By Vivian Moreau
What: Brave Locals art exhibit and sale
When: Opening night, Sunday, April 15, 8 p.m.
Where: Telus Conference Centre foyer
Price: Free admission, refreshments available to purchase
Influenced by the prevalence of second homeowners from around the world who now own more than half of the village’s dwellings, the face of Whistler is becoming more international. Nowhere is this influence more noticeable than in the growing number of contemporary artists setting up shop in Whistler, drawn by the community’s reputation for living on the edge in the midst of stunning geography.
Kate Power, 25, is one of those artists. Interior designer turned jewelry artisan, Power is one of 28 local visual artists who will showcase their works this weekend at Brave Locals, a diverse spin-off exhibit of Brave Art, opening Sunday, April 15 in the Telus Conference Centre foyer. Power curated the event and said the conference centre’s 6,000 sq. ft. foyer is the place for local emerging artists to share multi-faceted views of the world with Whistler residents and visitors.
Last year almost 300,000 people passed through the event’s first annual incarnation, providing an opportunity for local artists to show and sell their works.
Power said works will range from $65 to $3,000 and will give Whistler a taste of the urban, contemporary art scene.
“People are craving to see unique different works that are provocative on some level,” Power said, adding that in a difficult, unstable world there seems to be an increased interest in not only viewing but purchasing art.
“People want to see through other people’s eyes and for thousands of years one of those representations has been through art,” she said.
The opening night reception for the show that runs until April 20 will feature six on-site artists working on large-scale panels that will include spray paint, pen and ink, paper collage “and what ever else they can think up,” Power said. Nine artists will hang up to five works each in a show that encompass multi-media, photography and graphic arts, as well as furniture and clothing.
In addition to locals such as Josee St. Armour, Ange Teng, and 14-year-old Devin White, the artist line up includes Pemberton artist Lisa Komuro who will exhibit for the first time at the show. Her five triptychs and three mixed-media paintings with layers of ink, acrylic paint, glue, paper collage and wax interpretations of birds and animals juxtapose with embedded written commentary. Komuro, 28, who studied fine arts in Montana and has a certificate in web design, said the show is an opportunity for artists to come together with a different kind of energy than felt in traditional exhibits.
“A lot of times in resort towns you get caught up in wildlife and landscape art and this… but urban and street art have been so popular everywhere else this focus on a younger event like this is a good chance for everyone to explore different kinds of art.”
