Over 20 artists from Athabasca County will be featured at the Athabasca Train Station-turned-art gallery during the Magnificent River Rats Festival June 30 and July 1.
“It provides another venue for people and it's an excellent opportunity to showcase some of the art being produced in the Athabasca community, ” organizer Sherry Richardson said. “They may not be people who would otherwise go to an art show, but it's there so they stroll in and then they're really amazed and really surprised at the work that they see. They start to appreciate art more than say, if they hadn't gone. ”
The art show is the third gathering in two years for the Athabasca Group of Artists, who work with a wide range of materials to produce paintings and drawings as well as charcoal, abstract and fibre art.
This year, the art show includes work from a cross-section of artists and age ranges, from an eight-year-old national winner of the Robert Bateman Get To Know contest for her painting of a ruffed grouse, to mural artist Maureen Harvey, and octogenarian Margo Kindt, who was one of the founding members of the club and received art training in Berlin before immigrating to Canada and teaching art for decades.
“She was the main instructor at the Athabasca Art Club many years ago, ” Richardson recalled. “She taught me art as a child. She's an elderly woman and she's still actively painting. ”
Visitors are welcome to stop in and chat with some of the artists at the gallery, or pick up some artwork on sale.
“The artists are really excited about it because it's an opportunity for us to get together, ” Richardson added. “Generally, people work on their own, on their own time, solo in their own studios, so we don't get together enough. We really like that part of that and seeing each other's works, discussing art and techniques, and our approach to what we're doing. ”
Admission is free, but Richardson said that the nominal fee charged for artists to enter the show will go towards the Athabasca Heritage Society and the restoration of the train station.
The art show is open June 30 from 5-8 p.m. and July 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
