Gateway To the Arts, an artist-owned and run co-operative on Main Street in North Bay, is celebrating its first anniversary in a big way and wants you to celebrate with them.
“This year was likely the most unconventional and abnormal year for business, so what do we as a bunch of creatives decide to do?" said co-owner and artist Karrie Emms "We open a business of course. We have weathered lockdowns, closures, uncertainty, curbside pick up and much more. Things have been hard, just paying the bills has been a challenge but, we’re creative, can pivot on a dime, and are really finding our place in the art community."
Gateway To the Arts is expanding into a second location a North Bay landmark right next door to their current gallery.
"Gulliver’s Book Store was a staple in the community for decades and it was a place where learning and creativity were nurtured," explained Emms. "Gateway To the Arts is working with the building owner to revitalize the store and restore it to a centre for learning, inclusively, and creativity.
“A Place For Us, is a concept we came up with in response to some funding opportunities we found. The available grants, whether we get them or not, caused us to stop and think about arts in our community and what kind of problems it can help with and help to prevent. We decided that working with youth 13-30 years old who want to build self-confidence, work on leadership skills and volunteerism as well as many other things would be a good purpose for the building,” said Emms.
"A Place For Us will be a unique centre where there are no banner affiliations," added Emms. "Users may identify with a particular social banner but the centre itself is just a place for us, a place for all, everyone is welcome within the walls if they bring positivity and a willingness to learn and grow through the arts. A Place For Us will be multi-disciplinary and teach things like culinary, performing and visual arts as well as community involvement and wellness."
Members are currently working on some fundraisers with the first one set to take place September 26th. The Gateway To Diversity Festival will run as part of Nipissing Culture Days and will include two days of concentrated activities downtown, many are free to families, and multiple other events throughout October.
"Many of these are arts-based events but the street festival will have something for everyone from entertainment to a free kids craft zone, food trucks, and up to 30 vendor and information booths."
These two days will be concentrated in the Main St. TD Canada Trust parking lot and city parking lot 11 adjacent to it.
“TD Canada Trust is one of our sponsors as is the city of North Bay so, it made perfect sense to locate the event in the parking lot," said Dani-Lynn Redgrift-Berthelot, the second co-owner and photographer at Gateway To the Arts. "It puts the event in two of our sponsors' back yards but it also creates a safe zone off of the street where families can wander without the fear of traffic or other disturbances.”
As part of the Diversity Festival, the co-operative has put together an event titled See, Hear, Speak, Heal. This event is a fundraiser for A Place For Us and will be a live art auction and exhibition at Gateway To the Arts on Sunday September 26 The artwork up for auction is being created and curated specifically for this event and features themes depicting mental health and wellness.
Many of the pieces already selected are youth-created including the image used on the flyers which were painted by 16-year-old Gateway To the Arts member Veronica Demiciuch.
Two summer co-op students, Emerald Bear-Fortin and Micheal Legault have created a 4ft x 8ft panel depicting good versus evil, or positivity versus negativity. It will also go up for auction as part of the fundraiser.
"This piece is sealed and ready to be installed as a mural for a business or in a private collection," says Demiciuch. "There will be an opportunity for businesses to get in on a private, by invitation only, preview event and pre-biding from 2-4 on September 26. The gala for the public will begin at 6 p.m. with bidding closed at 9:30."
Proceeds will be split between the artists, A Place For Us and the Gateway To Diversity budget for the purpose of paying participating artists. The Deadline for submissions is September 10.
The mandate of Gateway To the Arts is to support emerging and experienced artists in northern Ontario by giving them a place to exhibit, sell, and learn from each other and partner organizations like the Nipissing Regional Curatorial Collective and The Art Factory in Renfrew.
"With a growing passion for advancing the arts and arts training in the north, Gateway To the Arts is working on many more exciting things for the coming year including a full-on Festival of Trees, a Travelling Art Market, A Wine and Art Crawl and much more," said an excited Emms.
For information on Gateway stop in at 151 Main St. West, email [email protected] or visit www.gatewaytotheartscoop.ca. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.
