Exhibitions
Our main Gallery features exhibitions of works by local, regional and nationally significant Canadian artists. Our mandate is to show artwork that is important to our community; themes include careers of significant artists, current events and the history of our region. Exhibitions are changed every six to eight weeks. Artwork on display typically includes a variety of media, including traditional techniques, contemporary innovations and new media. Some exhibitions or themes occur at regularly repeated intervals, such as our annual exhibitions of High school student art and our Biannual Juried Exhibition.
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Beautiful Scars: Mohawk Warriors, Hunters and Chiefs |
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Dates: October 4, 2020 - January 10, 2021 Tom Wilson is best known as a Juno Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician and performer. Starting as a folk singer in the late 1970s, Wilson has performed in numerous bands and as a solo act, and has written songs for others. Driven by a restless creative spirit and an unflagging commitment to artistic expression, since the mid-1990s he has painted his distinctive visual imagery on guitars, amplifiers, canvas, board, and other surfaces. As an accomplished musician, writer and painter, Wilson is remarkably fluent in a range of media.
Tom was well into his fifties in 2015, when he learned that he was adopted and that his birth mother was an Indigenous Mohawk from the Kahnawake reserve outside of Montreal. This shocking discovery has had a catalytic impact upon his life and his art. In 2017 he released his bestselling autobiography Beautiful Scars chronicling his life growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, the evolution of his music career, his triumphs and struggles, and his coming to terms with the truth of his identity.
Tom’s visual art too has taken on urgency and renewed purpose. His recent series of works titled, Mohawk Warriors, Hunters & Chiefs, have become another means of exploring and understanding his history and his identity. Mostly the imagery consists of faces and masks vaguely resembling those of certain Indigenous cultures or perhaps beings from some other realm. They look at once ancient and futuristic. These are the warriors, hunters, chiefs, tricksters and shamans; the characters and figures that embody myths and legends of the past and the future; the stories that connect Tom to his culture and his place in the universe.
Tom Wilson comes from a long storytelling tradition and he has lived his life as a storyteller. The artwork featured in this exhibition is another chapter in his story. Beautiful Scars: Mohawk Warriors, Hunters and Chiefs was curated by David Liss and presented at the Art Gallery of Burlington in December 2018.
Watch the YourTV Cogeco interview with Tom Wilson: |
| Silver Lining - Digital Original Series |
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Silver Linings features works by three regional artists: photographs by Ken Cherney of Grimsby, reclaimed wood assemblage by Robert ‘Bear’ Royal of St. Catharines and encaustic paintings by Theresa Randles of Caledonia. Each of these artists had an exhibition scheduled for the summer of 2020 as part of the Grimsby Public Art Gallery’s Community Exhibition series, a GPAG program that features displays of work by local and regional artists in the Library/ Art Gallery lobby and the Library’s computer lab. With the onset of the pandemic, everything changed, except for our desire to continue supporting artists by exhibiting their work. With support from the Digital Initiatives program of the Canada Council for the Arts, the three planned exhibitions were re-configured into a hybrid virtual and physical exhibition. A small selection of works by each artist was displayed in the Library /Art Gallery building during August and September. A more complete display of each artists’ work, along with support information and additional material, is presented here in the virtual exhibition.
Robert Bear Royal
Ken Cherney
Theresa Randles
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Special Events
Special events held at the Gallery allow visitors to experience art in many ways and often provide the opportunity to interact directly with artists and creators. Community art-making projects encourage direct participation. Lectures, discussion groups and workshops are both educational and enjoyable. Some special events, such as our annual fundraising auction, are also opportunities to help support the gallery.
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CANCELLED - Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair |
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~ Check out our Facebook for details about a Virtual Wayzgoose Event Due to current concerns associated with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), GPAG is cancelling Wayzgoose 2020. GPAG is committed to the health and safety of all the artists, staff, volunteers and visitors who contribute to the overwhelming success of this event every year and, while we are deeply disappointed that the 42nd annual Wayzgoose will not take place, safety must always come first. The current health care alert and the directives to avoid large gatherings have made cancelling Wayzgoose our only responsible option. 2020 EXHIBITORS - If you were a Wayzgoose exhibitor, an e-mail has been sent out to you with information about refunds of your table fees. If you have not receive it, please contact the Gallery at 905-945-3246 or gpag@grimsby.ca
Saturday, April 25, 2020 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. FREE Admission Always held on the last Saturday in April, the GPAG's Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair is an annual gathering of private press printers, bookbinders, print makers, paper marblers and other artisans celebrating the art of the hand-made book |
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Sunday Fun-days |
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ON HOLD due to COVID-19 restrictions Previously known as Second Sundays: same great program, new name. Bring the family one Sunday a month for FREE arts and crafts activities. Watch for a list of dates for fall Sunday Fun-day events. Free Admission made possible by Grimsby Hyundai |
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Culture Days |
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September 27-29, 2019 Ontario Culture Days takes place every year on the last weekend in September, featuring FREE cultural activities for all Ontarians. Stay tuned for details of Grimsby Events, held at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery and Library. |
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Doors Open |
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Saturday, September 22, 2018 Explore some of Grimsby's best kept secrets. Residents and visitors are invited to discover hidden treasures, including the Grimsby Public Art Gallery. |
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