A four-day cultural extravaganza, Night of Artists is a gilt-edged chance for creative people to showcase their talent to a wide audience.
Six artists from the Barrhead and Westlock areas will be doing just that when they take part in the March 14-17 festival at the Enjoy Centre in St. Albert.
Laura Cox, Tammy Taylor, Marilynn Jeffery, Linda Corbett, Megan Pederson and Maureen Flinn are among about 30 artists exhibiting in an event that will also feature live painting demonstrations, concerts, fashion and photography.
“It’s a great chance for exposure,” said Rich Valley’s Taylor, a five-year veteran of Nights of Artists.
She said the occasion promised plenty of entertainment for the public.
“It’s really no different from a dinner theatre,” she said. “It’s a feast for all the senses.
“One of the great things about it is that artists always donate for charity. In the past, for instance, we’ve raised funds for the kidney foundation.”
This year money will go towards Lois Hole Hospital for Women, which is in the Robbins Pavilion at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.
Cox, a Barrhead Art Club member with family ties to Dapp, said the festival provided a big market for local artists to sell their work.
“There is only so much a local area will buy,” she said. “You want to expand and this is a good opportunity to do so.”
She added that a gathering of so many artistic minds would also be inspirational.
“You get more ideas and more information by attending such an event,” she said. “Artists are very forward about what’s going on in their community.”
Pederson, a young mother, said she was keen to meet other artists who are balancing painting with the demands of raising children.
“I am looking forward to meeting new people in the industry,” she said.
Flinn, a member of Barrhead and Westlock art clubs, said she would be exhibiting paintings and fabric sculptures.
She appealed for as many people as possible to attend.
“The more the merrier,” she said. “We are going to have lots of fun.”
The creative force behind Night of Artists is St. Albert painter Phil Alain.
The first festival took place at St. Albert Community Hall in 1997, featuring Alain’s paintings, a friend playing piano and his sister singing. It attracted about 150 people.
So successful did it prove, the event outgrew its home city and moved elsewhere. With the opening of the Enjoy Centre, however, St. Albert had a big enough venue for a celebration of arts throughout the province and beyond.
Called “Straight from The Art”, this year’s event will see about 300 artworks on display and a silent auction of 30 original paintings.
Bids have already opened on paintings and will close at the gala opening on Thursday, March 14.
The artists will be displaying their work in 10 ft. by 6 ft. booths. Viewers can expect plenty of variety from the six local exhibitors – from Taylor’s rural farm and livestock paintings to Pederson’s 3D creations, from Corbett’s relief carvings to Jeffery’s Paverpol figurines.
Barrhead Art Club member Corbett, who likes to paint “a bit of everything” and specializes in oils, said she was thrilled at the prospect of the festival.
“I am really excited to be going,” she said.
Fellow club member Jeffery, who runs Paverpol art workshops in Westlock with Flinn, shared her enthusiasm.
“This will be my third year there,” she said.
For Thursday night and Saturday night tickets or more information you can contact Laura Cox, 780-674-3245, [email protected]; Linda Corbett, 780-674-4500, [email protected]; Tammy Taylor, 780-967-3981, [email protected]; Marilynn Jeffery, 780-674-4525, www.marilynjefferyartstudio.com; or Maureen Flinn, 780-954-2548, [email protected].
Tickets cost $25 in advance or $30 at the door. People can bid for paintings online at www.nightofartists.com.
Saturday night tickets are also available at the Barrhead’s Wishing Well Home &Gift store.
