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With permission from The Equity (click here for original article):
Glen Hartle
Wakefield, November 7, 2024
The 100 Mile Arts Network opened their Gallery & Boutique in Wakefield on Thursday to a packed room full of artists, enthusiasts, supporters and locals.
The Network began as a project of Theatre Wakefield back in 2017 and, when past president board member Paul Brown joined in 2020 as the general manager, he had always envisioned something permanent affording space for the art community. “I am so excited – this is just fantastic” he beamed as he looked out over the room of more than 90 attendees to the grand opening of the gallery.
“This new space will act as a creative hub for the Network to host workshops, professional development opportunities, and events designed to build stronger connections between artists and the community – all toward our ultimate mission of promoting and supporting English-speaking artists across the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, MRC de Pontiac, and MRC-de-la-vallée-de-la-Gatineau,” said Brown, adding, “and it is made wholly possible for the next three years by a grant from Le Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise.”
The event and evening itself were spearheaded by the hard work of Jennifer Bisson, the Social Media and Events Coordinator for 100 Mile Arts Network. Artists responded to her call with fervour and, “It just came together so beautifully” she enthused.
The result is an opening exhibition which showcases a broad representation of creativity, medium and talent from ten local artists including: Helene Anne Fortin, Andie Haltrich, Able Mabel, Tara Mazurk, Jamie Munro, Noël Smith-Sparrow, Daniel Wakeman and Shaper Within. Rounding out the artists are Pontiac residents Katharine Fletcher and Mitch Gagnon.
From photography to paint, from wall art to functional and from canvas to sheep wool, the exhibition is diverse and has 30 original pieces plus a collection of smaller reproductions available for sale. Bisson did a fantastic job of curating things and it flows wonderfully well from the first piece by well-known photographer-now-painter Fortin, who has expanded her artistic expression into acrylic paint and has opted for bright colours for this exhibition, right through to Munro, whose dark black lino prints offer poetic bookend to the show.
For her part, Gagnon is delighted to have space in the collective. Her 16 x 24 mixed media on canvas is called “Emergence” and has profound meaning to her on many levels, acting almost as an artistic and abbreviated wikipedia-style biography.
“I’m a digital and mixed media artist located in Fort-Coulonge, where I’ve lived most of my life. The Ottawa river in the front yard and a forest is in the back,” she shared. “I find solace and connection through nature and believe that we need to sync with our wildness and protect it at all costs.”
Calling the piece “a process”, Gagnon explained its genesis: “Emergence is a painting on top of a print I made using a photograph of a painting I had started and abandoned because I felt it was a failed piece of art,” Gagnon said. “I was just coming back to more traditional art and once I had a digital photograph of the long abandoned painting, I was able to use editing software to, well, fix it, reprint it and finish it with paint.”
Making reference to her own journey of coming out, Gagnon said that Emergence incapsulates “finding your inner voice and all of the layers of identity that we move through to get to our own self-expression.”
The exhibit continues Thursdays to Sundays through until November 17 and more information is available via social media or on their website at https://100milearts.net. The gallery is located at 721 Ch. Riverside #205 in Wakefield.
