{"id":30389,"date":"2018-10-05T03:57:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T10:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=30389"},"modified":"2018-10-03T11:13:17","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T18:13:17","slug":"new-hornby-art-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/10\/05\/new-hornby-art-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"New Hornby art centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rae Mat\u00e9 is one of the many artists who have donated work to the fundraiser for a Hornby Island gallery. (photo from Rae Mat\u00e9)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hornby Island, in Georgia Straight, is known for its natural beauty. It is no surprise that many of its small population \u2013 1,016, according to the 2016 census \u2013 are artists. While the community hasn\u2019t had a regular exhibition space, this is about to change. On Oct. 10, the Hornby Island Arts Council is holding an auction fundraiser in support of building a new art centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cA full 40% of residents of Hornby are visual artists, dancers, musicians, poets, actors and writers,\u201d Cheryl Milner, auction chair, told the Independent<\/em> about the need for a permanent gallery. \u201cFor too many years, local visual artists have been using a 1967 mobile home with a small display area to show their work. Otherwise, artists have built their own studios or hung their work in the local co-op general store to get in front of the island visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the concept for the fundraiser, Milner said, \u201cThe idea came to me because I became familiar with this amazing woman on the East Coast of Canada, Zita Cobb. She lived on Fogo Island, left after high school, made it in the high-tech business and went back home to see how she could help her native island, particularly because the cod fishery had closed. She started a foundation to create greater cultural resilience for the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milner doesn\u2019t want anyone to compare her to Cobb, but she wants to help Hornby Island and its artists on a smaller scale. \u201cMy thought was to marry Vancouver to Hornby Island as Toronto supports Fogo Island. The auction is our first attempt, and we\u2019ll see how it goes,\u201d she said. \u201cThe parallel goes only as far as helping support the gallery. We don\u2019t wish to expand things further than that for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said a gallery has been on the radar of the arts council for years. \u201cWe have some new blood in the organization and want to help make it happen,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe are also applying for some matching grant opportunities, which means that we could potentially double the capital we have been scrimping to save. Currently, we have about $180,000 saved. This will give us a good foundation to move forward. We do have a couple of architects on board to support this venture, so there appears to be quite a lot of momentum to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attracting tourists is one of the reasons the auction will take place in Vancouver, not on the island itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Vancouverites frequently visit Hornby,\u201d Milner said. \u201cThey love the place and their special time there. We are giving Vancouver an opportunity to support the artists they love by helping to build a proper facility to house a permanent gallery, exhibition and workshop space for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artists of Hornby Island are excited about the gallery and the auction.<\/p>\n

\u201cApproximately 35 artists donated their works,\u201d said Milner. \u201cAbout 25 are in the live auction and another 10 in the silent auction, which will focus on items and services of interest to Vancouverites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides their art, some participants are offering \u201cHands-on Hornby\u201d artistic experiences to bidders. Among these will be cutting a song with Marc Atkinson at the Barn Studio and a two-day workshop with ceramicist Rachelle Chinnery, which includes a rental stay.<\/p>\n

One of the visual artists who donated their work for the auction is Vancouver Jewish community member and well-known local artist Rae Mat\u00e9. In 2011, she had a solo show at the Zack Gallery, and the Independent<\/em> published an interview with her at the time. Since then, much has happened in her artistic life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2015, my third book in the Crocodile series with the author Robert Heidbreder, Crocs at Work, was published by Tradewind Books. My silly crocodiles are back and, this time, they have jobs and professions, which they do in very surprising and funny ways,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Since the death of her mother in 2017, Mat\u00e9 has devoted herself to art full-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to be using oils again as well as acrylics,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m exploring new directions: abstraction, non-figurative works and landscape. This summer, I had a very successful show on Hornby during the art festival in August. I was one of the four artists invited to mentor Hornby children. The children\u2019s art was shown alongside with the mentoring artist\u2019s new works. It was an exciting and rewarding experience for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
One of the pieces she has donated is \u201cSunflowers.\u201d (photo from Rae Mat\u00e9)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mat\u00e9\u2019s ties to Hornby Island are longstanding. \u201cOur family fell in love with Hornby Island in the 1980s, when my sons were little, and we spent several summer holidays camping there,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter my daughter was born, we purchased a small cabin. Five years later, we sold it and bought a larger place with indoor plumbing. We are still there today and we have many Jewish friends who live nearby. For years, we have been having potluck Shabbat dinners at Grassy Point, a wonderful park with a meadow and a beach a short walk from us. It is famous for its sunsets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mat\u00e9 has enjoyed the island and its artistic atmosphere for years. It feeds her creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to tell people that being an artist on Hornby Island is like being a Jew in New York,\u201d she said. \u201cAlmost everyone is creative and involved or interested in the arts. I feel very inspired and at home there.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also contributes to the arts scene on Hornby. \u201cI regularly sell my art cards at the co-op store and at the farmers markets in the summer. I had a few solo and group shows at the community hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only do she and her family spend most summers on the island, but she usually manages to get there for about a week every two months. \u201cI do so much of my painting and illustrating work there, on my deck in the garden, when the weather allows, or in the studio during the colder months,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When Mat\u00e9 heard about the auction, she knew she wanted to donate her works for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Cheryl approached me at the market, I said yes immediately. This is a cause I whole-heartedly support. I am offering three paintings for the auction, all new, created especially for this event.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oct. 10 auction will take place at Sage Bistro, which is behind the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia. To learn more, visit hornbyislandartscouncil.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin <\/strong>is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rae Mat\u00e9 is one of the many artists who have donated work to the fundraiser for a Hornby Island gallery. (photo from Rae Mat\u00e9) Hornby Island, in Georgia Straight, is known for its natural beauty. It is no surprise that many of its small population \u2013 1,016, according to the 2016 census \u2013 are artists. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[7778,8393,8039,8395,2763,8394],"class_list":["post-30389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-arts","tag-cheryl-milner","tag-fundraiser","tag-hornby-island","tag-philanthropy","tag-rae-mate"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}