Exhibiting Eptek
Arts and culture centre in Summerside marking 40 years of success on Sunday
They’ve brought dinosaurs, Sable Island, and meteorological events to Summerside, and now the Eptek Art and Culture Centre is bringing a gala to mark 40 years of success. “We’re celebrating that milestone this weekend,” said Nikkie Gallant, site director of the small museum and art and craft gallery on Summerside’s waterfront.
Founded in 1978, the centre was originally called Eptek National Exhibition Centre. It was one of 23 across the country created by the federal government for communities that wouldn’t necessarily have access to a larger museum.
“In order to fill our mandate, we had to host a wide range of travelling exhibits,” explained Lynn Turtle, a curatorial assistant at Eptek.
Turtle began working at Eptek in the 1980s and left a couple decades later.
“I remember we used to do a lot of programming with the schools. We’d find out what their curriculum was at any given time and then we’d try to arrange an exhibit that had to do with the subject.”
The Friends of Eptek initiative also played a large role in the centre’s successes over the years.
“They’ve been vital in keeping some of the projects alive.” Turtle says some of the most popular exhibits included a weather display that featured meteorologist equipment from CFB Summerside, another on Sable Island, and a third on dinosaurs.
“That was really popular. It was very cool. I believe we got some of the pieces from the Museum of Natural History. Even years after the exhibit left, we had people come in and say they remembered it,” she reflected.
In the 1990s, programming was changed and the centre became known as it today. Gallant says there was a need for the centre when it was created and there continues to be one now. “We support the community and they support us. We focus on visual, craft, history and sometimes science exhibits. Certainly, at the time of its inception there weren’t many places up and coming or veteran artists could have their art exhibited.”
Presently Eptek is part of the A group of people participate in a demo days exhibition at Eptek Art and Culture Centre.
P.E.I. museum system but is the only location that focuses on temporary exhibits.
“We have one permanent exhibit, which is like a history overview of Summerside and how it came to be. Then in the summer months we usually have one exhibit in the main gallery. But during the winter months we change out the pieces every six weeks or so. One initiative was the centre’s comic book exhibit that was featured over the summer.
“That definitely drew in people we might not normally see come through the doors. I’d love to see younger artists have the chance to get more involved with Eptek and