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May 4, 2012
Artists celebrating 20 years
Point Grey, Kitsilano and Dunbar studio tours began in 1993.
OLGA LIVSHIN
In 1993, two artist friends, Pnina Granirer and Anne Adams, met for coffee, and Artists in Our Midst (AIOM) was born. Unfortunately, Adams passed away a few years ago, but Granirer spoke to the Independent about the beginning of the studio tour and its 20th birthday, which takes place this month.
“We discussed our yearly open studio event each of us held separately,” she said. “Anne suggested we should join forces, share the mailing lists and minimize our expenses. Then I remembered my trip to Paris a year before. They had this grand event, Le Génie de la Bastille. It’s a huge, weeklong open studio art celebration. About 200 artists participated. I visited the artists’ studios all week long, climbed up and down five or six floors countless times every day. Many of their artists lived on top floors in the old buildings, with no elevators. It was an amazing week. I thought we should try a similar event here in Vancouver, only on a smaller scale – one weekend only.”
The two friends asked the Vancouver Courier for help. The paper published an article and a call to artists living on the west side of Vancouver. “We did not even know whether there were enough artists in the area, or if they would be interested in opening their homes and studios to the public,” Granirer recalled.
About 30 artists from Point Grey, Kitsilano and Dunbar areas responded. “We met for the first time on March 15, 1993, to plan an event that would not only allow us to share our resources and our art, but give something back to the community where we lived and worked,” said Granirer. “The name we chose, Artists in Our Midst, reflected our wish to make our neighbors aware: creativity was alive in their midst.”
The opening night was held at the West Point Grey Community Centre, where a brochure with all the names and locations of the artists’ studio was available. “We didn’t have a website or e-mails then. Everything was done by mail and telephone,” Granirer explained.
In addition to the opening night and the studio walk, local merchants displayed paintings and sculptures in their windows, turning the streets into impromptu galleries. This practice continues to this day.
“People came from everywhere: all over the Lower Mainland, other cities, even the U.S.,” said Granirer. “Of course, our immediate neighborhoods came to see the works of the artists in their midst. I got to know my neighbors I never knew before. Some of them brought children.... This was a great opportunity for the people to meet the artists, speak to them in an intimate atmosphere of their homes, to ask questions. The nicest thing is when children ask questions.”
She added, “From 100 to 200 people visited my gallery every year. Some of our visitors were intimidated by formal gallery space, and it was their first exposure to visual arts. Others bought their first piece of art during those walks. But it’s not about sales, it’s about generosity, about opening your house and your heart, putting your vision out there. And we get to know our fellow artists this way, cultivate new friendships; we don’t feel so isolated.”
The first event proved a huge success. The next year, more artists joined in the tour. Although the organizers tried to keep the event small, some years, with more than 70 artists participating, it was split into three separate events on three separate weekends, each for one area: Point Grey, Kitsilano and Dunbar. The initiative also spread to other neighborhoods, resulting in the Eastside Culture Crawl, the North Shore Art Crawl and other similar festivals.
“We are all the richer for this extraordinary explosion of visual art,” said Granirer.
Fellow AIOM participant Glenda Leznoff agrees. A member of the studio tour for the last four years, Leznoff said, “I love having the opportunity to talk about my painting with art lovers. The first year I exhibited with AIOM was such a thrill. People came to the studio to discuss art and to browse. I think I sold about eight paintings that year, and it was an exciting validation. I felt like Sally Field when she won her Oscar and said, ‘You really like me!’”
Olga Campbell has been participating in AIOM for 14 years. She said, “This is a community event. Not only do the artists participate, but the merchants in the area get involved by having art in their stores, and the people in the community participate by coming to see the art in the artists’ studios. There is a festive atmosphere and the weekend goes by quickly. In all the years that I have been involved, I have never had a negative experience.”
The opening night of AIOM’s 20th anniversary event will be held at the Roundhouse Community Centre on May 16. The open studios walk will take place May 19-21. Participating artists and a tour map can be found at artistsinourmidst.com.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
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