News

Photo above, Usha Kumar’s Fascination will be among the works available at this month’s virtual art show and sale hosted by the Beach Guild of Fine Art. Inset photo: Trish Cummings’ Dusk at the Lake.

By KAI GAMMAGE

The Beach Guild of Fine Art (BGFA) is hosting a virtual art show and sale from Nov. 5 to 28 as a way to highlight the incredible talent the community has to offer and for residents to find a way to enhance their homes with engaging and unique artworks.

For 27 years, the BGFA has supported local artists and given them a place to showcase their work. The Guild has been hosting art shows since 1994 in spaces such as the Gardener’s Cottage on Lee Avenue and the Beach United Church on Wineva Avenue.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the BGFA switched to a virtual format to display its artists’ work last year.

This month’s show and sale is the fourth iteration of the Guild’s online art event. The works that will be exhibited range from acrylic to oil and watercolour paintings, to wooden boxes that are perfect for gifts as they have an original painting on the lid.

“One of our mandates is to promote art within the Beach. We have a range of artists from realism to abstract, and different mediums from watercolour to acrylic, oil, and even sculpture.” said Shelley Cinnamon, a member of the Guild and a past president.

“There are a tremendous number of artists in the Beach community, and I know that the community down here loves art. Fostering the arts is important to us.”

The BGFA made the switch to a virtual format over the course of the pandemic, and will continue to run the shows this way until restrictions across the province ease further. Though much is lost with the switch to a virtual platform, finding ways to adapt to a changing world is something that makes art as special as it is.

“You have none of the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ or even the ‘oh don’t like that one, wouldn’t put that in my house’ You don’t get the immediate responses in an online show that you would get in-person,” said Shelley.

“When you’re working the show, you get input from others. Sometimes it’s just a little kid running up and saying ‘look look!’, or sometimes it’s more serious talk by possibly other artists. It’s the outside voices that give you that validation.”

Silver linings, though, can be found throughout this virtual experience as a whole.

For some artists, it gave them time to hone their craft, to stay home and put more energy into their art. According to Shelley, for a few members of the Guild, they looked towards art as their salvation of sorts in helping them overcome the darker days of the pandemic.

There’s also a bright side for people looking to buy art at the show. Though you won’t have that desired in-person connection with a piece and the artist, buying art has never been easier.

“Shopping is easy. If your kids are asleep and you want to look at art, you can go check it out from the comfort of your living room.” said Shelley. “You could look at a painting, and look at the space on your wall right in front of you, and say ‘that would look great right there!’”

To view the BGFA’s winter art show and sale, please visit the website at https://www.beachartguildshowandsale.ca