Think the Carleton University Art Gallery has a lot of art now? Just wait until January. It’s going to be simply overflowing with it.
From Jan. 11 to 19, the gallery will be showcasing the work of students, staff, faculty, alumni and retirees at the 3rd Carleton Community Art Exhibition. The art show is one of the gallery’s most popular events of the year.
“We tend to get a lot of work by a lot of people,” gallery director Sandra Dyck says. “It’s always a very popular event.”
In the two previous exhibitions, more than 100 artists contributed and each is allowed to bring up to two works. With so many submissions, the biggest challenge is giving the show an “overall coherence and vision” without limiting submissions, Dyck says.
“It’s a challenge (to showcase it all) but we definitely enjoy doing it,” she says.
Some exhibitions focus on a single theme. Others feature a handful of artists. What makes the community art exhibition special is a “freer, more open structure” that showcases a “range and diversity of artwork,” Dyck says.
“You cast a really wide net and that’s what makes the show so interesting,” she says. “You get to see what everyone is doing.”
While the exhibition accepts everything from photographs to textiles to sculptures, the Carleton community tends to specialize in abstract paintings, according to the exhibition’s curator.
“Most of (the submissions so far this year are) abstract paintings,” Danuta Sierhuis says. “There’s also a range of photographs and one person is doing an interesting sculpture with an Ikea chair.”
However, even the curator won’t know exactly what to expect until the art gets dropped off in January.
“I think what’s a great part of this exhibit is that it will be a surprise,” she says. “(I’m) excited to see what kind of things people in the Carleton community have come up with.”
The gallery will be accepting art submissions – sculptures, textiles, ready-to-hang paintings and framed drawings, prints and photos – until Jan. 6.
Once your participation is confirmed, you can drop off your artwork at the gallery on Jan. 6 and 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Jan. 8 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit: http://cuag.carleton.ca/index.php/exhibitions/upcoming/.