Omineca Arts Centre reopens at new location

Omineca Arts Centre closed, but reopened a heartbeat later and never missed a beat of downtown rhythm.

The OAC got started at the corner of Third Avenue and George Street in 2016 when Emily Carr University launched an arts outreach program called the The Neighbourhood Time Exchange in partnership with Downtown Prince George. When that initiative came to a close, the local artists who had been attracted to the space and its energy kept it alive on their own under the OAC banner.

For a number of reasons, the space was not suitable to the dreams and realities of the OAC society members. They found a new home and the doors are now open at Third Avenue and Victoria Street only four blocks from their starting point.

The organizers opened the new room softly at 369 Victoria St. with some introductory concerts, some visual art displays, a housewarming party of sorts, and then the big agricultural block party last week, Farm Fest.

The secret is out. The doors are open and so is a new chapter for the indie arts room where the public can have almost any kind of creative fun it wants.

“We are thrilled with this place,” said Jennifer Pighin, a local artist and one of the OAC organizers. “It’s bigger, brighter, better. It really infused new life into what we do.”

What they do most is provide a home for the community to make arts of all kinds. Pighin called it “a safe place for creativity to flourish” which is an homage to its name. The word Omineca is a term used for the whole region north and west and including Prince George, much like the word Cariboo applies regionally to the city’s south.

Omineca is a Dakelh word meaning “river with water turning slowly” which loosely means, in the OAC sense, a placid place in the rush of life.

The hours of operation are still being established, since the operation is entirely volunteer-run. When you step inside, the first thing the eye finds is the collection of art on the walls, starting at the street-facing display window.

“The theme is farming and agriculture,” said Pighin.

“It was a part of the Farm Fest activities. We have nine artists displaying more than 25 pieces of art.”

They include Betty Kovacic, Annerose Georgeson, Pat Gauthier, James Spankie, Joanna Smythe, Keli Watson, Jovanka Djordjevich, Andrea Fredeen and Karma Vance.

The room includes a simple coffee kitchen, has capacity for 150, and has already been used in partnership with the Community Arts Council. It is available for rental for meetings, lectures, private functions, plus the concerts and art exhibitions that occur on a regular basis.

The next confirmed event is an open drum circle on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. led by the Khast’an Drummers and open to all who want to attend.