1. Director's Meandering Preamble
2. Threads by NAC Member Kathy McBride | Saturday 23 January 7pm
3. OAC Exhibition Assistance | Friday 29 January by 5pm
4. Eighth Annual Indie Music Video Festival at Strega Cafe | Friday 29 January 9pm
5. Bookbinding Workshop | Sat 30 Jan & Sun 31 Jan, 9am - 3pm
6. HEART TO HEART Silent Art Auction | Presented by the Jordan Art Gallery
7. On Beauty by NAC Member Sandy Middleton at the Jordan Art Gallery
8. E.L. Crossley Fashion Class presents Crossley's Catwalk | Fundraiser
9. Call for Submissions | In the Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival

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1. Director's Meandering Preamble

Change isn’t foreign to our friendly neighbourhood Artist-run Centre, it’s one thing followed by another and often a whole whack at once. We even manage to formalize a few of our changes once a year at our general meeting. Consider this missive a report on the latest of those.

As many of you may have undoubtedly noticed, we’ve changed our name. Talk about change, I hope you’re reading this electronic message sitting down. At the AGM we passed a motion to drop the apostrophe from Niagara Artists’ Centre. The little bugger lopped off as easy as a spot of skin cancer growing on the top of an ear tip. We are now awaiting the wraith of the Apostrophe Protection Society. If they get a hold of us we have a defense at the ready. Lots of businesses and organizations have omitted the apostrophe and we could argue that it’s common practice, but that argument likely won’t hold with apostrophe purists. We can, however, claim that the word ‘artists’ had begun to perform a more attributive function of the noun rather than a possessive one seeing as our membership now numbers as many self-described enthusiasts as practitioners. Take that Apostrophe Protection Society! Step aside, make way for change, the Niagara Artists Centre is hurtling itself headlong into a future unknown. Unlike so many others, we don’t resist change, we relish it.

Oh yeh, we also elected a new board of directors, a changing of the guard, All Hail!

Karrie Porter: President
John Venditti: Vice-President
Deanna Jones: Secretary
Lisa Matheson: Treasurer
Roslyn Costanzo: Past President
Jodi Bradshaw
Berndt Meyer
Sandy Middleton
Athena Madan
Jeff Ott
Adrian Thiessen
Adam Wale

Good stuff happening, great projects seeking calls for submission--all here!

overnout
S.

Stephen Remus
Director of Programming and Operations

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2. Threads - How evocative clothing can be...
A mixed media exhibit about life, love & what we wore
Recent works by Kathy McBride
Dennis Tourbin Members Gallery
Saturday 23 January – Saturday 6 February 2010

Opening Reception Saturday 23 January 2010 7-9 pm

In her first solo exhibit, Kathy McBride reveals a wardrobe of memory, tenderly transformed into meaningful mixed media garments on canvas – each telling its own story, through sweet fabrics, tender necklines or worn cuffs.

Threads tugs at our psyche ~ delicate, tenuous.

Memories held in the hem of a child’s sundress, caught in the folds of a father’s well-worn work gloves, laced into a favourite pair of rain boots, tucked away and forgotten in the pocket of a mother’s apron, or pinned like a corsage to the stiff bodice of a pink prom dress...

McBride’s mixed media images hold personal history.

Mixing paper with paint and potent recollections retrieved from a closet-full of garment-memories, Kathy has recreated a series of nostalgic garments, cut from the fabric of her own life-story ~ woven with textured twisted fibers and colourful threads of memories, whispered from the past.

Each piece of clothing tells a story, familiar as a friend’s face. Evocative as a childhood dream.

Privately hers ~ unique yet universal.

- from the artist’s statement

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3. OAC Exhibition Assistance
Deadline: Friday 29 January by 5pm at NAC

The Exhibition Assistance program provides grants of $500 to $1,500 to assist individual artists with costs related to presenting their work in confirmed, upcoming exhibitions. Artists apply to third-party recommender organizations located throughout the province. The recommenders are public galleries, artist-run centres and other visual and media arts organizations that administer the Exhibition Assistance program and make grant recommendations to the Ontario Arts Council (OAC).

The program aims to reflect the range of artistic practices in the visual arts, media arts and craft communities and to support excellence, regional activity, linguistic and cultural diversity and Aboriginal and Franco-Ontarian identity.

For more information click here

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5. Bookbinding Workshop
Instructors: Tony Crowle & Darlene Normandeau (Van Huizen Bookbinding)
Saturday 30 January & Sunday 31 January  9am - 3pm
Located at Van Huizen Bookbinding
8 Hiscott Street, Unit #5. St. Catharines
$100 for 2 days

This bookbinding workshop will introduce you to the materials, tools, and  techniques used in basic bookbinding structures. Investigate different characteristics  of bookbinding and how to manipulate a variety of paper.  Learn how to make single  signature hardcover books the first day and create multi section case bound books the  next. Learn all the skills necessary to create your own artist books and portfolios.

Note: All project materials are included in workshop fee. Any extra paper and materials will be available for purchase directly from Van Huizen.

About the Instructor: Tony Crowle completed a five-year apprenticeship in Hand  Bookbinding, restoration, and Print Finishing in England, and now has over twenty  years of knowledge and experience in print finishing, cutting, folding, perfect binding,  three knife trimming, and saddle stitching. Since 1997, Tony Crowle and Claire  Wilkinson have managed Van Huizen Bookbinding & Finishing Ltd., a shop in St.  Catharines with over 100 years of bookbinding experience. Darlene Normandeau  has worked at Van Huizen Bookbinding for many years and will assist Tony with the  workshop. www.bookbindniagara.com

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6.  HEART TO HEART
Presented by the Jordan Art Gallery
Silent Art Auction
With portion of proceeds to benefit The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario

Opening reception and preview
Sunday 7 February 2 - 4pm
The show runs until Sunday 28 February at 4pm

Participate in this exciting opportunity to bid on original art for the month of February!

Jordan Art Gallery artists and owners Janny Fraser, Joyce Honsberger, George Langbroek, Mori McCrae, Michelle Teitsma, Jan Yates, Sandy Middleton and Robyn Kennedy have created works from their hearts and artistic souls for this worthy event. The aptly titled show and silent auction: ‘Heart to Heart’, pays homage to the love and generosity of spirit that is symbolized by Valentines Day.

For more information download the press release here

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7. On Beauty
Solo show of works on metal by NAC Member Sandy Middleton
At the Jordan Art Gallery
On display until Saturday 30 January

The images in this series are a juxtaposition of the beauty of the natural world and the beauty in the industrial elements we live amongst every day. The natural landscape for many of us is no longer in our own backyards- we must travel to get beyond the city limits to find it.

In that respect one must learn to adapt to the beauty in the not so natural landscape. I have found this awesome quality seldom recognized in towering bridges, billboard stands and ferry ports mixed with the true elegance of trees, rolling hills and birds in flight.

These images can be seen as metaphors of the dilemma of unconscious beauty in our modern existence.

I have printed this series in black and white on aluminum panels giving a dimensional experience to the work.

Sandy Middleton, BAA
http://www.tansy.ca/
www.jordanartgallery.com

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8. E.L. Crossley Fashion Class presents
Crossley's Catwalk
Thursday 4 February 2010 at 7pm
E.L. Crossley Secondary School Gymnasium
350 Highway 20, Fonthill
Tickets are $5 at the door

100% of proceeds contributed to the Sewing Machine Fund.
For the last few years, EL Crossley students have submitted outstanding work to NACs STRUTT Wearable Art Show.
Imagine what they could do with new equipment!  Click on the photo for a sample of their work from last year's show.

Read more about the fundraiser in the Welland Tribune here

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9. In the Soil: Niagara’s Second Annual Home Grown Arts Festival
Deadline for Submissions Friday 29 January
Even more reasons to dig it this year!

In the Soil is now accepting applications for its second annual multi-disciplinary arts festival set to take root in downtown St. Catharines from 15-24 April 2010. Artists from, or with a close connection to, the Niagara region are invited to apply for one of 60 showcasing opportunities in music, theatre, dance, film and media arts.

New additions to the 2010 festival include a performing arts showcase opportunity for theatre and dance and a call for multimedia proposals for street-level installations in downtown St. Catharines.

In the Soil is also pleased to announce support from the Fresh Start Program to assist in bringing a local “Hot Ticket” artist to headline the Friday 23 April 2010 main stage event at Centre for the Arts, Brock University together with three of the 'jury’s top picks' from the festival. Fresh Start is made possible through funding from the Arts Presentation Canada Development Support Program offered by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The seed for In the Soil was planted by a partnership that will bring Brock University and downtown St. Catharines together to grow a home for the arts in Niagara. Partners include: Centre for the Arts, Brock University, the St. Catharines & Area Arts Council, Suitcase in Point Theatre Company, Pulse Niagara, the Niagara Artists Centre and Yummy Recordings.  In 2009, 175 artists shared the fruits of their artistic offerings as part of a week of specially programmed events. This year, a jury composed of seasoned professionals will once again select artists to participate in the late spring harvest.

Applications are available for download at www.inthesoil.on.ca/apply.html and will close on Friday 29 January 2010.

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