weekend!

Call to Artists! Heritage Artisans in Action!

 

Heritage Artisans in Action provides an opportunity for Nova Scotian artists and artisans whose focus is on historical trades, crafts, and art forms done in both traditional and contemporary manners.

Participants will have a chance to present informative and engaging demonstrations, displaying their skills and a selection of their products for sale.

Heritage Artisans in Action takes place the first Sunday of the month, June – October, Noon until 4 p.m.

June 1st, Wood and Leather

July 6th,  Metal and Glass

August 3rd,  Fibre and Pottery

September 7th,  Paint Avondale (a collaboration with Paint Windsor and Paint Hantsport)

October 5th,  Traditional Mi’kmaq, Acadian and Planter Crafts & Techniques

These events have a limit of 5 artists per medium and we will be accepting applicants on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in participating, or know of any other artists or artisans who may be, please contact us at least 3-4 weeks prior to the event to book your spot.

There is a $30 entry fee to participate, snacks and refreshments will be provided to participants by the Lydia and Sally Cafe.

Last year's revival of the popular event proved to be a valuable networking experience for the participating artists and we hope to continue to grow the series into an annual tradition. This year's series is partially funded through the department of Communities, Culture and Heritage through Support4Culture and is being heavily promoted locally. In the weeks and days leading up to the event we will profile each artist individually as well as providing live coverage the day of via social media.

Please see our facebook page for a look back at the 2013 season. www.facebook.com/pages/Avon-River-Heritage-Society-Museum/127599430612690


In addition, this year we will also be recording interviews with interested artist. These "mini documentaries" will be added to an online "Heritage Artisans in Acton" archive on both the www.avonriver.ca site and www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca, and each listing will link back to the artist own person page/site. This will provide each artists with a marketing tool that lives on after the initial event.


We are currently still accepting artists for all themed events, contact us ASAP at arts@avonriver.ca. to book your spot!