Submissions are now open for the third biennial juried art show at the Alberni Valley Museum.
The art show, which will be presented by Alberni Art Rave, will run in the museum gallery from June 6 to Aug. 31. Like previous years, the show is open to artists from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, but this year it is also open to anyone living in coastal communities on British Columbia’s south coast, from Lions Bay to Lund.
“We found that there is a commonality about living in a coastal community,” explained Jillian Mayne, chair of the Art Rave Society of Alberni.
This is the third juried show that Art Rave has hosted. Previous shows took place in 2018 and 2022 and were successful, said Mayne, both in art sales and exposure.
People in Port Alberni have limited places to see art, Mayne said. Although both the local Grove Art Gallery and DRAW Gallery showcase artwork, the museum offers a larger gallery space and an opportunity to bring in work from farther outside of the community.
“Children go through the museum for school tours and get to experience art,” said Mayne. “There’s a lot of creativity going on, and I think it’s important that it’s reflected here.”
The theme for this year’s exhibit is “all that moves us.” Mayne says the theme was proposed by another Art Rave member, Tamsin Miller, who was inspired by Port Alberni’s industrial heritage.
“It’s a reflection of our story here [in Port Alberni] with boats, trains and machinery,” Mayne said. “But we didn’t want to limit the theme in any way, so we made it a little broader for interpretation. That gives artists a lot more room to play with—they can find their own answer or response to that theme.”
The show is open to both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Mayne says they are only restricted by what can fit through the museum doors.
“We’re hoping it will be a diverse and interesting show,” said Mayne. “We want to expose as many people as possible to art, to bring diverse art to the space and encourage artists—both local and far away—to get their work hanging up in our Valley.”
Jurors will consist of Dr. Andrea Walsh (associate professor and Smyth Chair in Arts & Engagement with the University of Victoria’s Department of Anthropology), Astrid Johnston (owner and curator of DRAW Gallery in Port Alberni), Jean McIntosh (the former director of the Alberni Valley Museum) and Tim Masso (a Tla-o-qui-aht linguist, artist and carver).
The submission window closes March 17. For more info, contact artravebiennialatmu@gmail.com or visit www.alberniartrave.org.