Via Rail Art Exhibit

Yesterday was a cold and windy day but Kevin and I braved the weather to watch the artists set up their exhibits at the Via Rail station. This art exhibit is an interesting concept as there are many train containers set up beside the station and each artist has one container to showcase their work. Here's a picture of the behind the scenes activity that was occurring.


When we took a walk through, we saw many artists busy at work setting up their exhibits in preparation of the grand opening on Saturday. It was really interesting to see the insides of all the different containers being painted different colours and seeing various displays in the process of being set up. It was also interesting to see that exhibits were from all over, not simply from northern Ontario. There were artists from Guelph, Toronto, and Ottawa, just to name a few. So there was a wide variety of talent on hand. We talked with a few of the artists as well and it was really interesting to hear them explain their work.

One artist had an exhibit dedicated completely to crows, highlighting the importance that they have to society. She was very passionate about her subject and informed us that these creatures, even though many of us hate them, are essential since they are scavengers. There were also murals hung on each side wall and on the back featuring crows. It was amazingly well done and was my favourite piece of the work.

Here are some pictures of her exhibit.

There was another artist that focused on both the audio and visual. She collected songs about trains. This was the perfect exhibit since it was occurring right by train tracks! As we were talking, a train went by and was the perfect backdrop for the music that she had playing. She explained to us that she has over 250 songs about trains and there is a wide variety of music as it spans different genres and various time periods. So there is lots for people to listen to and there are chair also set up so people can come by, sit down, and listen to the music.

Since many exhibits were no where close to being complete, we decided to go back today. Luckily the weather was a little nicer since it wasn't so windy and more exhibits were nearing completion. Today, some of the exhibits that we saw were from galleries that have come for this occasion..

First we viewed the exhibit from the SAW Gallery. They picked eight works to bring from different artists to represent their gallery. As can be seen in the picture below, the walls are painted a simple white and the main focus are on the works of art. I really like this choice since the emphasis was on the artwork and there were some amazing pieces on display.

Ed Video Media Arts Centre was also present and their exhibit was extremely eye catching. The main focus was space ships and it was pointed out to us that these space ships were made with recycled materials. They were so well done that I never would have been able to tell if I was not informed about it. It was an interesting exhibit as there were many different elements to it. Aside from the space ships, there were also many other things on display. Various pieces of art hung on the walls and on the back wall, a projector was showing various images. This was in order to aid people in better understanding the role the gallery is and the various aspects of it. The whole exhibit really encompassed the gallery and was well done.

All in all, it was an extremely interesting exhibit to see, as each exhibit was unique, and it should be fascinating to see everything when it is complete!