Get ready to crawl. This year’s Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, Oct. 21 to 23, features 130 artist venues on display from Langdale to Earl’s Cove. As a visitor, your goal is to get on the road with map guide in hand and see artists at work in their own environments – they will be happy to show or sell you their creations.
Chief among the active committee who organizes the annual event is veteran crawler Linda Williams. This year she’s delighted that artists are finding creative ways to join together when they may not have a suitable space or location of their own to offer. An example is the Open Your Arts group (#11 on the Art Crawl map) who were participants on an art and yoga retreat in Spain and will be showing their work together in Grantham’s Landing. Four fibre artists (#32, #33) will collaborate with a touring artist, using the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons as a venue. Persephone Brewing in Gibsons will host artists from the Landing Gallery.
For the second year, Powell River artists will load up their art and travel south to join other studios. Malaspina Artists, Powell River Art Ambassadors (MAPR), represent the vibrant artistic community of Powell River. The group will be presenting paintings, original hand-pulled prints, sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewelry, fine art prints, natural body products, natural clothing and textile arts. Their venue (#66) is at Roberts Creek Hall and the adjacent Masonic Hall.
Often galleries will put on a special presentation of local artists: Studio 103 in Madeira Park (#121), for example, or the tems swiya museum (#90) in Sechelt.
This is also a good time to visit solo artists in their studios – some will have demos or events during the weekend. Good Wood Studio (#53) in Roberts Creek features an art walk, for example, while the potters at Creek Clayworks (#68) will demonstrate their techniques.
Each year some artists drop out mostly because they want to travel on the Crawl themselves, but they usually return to host in the following years. This year there are 41 new venues. Among the latest additions is artist Kathryn Mussells of KM Jewellery in Sechelt who also offers hand knit shawls (#109). Ashley Odd (#81) at Roadhouse Kustom Metals & Design will interest you with his sculptures. And speaking of sculptures, don’t miss Jack Gibson’s fine art creations in his garden (#126).
The Coast Cultural Alliance (CCA) is the hard-working group behind the Art Crawl. It’s a non-profit society, a network of arts, cultural and heritage groups and individuals, and its goal is to boost the economic vitality of the Sunshine Coast through arts and culture. That means attracting tourists to the Art Crawl during the slower season of October.
“The off-Coast market is growing,” said Williams, “and our marketing and partnering with Sunshine Coast Tourism is making a difference.” The Vancouver Sun and the Georgia Straight have both run articles about the Coast recently.
Before you go, pick up your Art Crawl guide at many coffee shops and libraries or see it at www.sunshinecoastartcrawl.com
