Throughout my travels around Canada, I have seen many different small galleries and art stores. Frequently, these stores and galleries are direct lines into a local artist community and provide many small artists a way to get their art seen and sold. Importantly the sold aspect, putting funds right in the hands of artists themselves.
Though public art is a concept I have previously engaged with under great caution of artificial attempts to exacerbate the already inflated tourist economies in towns and cities, I believe there are also many sects of public art that do wonders for communities.
In my hometown of Niagara Falls, there is a great community of artists buried like a gem amidst the rampant tourists swarming the falls for selfies. Finding the way to access this community comes from going to spaces like Riverbrink, a small gallery just a short drive from the falls. Riverbrink is a gallery that was originally a rich man’s summer home, his basement full of collected art pieces ranging from Group of Seven sketches to full pieces from artists like Grant Wood (see American Gothic). Beyond their personal collection, they have solo and group exhibitions from all sorts of artists, many of whom are local wonders.
The real connection, however, comes from Riverbrink’s use of scheduled events (often free to the community) and their “gift shop” at the front of the gallery. Plenty of local artists come to host events and workshops at Riverbrink, many of which you will see the same faces at. The gift shop is home to many of these artists’ work, such as indie novels and hand-made ceramic joys. Though often a space for more classically trained or recognized artists and art, it is a great home base for many artists in Niagara.
Not all artists are so classically recognized or trained, however, so how do they get seen? During a trip to Alberta I found a large amount of art decorating stores and streets alike. Downtown Calgary's Chinatown has a great deal of artist shops and small galleries. These shops usually have a similar format with a number of shelves and spaces for individual artists to set up their own little corner of goods and trinkets for purchase. They are often especially good for smaller, non-traditional artists.
Moonlight Books and Gifts is an excellent example of one of these stores. Entering the store and seeing so many different creations from local artists is really incredible. Despite not knowing much about art in Calgary, I felt connected to a cool part of their local art scene. Being a modern artist online can make it hard to gain traction on work, and especially if you hope to make a living on your work, it can feel like an impossible boundary to being successful as an artist. Art stores like this provide a real life way to get your art into people's hands and homes.
In Kelowna, The Rotary Centre for the Arts is a wonderful place for community events as well. I have heard personal testimony from many different artists of different professions who have had great experiences with the centre. The Rotary Centre is part local gallery and part event centre for all different kinds of events, and the benefit of the centre is largely in how many different kinds of art are showcased there. They host performances of all sorts,multiple gallery spaces, and a small theatre room. A lot of artist’s events are hosted at the Rotary Centre, and specifically in Kelowna this is a great place to get to know the art community a little better.
The common thread between these spaces is always funding and uplifting artists. The center of any good arts community is always going to be the artists. Expecting to bring culture and community to any space without funding artists is always a fruitless venture.
That is the reason why I love these spaces. Artists get paid and are able to connect not just with each other, but with an audience. For an artist looking to have a career in that field, an audience brings about a feeling of stability and accomplishment. Finding your audience will also create a community around you full of both artists and art lovers, giving way to a rich and exciting art scene. So if you have any interest, I would highly recommend seeking out these local galleries and stores to make your mark wherever you may reside.
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