The co-conspirators who will bring you Random Acts of Art this Saturday are both creative individuals.

Wendy Crumpler of the Arts Building Society was one of the sparks behind the Salmon Festival, and she brought the first Pecha Kucha evening to the Coast. Coralie Swaney of the Landing Gallery, an artists’ co-op, is a painter with a flair for humour, judging by some of the comical, modelled character dolls she has created.

Both are having a great time designing a community-oriented art event.

On Sept. 8, artists and craft people of all abilities, ages and mediums are invited to pick up an entry package at the Landing Gallery in Gibsons (436 Marine Dr.). It’s free. Included will be an 8 by 10 piece of matte board, an instruction sheet and a sealed envelope containing a randomly chosen phrase. Don’t open your envelope right away. On the day of your own choosing, you may open it to find your inspiring phrase, and you then have 24 hours to create a work of art on your matte board. The phrases are general, designed to turn your creative crank.

“She could never understand it,” is one of them. “Why not?” he wondered. Yours could be anything. You could make a literal representation of the phrase or make something your subconscious turns up after reading it. And if you are a potter, jewelry artisan or a fabric artist, don’t think you’re out of the mix. Incorporate your medium in some way into the size requirement. Do your finest and turn in your completed random artwork to the gallery by Oct. 4.

“No cheating now,” said Crumpler. “Or if you do cheat or decide to put it off until the last day, we want to know about it.”

“I can’t wait to see what people will do,” Swaney said.

The results will hang in the Arts Building and the Landing Gallery in a joint effort to display work during October’s Art Crawl.

Organizers plan an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 18, to give everyone the opportunity to view the show and to have first chance to purchase any work for $25 each. Funds raised by sales go to the Arts Building and the Sunshine Coast Artists’ Co-op.  

The co-op at the Landing Gallery has had to evolve, explained Swaney, and has learned to embrace other ideas. Their original ideals included lots of projects that the Arts Building is doing right now. The connection over an arts event is good for both.

The organizers hope that many known artists will jump in with this fun project.

“It can be liberating,” Crumpler said. “You don’t have to create the kind of work you usually do.”

For more information, contact wendy@wendycrumpler.com or phone 604-886-2214.