Art and social change can work together, with artworks and art reflecting on events going on in the world. Canadian artist Eleanor Bond will be in Powell River to speak about how each works together to inspire.
Powell River Voices, in partnership with Powell River Arts Council, Malaspina Art Society, and Powell River Academy of Music, is pleased to host Bond at 7 pm on Friday, January 24 at the academy hall.
Bond will make a public presentation on art and exhibitions that address and enable social change, the potential of cultural spaces within a community, the artist’s role in urban renewal and the changing perception of a town or city. Local artists Claudia Medina and Debbie Dan will introduce and follow Bond’s presentation, adding local context and making the connection to the issues unique to the region.
“Arts, culture and creativity are thriving in Powell River,” said painter Megan Dulcie-Dill, who had the idea of inviting Bond. “These values need to be supported at all levels and Eleanor will give us some ideas about what other artists and communities are doing. I am excited by the potential art has to enrich the quality of life in this region.”
On the weekend of January 25 and 26 from 10 am to 3 pm, also at the academy, Bond will be giving a weekend painting workshop for experienced artists to explore and further their practice. Space for the workshop is limited, so for more information, readers can visit online or contact Dulcie-Dill at [email protected] or at 604.414.7020.
Bond is an artist known for her large-scale painted images of urban, architectonic and post-industrial spaces. The painting “Converting the Powell River Mill to a Recreation and Retirement Centre,” completed in 1985, was her first image based on an actual site. Her work, considered both utopic and dystopic, has been presented in group exhibitions such as Better Worlds, Future Cities, Brave New Worlds and the international project Shrinking Cities which opened in Berlin, 2005. She now divides her time between Winnipeg and Montreal, where she is associate professor (painting and drawing) at Concordia University.
Powell River Voices is a relatively new group of residents who aim to inspire conversations about Powell River’s economic and social future. In the last year, this group has presented talks and workshops by Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance and by alternative economists Michael Lewis and Katherine Gibson.
Admission to the Friday night event is by donation, and all are encouraged to learn how the arts community in the Powell River region can and does contribute to social well-being.
