Art taking over city
Annual Art in the Open Festival on this weekend in Charlottetown
Art in the Open returns for its sixth year with an array of free, all ages events and contemporary art works by locally and nationally renowned artists. During the main event, Saturday from 4 p.m. until midnight, historic downtown Charlottetown will become an open-air gallery presenting ephemeral works of public art.
In total, there are about 40 artworks, installations and performances for people to discover and interact with. Originally formed out of a partnership among the City of Charlottetown, this town is small, inc., and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, a new partnership has been forged with the Fédération culturelle de l’ÎPÉ this year.
“Art in the Open is a barrierfree community driven event, so it made sense for us to partner with the festival,” explains Fédération culturelle executive director Ghislaine Cormier. “We are very happy to provide high-end bilingual programming which further opens the festival up to a larger, more inclusive audience.”
Co-curator and festival organizer, Becka Viau, says, “To truly Art in the Open, one must be open to making unexpected memories. You don’t need a set plan, but there will be some scheduled performances that should not be missed, like the Mi’Kmaq Heritage Players at 4 p.m. on Victoria Row and Tanya Davis in Victoria Park, who will perform her piece ‘Communion’ on the hour from 7 to 10 p.m. But overall, my advice for festivalgoers is to plan for a journey of the imagination, that can take a few hours, and have fun.”
Quebec based artist José Luis Torres will be mounting a large scale installation along the outside of the Confederation Centre of the Arts; John Boehme, a performance artist from Van- couver will be staging shows in Connaught Square and Victoria Park; and Amanda Dawn Christie, a mixed media artist, will be projecting an original film, “Where Ocean Meets Air” in Memorial Hall.
Josh Zapf will be screening an original film with his family, Russell Louder and Camila Salcedo will be engaging audiences in a two-person cow costume, and Alexis Bulman and Norma Jean MacLean will be installing separate projects in the harbour off Victoria Park.
Festivalgoers can expect to see the return of March of the Crows, an annual parade where hundreds dress up in handmade crow costumes. Long-time festival volunteer, Erin Bateman, said, “Parading through town on the night of Art in the Open, with hundreds of joyful crows, is an amazing tradition.”
Scott Saunders’ “Field of Fire” will also return to Victoria Park.
“This is a great exhibit that creates a magical atmosphere,” said festival project manager Beth Lassaline. “Victoria Park really comes alive around dusk. The 21 fires that make up Scott Saunders’ exhibit will be lit while the crows are making their way down to Victoria Park. As the parade winds down, the Lone Cry singers will be playing their traditional aboriginal drum.”