Fleming College School of Art And Design Hosting Online Art Auction

Fleming College’s Haliburton School of Art + Design is inviting the public to take part in the Haliburton School of Art + Design Faculty Art Auction in support of art student bursaries.

Photo courtesy of Fleming College.

After having to cancel the signature fundraising event for the past two consecutive summers due to COVID-19, the annual Auction is back in an online format for the first time ever.

The auction will take place here until August 9 at 8 p.m.

All items have been donated by faculty who teach in Fleming’s Haliburton summer school and full-time programs. Works have been donated by many artists, including Helen McCusker, Rose Pearson, Rob Stimpson, Susan Watson-Ellis, and Todd Jeffrey Ellis.

Items will be added weekly as they become available.

The College will also host an in-person gathering at the Haliburton Campus on Aug. 11 from 5 – 7 p.m. which will include a cocktail reception, special silent auction, and art exhibition led by the instructors and creators at the Haliburton School of Art + Design.

This evening is an opportunity for college staff and students to re-connect with the Haliburton community. Winning bidders from the online auction can pick up items in-person at this event or arrange for pick up/shipping on another date by contacting Scott Walling at scott.walling@flemingcollege.ca or 1-866-353-6464 x 6721.

Proceeds from this event support Haliburton art student bursaries and innovative initiatives at the Haliburton Campus. Donations in support of this project can be made during the auction or online, and a charitable tax receipt will be issued for the full donation amount.

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Hometown PTBO: Kim Blackwell on the 30th Anniversary of 4th Line Theatre and Summer Lineup

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks with Kim Blackwell, managing artistic director for 4th Line Theatre about the company's 30th anniversary, the upcoming summer lineup and her journey through three decades with the company.

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Winners Of 2022 Bierk Art Fund Bursaries Announced

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has announced the winners of the 2022 Bierk Art Fund Bursaries as Austin Bowie and Ashleigh Gillen. Each student will receive a $1,000 bursary to pursue post-secondary studies in the Visual Arts or Architecture.

The Bierk Art Fund Bursary program was developed and administered by EC3 to support young artists in the community. Annually, they provide bursaries of $1,000 each to two graduating high school students in the City or County of Peterborough.

Austin Bowie is graduating from the Visual Arts Program at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, and will study visual arts at NSCAD (Nova Scotia School of Art and Design) in the fall.

“I want to pursue a career in the arts and continue studying arts because it is my passion and what makes me happy,” said Bowie. “I not only love creating art, but also enjoy being able to speak and teach others the things I have discovered, whether it be from my own practice or researching other artists / movements / techniques and more.”

Ashleigh Gillen is graduating from Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institution, in the Arts and Culture Special High Skills Major program, and will be studying at Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture in the fall.

“Art is my passion. I am excited to expand my knowledge of art, design and their practical applications. I want to combine art in multimedia with my other interests like science and social consciousness,” she said. “I am interested in the combination of styles, textures and media to communicate ideas through art.”

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Youth Art Mentorship Program Presents 'Being In The World' At The Art Gallery Of Peterborough

The Art Gallery of Peterborough invites the public to celebrate the opening of Being in the World, works from the Youth Art Mentorship Program on June 25 at 4 p.m.

SPENCER J. HARRISON IN HIS STUDIO. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ART GALLERY OF PETERBOROUGH.

This exhibition is the culmination of the Youth Art Mentorship Program (YAM), which began in Fall 2021 to provide a unique opportunity for youth artists to gain hands-on experience and insights supporting their future careers in the arts.

Selected by a jury of arts professionals, these young artists worked with mentor Spencer J. Harrison to produce an exhibition that speaks to the process of navigating being.

"Working with artists at this stage in their careers is fantastic; they are unencumbered by the art world around them and make honest work interpreting their worlds,” said Harrison. “These young artists each made very different artwork that really reveals how they see and understand their surroundings. I believe they will teach us and change the world."

YAM fostered three artists.

Sama Hojabri, a grade 12 art student enrolled in the Thomas A. Stewart Integrated Arts program for Visual Arts, was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up in a family with an artistic background.

She mainly uses pencil crayons and acrylic paint, but she has also experimented with pen and ink, collage, wood engraving, sculpture, ceramics, screen printing, oil painting, encaustic, digital, charcoal, photography, graphite, and watercolor.

Toula Pappas received her first set of pencil crayons when she was six years old, which led her to her first art class at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

She has won many poster contests and art competitions including the Top Art Student Award at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School in Grade 10, and she was selected to paint a mural for the school’s GSA club.

Enzo Stimpson has been invested in art from a very young age and in recent years has found passion in photography. He was brought up in an extremely artistic household and always felt drawn to the arts rather than sports or academics.

Stimpson began started making comics at a young age and quickly became fond of charcoals and other mediums but didn't find that any of them 'clicked' until taking a photography class with local artists Jason Wilkins and Daniel Crawford. Stimpson is a grade 12 student in the Integrated Arts Program at TASS for visual arts.

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Local Artist Brings Superheroes to Life For Saturday's Inaugural Capable Con

New superheroes came to life as the biggest art project for local artist Mariah Yee as she designed all the characters for the inaugural Capable Con this Saturday.

Each character took approximately 40 hours to produce including their backstory and concept. Her mother, Leslie Yee is a CPD vice-chair and has vision loss. Leslie travels around with her guide dog, Akira. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The free event is held by the Council for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. outside the VentureNorth building. A play-on word of the popular event Comic-Con, Capable Con is designed to create open, healthy dialogues about disabilities and accessibility.

Yee created seven characters, each with their own disability and superpower. Each character set took roughly 40 hours of work with all works completed over the span of seven months.

“It was a great opportunity for me to potentially do something with my artwork and do something impactful here in Peterborough,” said Yee, CPD communications coordinator.

CPD volunteers helped create the concept and ideas of the superheroes before Yee made the illustrations for them.

“Some of them were accepted pretty quickly and some of them had to go through some adjustments and that’s just a part of the design process,” said Yee, CPD communications coordinator.

Each superhero is being featured at the event. The following are the characters showcased for Capable Con:

• Scout and traveller, a hero with vision loss and his guide dog

• Amanda Auriel, a hero with hearing loss but can read body signals and lips to capture words spoken. She uses a skateboard with her name spelled out in sign language.

• Power Pals Jordan and Jamie who are on the autism spectrum. They possess the power of hyper-focus, unconventional outlooks, pattern recognition, great memory and recall.

• Bionica Bot, an amputee gymnast with interchangeable parts for her arm to suit the task at hand.

• An unnamed hero in a wheelchair.

CPD launched the inaugural Capable Con on April 26. Photo courtesy of CPD.

Traveller has vision loss with Scout as his guide dog. Traveller uses technology to make life easier such as cell phone with voice-activated messages and GPS. Photo courtesy of CPD.

Amanda Auriel has hearing loss but can read body signals and lips to capture words spoken. Photo courtesy of CPD.

Jordan and Jamie, the Power Pals on the autism spectrum. Photo courtesy of CPD.

Bionica Bot, a feisty amputee gymnast. Photo courtesy of CPD.

Yee began drawing at a young age and says art has always been her passion growing up. She keeps bits and pieces of her work as a reminder of doing what she loves.

Yee says she has a sense of pride knowing Peterborough will see her work on a local yet large platform and feels truly connected with the community.

“It still feels very surreal to even look at them and all of Peterborough is going to see those,” she explained. “I know the meaning behind them is worth so much more than words that I can put to them.”

Mariah moved to Peterborough in 2014. She grew up in Big Cedar and has lived in Haliburton and Newmarket. She graduated from Fleming College with a Visual and Creative Arts Diploma and a Certificate in Drawing and Painting.

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'Mourning to Morning: One Woman's healing Journey' Art Display And Sale At The Mount Community Centre

Marylou Green, a local artist, is presenting ‘Mourning to Morning: One Woman’s Healing Journey,’ an art show and sale at The Mount Community Centre from June 10-12.

Photo courtesy of Marylou Green.

In this show, Green shares her personal journey of healing through the powerful use of expressive arts.

Her story touches on abuse, medications, self injury, shock treatments, suicide attempts, and demonstrates tangible action to recovery.

Green says her vision is a world where people no longer face barriers to good mental health.

“Everyone has a story,” she said. “It is not easy to share our deepest pains, shames, and overwhelming experiences. I highly recommend finding someone with whom you feel safe, comfortable, and a good listener. I have been blessed to have had one such therapist. By telling my personal story and my journey of healing, I may give hope to people suffering from illness and may encourage them to begin their own healing journey. I also want to encourage the mental health professionals to look beyond the "labels" and see their patients as human beings in need of compassion, and non-judgment.”

Proceeds will support the on-going development of The Mount Community Centre. Purchases may be made by cash or cheque only.

The sale will run June 10 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. June 11 from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. and June 12 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. 

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Applications Open For Bierk Art Fund Bursary Program 2022

The Electric City Culture Council is offering the Bierk Art Fund Bursary Program for Post-Secondary Studies in the Visual Arts.

The Bierk Art Foundation was established in 2006 in honour of Liz Bierk, an avid supporter and advocate for the arts. Photo courtesy of Electric City Culture Council.

This bursary is open to Peterborough high school students completing Grade 12 in 2022, who plan to undertake post-secondary studies at a provincially accredited institution in the visual arts during the 2022-23 academic year.

It is made possible with support from the Bierk Art Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough. This is the fourth time EC3 has provided this program of support for young artists.

The Bierk Art Fund Bursary Program will provide two bursaries of $1,000 each to graduating high school students in the City or County of Peterborough (including Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations) whose work demonstrates great promise and who have a serious commitment to pursuing further studies at the post-secondary level in the visual arts.

Students present their work (including, but not limited to portfolios) to a jury panel comprised of arts professionals. The two successful candidates will be announced immediately and celebrated at this year’s Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts at the Peterborough Arts Awards on Sept. 30.

Eligible applicants must complete a Bierk Art Fund Bursary Application Form and send it back to bierkartfundbursaries@gmail.com before the deadline, May 26 at 11:59 p.m.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from EC3’s Program Coordinator Gabe Pollock, with a designated appointment time and Zoom link to meet with the jury panel for a Portfolio Review during the week of May 30 to June 5.

Appointments are 30 minutes. The jury will choose two winners after meeting with all of the applicants. All applicants will be assessed on the same criteria.

Winners will be announced on June 7.

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Renaissance On Hunter Art Project Returns And Is Calling For Artists

The City of Peterborough Public Art Program is inviting artists to submit proposals for two Renaissance on Hunter projects.

MIGUEL HERNÁNDEZ AUTORINO AND CASSANDRA LEE work ON THEIR HUNTER STREET MURAL in 2021. Photo courtesy of PTBO DBIA.

Now in its second year, Renaissance on Hunter is comprised of two distinct but related public art projects that align with the temporary downtown built environment changes.

The temporary downtown changes will reduce Hunter Street between George Street and Aylmer Street to one-lane, one-way westbound traffic to expand pedestrian space and patio areas. A combination of portable planters and barricades will be installed in four areas along the streetscape to demark the pedestrian spaces and provide physical separation from the traffic lanes.

“The Renaissance on Hunter projects demonstrate how Public Art can support the health and wellbeing in our community and expand our ideas of what Public Art can be. We look forward to seeing the road murals and artist gardens that will be created by the the artists that are selected this year,” said Keith Riel, Chair of the City’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee.

The purpose of both public art projects is to transform the Hunter Street corridor into a welcoming and engaging pedestrian space during the warm weather season:

• The Artists’ Garden Project seeks proposals for themed garden designs and art interventions for the planters along the Hunter Street café district.

• The Road Mural Project seeks proposals for mural designs that will animate the temporary pedestrian areas.

The call for proposals for the Artists’ Garden and Road Mural Projects 2022, including more information about the project parameters and tips to assist with the application process are on the City’s Public Art webpage at peterborough.ca/publicart.

The deadline to submit proposals for both projects is May 26 at 4 p.m. All proposals must be submitted online. The expected completion of the projects is late June.

The Renaissance on Hunter public art projects are being administered and funded through the City of Peterborough’s Public Art Program and will be presented in partnership with the Downtown Business Improvement Area and GreenUP.

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Local Director Ready For The Premiere Of New Docuseries 'We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel)’

Director Victoria Lean, who was born in Peterborough and spent much of her childhood in Apsley, is gearing up for the world premiere of ‘We’re All Gonne Die (Even Jay Baruchel)’, a docuseries about the end of the world, on Friday.

Photo by Jess Hayes.

Lean, who’s family has lived in Apsley for over a century, grew up in Ottawa but came back to Apsley nearly every summer and throughout the year - so often she considers it home.

Growing up, her parents ran a field station for the National Water Research Institute on Jack Lake, which she says may have played a role in her interest in environmentalism.

“I grew up around a lot of scientists that were studying really complicated and important things affecting the planet,” she said. “I wanted to be a documentary film-maker because I felt that there was a really critical gap in what the general public knows about these issues and what experts were studying.”

Her new docuseries, We’re All Gonne Die (Even Jay Baruchel), takes a look at potential ‘world-ending’ catastrophes, and what effect they may have on the world.

Hosted by Canadian actor, director, and author Jay Baruchel, this series presents six episodes, with six different scenarios like alien invasion, volcanic cataclysm, a climate apocalypse and nuclear disaster.

While not every episode has a ‘solution’ Lean says there is something to learn from each of them.

“In creating this series we were mulling with the idea that every time you go to therapy you imagine the worst case scenario and that sometimes helps ease any fears you have.”

She says the idea is if the worst case scenario is imagined, maybe humans can move into a space where they’re able to do something rather than be paralyzed by fear.

Lean jokes that whenever her dad talks about the state of the planet, he brings up their family farm and how that may save them.

“There’s a narrative in my family that if things get really tough we can always go back to the farm,” she said. “I love Apsley, and I see myself going back there regardless of an apocalypse, but I am grateful that my family has some land if the worst case scenario ever happened.”

We’re All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel) premieres at Hot Docs on Friday, and will be released on Crave on Saturday.

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Applications Open For 2022 Artist Initiated Public Art Projects

The City of Peterborough’s Public Art Program invites artists or artist teams to submit their ideas to create art in public spaces.

A COMMUNITY MEMBER PAINTS “HELLO” ON PICNIC BY THE WATER as part of the 2021 Public Art Project. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIGUEL HERNÁNDEZ AUTORINO.

This call is open to both established and emerging artists, including those interested in expanding their practices into the public realm for the first time. Artists can propose artworks in any scale, scope, and medium in any part of the City.

The intention is to commission two projects, valued at $12,000 each. Projects are to be presented or installed within City limits between June and December 2022.

Special projects, such as Artist-initiated Projects, are a key area of focus of the Public Art Program that enable the program to keep up with emergent practices, respond to the needs of our community and integrate art into multiple sites within a short timeframe. These initiatives also provide opportunities for artists to experiment, and the freedom to create artworks outside the limits of a predetermined site, theme or medium.

This opportunity is open to professional artists of all disciplines. Applications are welcome from individual artists, artist teams, artist collectives, ad hoc groups, or arts and culture organizations, as well as partnerships and collaborations between arts and non-arts applicants. Artists and cultural practitioners from the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations are encouraged to apply.

There is a two-stage Call for Proposals.

Stage 1 requires an initial artwork concept, preliminary site approvals, and expressions of interest from co-creators and other participants.

For the second stage of the selection process, shortlisted artists will be invited to an interview to discuss more in-depth their experience, vision, and approach as well as the financial viability of their plans.

The call for proposals for Artist-initiated Projects, including more information about the project parameters and tips to assist with the application process are on the City’s Public Art Program web page at peterborough.ca/publicart.

Submissions for Stage 1 are due May 12 at 4 p.m. All Proposals must be submitted online.

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