A weekend-long deluge did little to dampen the success of the annual Art Crawl, a self-guided art tour that featured 189 venues from Gambier Island to Egmont from Oct. 18 to 20. The event is organized by the non-profit Coast Cultural Alliance, and attracts thousands of patrons to meet local artists, witness demonstrations and purchase works over a three-day period.
“We were expecting the Art Crawl to be a bust,” said ceramicist Patricia Forst of Forst Pottery in Gibsons, “but people came out in droves. Maybe the weather actually encouraged people to visit the artists’ studios. It was very successful. I love to see all the happy faces.”
Forst was joined by two members of her pottery club as fellow exhibitors, Allyson Muir and Joanne Schick. Their collaboration was one of a growing number of instances of multiple artists exhibiting at a common locale. In Roberts Creek, community library volunteers Elaine Seepish and Diedra Goodwin seized the opportunity to array their paintings among the stacks.
At High Beam Dreams in Gibsons, five exhibitors set up on Thursday in preparation for the three-day extravaganza. “As a first-time participant, it’s a valuable opportunity to connect with other artists,” said Susan Greig, who also owns a gallery in New Westminster. During a Saturday painting demonstration by Greig, visitors to High Beam Dreams were serenaded by an impromptu jazz performance by 11-year-old Henry Liu.
One metre away from the site’s grand piano, paper collage and a vibrant garment (titled Slip) by Barbara Roden reminded visitors of the kaleidoscopic diversity on display across the Coast. The 2024 Crawl included multimedia designers, textile artists, and woodworkers as well as dozens of painters, sculptors and photographers.
Matt Boismier, an art director and visual artist for film and television, welcomed a group of Elphinstone Secondary students intrigued by the animation industry to his “Tooninator” venue. Two first-time exhibitors were surprised by a visit from their former Chatelech high school art teacher — painter Kevin McEvoy, who himself hosted a venue at his Sechelt home.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Linda Williams, executive director of the Coast Cultural Alliance, “standing on the shoulders of giants. And soon they are going to be the mentors of people that come after them.”
Williams was one of many patrons who ferried to Art Crawl venues on Gambier Island. Arrivals were met at the shoreline and guided to the studio of erstwhile Emily Carr University instructor George Rammell, then driven to the island’s community centre where Gambier Art Hive members showcased their work.
“As an artist, it’s always special to see familiar faces returning year after year to reconnect and check in on what I’ve been working on,” said Alliance chair Marlene Lowden, who opened her Langdale studio to visitors. “This year was particularly meaningful with so many venues collaborating to showcase multiple artists, creating a fun and vibrant experience for both participants and the community.”
“It’s such a supportive scene,” added Denise Allen, who showed her work alongside Allie Bartlett and Teresa Selbee-Baker at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre.
The event launched with more than two dozen receptions and parties at designated venues on Friday evening, including a fast-paced Art Battle at the Kube gallery in Upper Gibsons (animator Zac Harding took first prize). Dixie Honey of the Ambassadress Fashion House hosted a fall fashion show highlighting six designers on Saturday night. Painter Charly Mithrush experienced a short power outage during Friday’s atmospheric river, “but the wine kept flowing and we kept it going with a generator,” she observed in a social media post.
Each venue paid a newly-increased fee of $200 to participate, which Williams said has been a factor in fostering cooperation between artists. “But for the amount of marketing and support and all of that they get,” Williams said, “they tell me, ‘Linda, that’s nothing.’”
Longtime participants in the 15th-anniversary Crawl used the event to reconnect with patrons and neighbours. “I was truly touched by how many people came not just to see my art, but to show their support,” said Garden Bay painter Motoko. “I had to close my gallery for the past six months to care for my elderly parents in Japan, and many visitors were aware of my situation. Their support and kind words, letting me know they would wait for my return no matter how long it takes, moved me deeply.”
Art Crawl visitor tallies and sales tallies are being compiled this week by organizers and will be published in the Coast Reporter once released by the Coast Cultural Alliance.
