Local Artists Sought at JNAAG - Sarnia Observer

Local artists sought for two exhibits planned for the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery in the new year 

Sarnia's downtown art gallery is on the hunt for local artists ready for their own exhibits, but this time, the gallery is hitting the open road to find them.

Curatorial staff plan to visit artists' studios across the county in January as part of the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery's Look & See Project.

“It's a call for us to see and be able to put our finger on exactly what's going on in artists' studios across Lambton County right now,” said assistant curator Darryn Doull.“It may be a chance for us to discover some gems out in Lambton County that we aren't aware of already – an emerging artist, maybe someone who just graduated or hasn't even gone to school yet.”But Doull said it's also a chance for established artists to show off new bodies of work to gallery staff.

“The opportunity is really open to anybody and it's going to be determined by the applications that the artists put forward as opposed to how well-known they are or anything like that,” he said.

Sarnia-Lambton-based artists are invited to submit applications to participate in the Look & See Project until Jan. 8.

The entry fee is waived for gallery members, but it's $25 for non-members. Submission guidelines and the entry form can be found online at jnaag.ca or by contacting the gallery in person.

Two exhibit slots – from March 11 to 20, and from July 15 to 24 – are up for grabs, but even if any artist doesn't make the final cut, Doull said going through the application process and a studio visit is a worthwhile learning opportunity.

“Somebody called me just yesterday wondering what the difference was between an artist statement and a statement of intent for the project, so for some of these artists, this is the first time they're putting together these packages,” he said. “It's the first time they're writing about their own artwork to somebody else, and having a professional critical curatorial studio visit is something that many artists don't have the opportunity to receive at any point in their career.

”The project will also be a learning opportunity for curatorial staff.“It's the first time that we've done a general call where part of the call and juried process is studio visits, although we are doing studio visits with certain local artists throughout the year as part of our regular job.”

The Sarnia Observer
By Barbara Simpson

Original Article