For Nova Scotians living outside Halifax, traveling to the province’s largest art gallery isn’t a graceful everyday option. Fortunately for Port Hawkesbury residents, a selection of the Nova Scotia Art Gallery’s collection is currently available for viewing in the community.
Prints from the Canada Council Art bank are on display from April 20 to May 18, as a part of an ArtReach exhibition at Port Hawkesbury’s Civic Centre.
Paula Davis, Marketing and Events Manager with the Civic Centre, was pleased with the art installation. “It’s wonderful for a collection to make its way to rural communities and give youth and adults the opportunity to see art that they wouldn’t otherwise see.” Davis said that last week, local students from the Tamarac Education Centre and the Strait Area Education and Recreation Centre participated in printmaking sessions.
ArtReach is a joint project between the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Department of Education. Its mandate is to build relationships between the Halifax-based gallery and schools in communities throughout the province. Its programming is built around traveling exhibitions of Canada Council Art Bank prints, coupled with tours and workshops aimed at encouraging students to appreciate and become involved in the visual arts.
ArtReach project also develops web-based curriculum resources, regular arts news bulletins distributed to schools around the province and free workshops and tours for educators.
Since its beginnings, ArtReach exhibitions have traveled to communities including Liverpool, Amherst, Sydney, Annapolis, Digby, Wolfville, Pictou, Inverness, Baddeck, Bridgewater, Louisbourg, Yarmouth, and Wagmatcook.
