The Westlock Community Art Club will showcase visual arts in the community in celebration of a provincial effort to recognize arts and culture.
On Friday Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1 the club will host its annual show and sale and craft session at the Rotary Spirit Centre to coincide with Alberta Culture Days.
Club secretary Peggy Nadeau said they’ve celebrated the occasion annually for some time and from their perspective it’s part showcasing the organization and part recognizing the role of visual arts in the community.
“It’s good to educate people that are coming up about whet we’re doing here and basically be available for people to see what art is,” Nadeau said.
Local artists will have selections of their work on display, while others will have pieces up for sale.
The art, Nadeau said, ranges from paintings to sculptures and even woodcarvings.
“We’re going to have a display of eclectic art. It doesn’t have to be painting … whatever people do at any time in their career, if they want to bring things for show or sale, we’ll have a little show,” she said.
A silent auction will also help raise funds for the club’s scholarship fund that it presents annually to aspiring artists pursuing post-secondary education.
Beyond the show and sale, Nadeau said there’ll be activities for youngsters to try their hands at creating art.
“We’re going to have some hands-on opportunities for people. Children of all ages, really, can come in and do some art,” she said.
As for what kind of activities they’ll have planned, Nadeau said she’s not sure just yet, but explained it will be something to get let the young ones explore their creative side.
“We had some plans for some bigger things, but we didn’t get any funding when we applied for a grant,” she said.
“We’re going to try our best to have some availability, whether acrylic or scratch.”
The ultimate goal of the celebration is to showcase the importance of visual arts in the community.
“If you look back through civilization art has been a part of each and every culture that you can think of,” she said.
“It’s an expression of the things that we do.”
Culture Days activities run from noon until 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat. Oct. 1 at the Art Gallery on the second floor of the Spirit Centre.
