Artists get rooted for Niagara Parks show
Earlier this year, Niagara artists were asked one simple question: What does the Niagara Parks mean to you?
Their answers form Rooted in the Garden, a three-day juried art show running Friday to Sunday at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture.
Organized by the Parkway Artists Guild, the event is part of the Canada 150 celebrations undertaken by Niagara Parks this year. The programming, all with the theme of ‘rooted,’ is backed by $563,000 from the province’s Ontario150 Funding Program.
The free show consists of 42 pieces selected by artist and former Niagara Parks assistant general manager Debbie Whitehouse, showing aspects of the parks which have personal meaning to the artists.
And no, they aren’t all just paintings of the falls, says Parkway Artists Guild president Yim- lei Molly Yep.
“Believe it or not, we didn’t have that many submissions of the falls,” she says. “We had more submissions of even the animals in the gorge. For this group of Niagara artists, it’s not the falls that are the main attraction. That was quite a surprise.
“The Niagara Parks has a different meaning for everybody. For me, it wasn’t even flowers or landscaping or anything. It was more the history that appealed to me.”
Whitehouse is the sole juror of the show and will select best in show, with a $250 award, at the opening night reception.
“She was the best person to be a juror,” says Yep.
Opening night runs 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Extracurricular events during the show include a free demonstration by floral artists Rebecca Montemurro and Karen Logan Saturday at the butterfly atrium, and 30-minute art lessons by Parkway Artists Guild members Catherine Brassard, Audrey Barclay, Kathy Thomas, Tony Smith and Anne Reimer.
For more information visit www.parkwayartistsguild.ca.