The Drift 2009

The Drift 2009
Main Street's 5th Annual Art Festival
October 2nd, 3rd, & 4th
Art in shops October 1-15

Get to know the artists in the Main Street area. Own an original locally- produced artwork.

The Drift is Main Street's spectacular arts and culture festival that takes place annually during the first weekend of October. Artists in the Main street area open their studios to the public and many of the local businesses along Main Street host an artist in their space.

To fill you in on a little history: The Drift is a non-profit arts society formed in 2004 as the Main Drift Art Society, to help promote and celebrate local artists. The Society’s intention was to support local art in other ways as well by providing an environment for artists to get together, share knowledge and experience and provide opportunities for professional growth.

As a result of the dedicated work of its director, board and volunteers over the years, in 2009 there is a sense that as an organization, The Drift has “paid its dues”. Now well established, 2009 is the year of reaping the rewards; the web site (created by the talented designers at sharkbite) is now familiar territory and clearly illustrates the wide range of exceptional talent in our area. As a result of the success of last year's event many more artists have joined in the organization, increasing the intensity, richness and diversity of talent.

Spend an hour perusing our web site.

To entice you here are some recommendations from our "browse by name" list, including recent art school grads, those who are self- taught, and established artists whose names you will recognize.

Check out Maja Wolnik's "scraps collection" which is particularly stunning. Have look at the paintings of Emilio Goicoechea; boldly colourful and enigmatic. Enjoy the iconic prints of Eric Nelson or the gorgeous furniture of Ivan Antoniw. Be amazed by the many, many "creative hats" of Steve Hornung.

For the Surrealist fancier try Liane McLaren Varnam, a recent graduate of Emily Carr. These are highly imaginative works. For the garden-minded, see June Hunter's intimate floral portraits manifesting on aged tiles: sensuous, rich in colour and poetic form, functional.

I love the "non static meditation on objects" of Jill Pilon's paintings and the "paint as you like and die happy" approach to landscape of Laura Skuse.

For the photo enthusiast you will enjoy the evocative photographs of Emily Cooper and the erotic photography of Passia Pandora.
You can't help but be moved by the beguiling explorations in collage and drawing of Marielle Geoffroy.

The huge scale and sumptuous acrylic surfaces of our "fearless leader" Diane Lefroy have always drawn attention. And you will never forget your first encounter with Kevin Davies' driftwood sculptures.

The mission of the Drift has always been community building. Come all. Become a "Drifter" & find out how you can contribute to the quality of this weekend in our neighbourhood and maybe even go home owning a special piece of local art work to begin or enhance your very own art collection.