MOMENTUM

MOMENTUM, an exhibition of works by donor artists of the Coast Art Trust Society, will take place during the 2010 Olympic Games in the vicinity of the Athletes’ Village in Vancouver. The title of the exhibition reflects the ongoing eclectic creativity of established artists over a span of 3 to 5 decades. This is a rare opportunity to see a comprehensive overview of art created on the West Coast of British Columbia. The exhibition takes place from February 2nd to 27th at the Leighdon Studio Gallery at 190 West 3rd Avenue in Vancouver, BC. There is an opening reception at the gallery on February 7th from 2pm-6pm.

MOMENTUM is an exhibition of works by artists who persevered over the decades, continuing their work in spite of ups and downs and, by doing so, created an important heritage of visual art for British Columbia. Many of the participants have had a measure of success; they participated in major exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally, and now have their works represented in the permanent collections of Museums and Public Galleries as well as documented in books, films and critical reviews.

MOMENTUM features two works by each artist – one recent, and one from before 1990, in accordance with the historical mandate of the Society. Painting, photography, drawing, collage, sculpture and printmaking are included in the exhibtion, thus demonstrating the richness and diversity of the Society’s artists. MOMENTUM is a unique and exciting opportunity to present our artists to the world during the Winter Olympics.

MOMENTUM emphasizes the dedication, commitment and staying power of these artists, who have enriched the cultural heritage of British Columbia by their work.

The group of artists featured in MOMENTUM at the Leighdon Gallery in Vancouver, BC is comprised of donor members of the Coast Art Trust Society, who donated a selection of their works to form the initial Coast Art Trust collection. In 2009, over one hundred works created during the last fifty years were given to the University of Victoria’s Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery, where they will be exhibited, cared for and used as an educational resource. The first exhibition from the collection, Cross Connections, is on now until February 21st at the Legacy Gallery in Victoria, BC.

COAST ART TRUST SOCIETY is a non-profit society of British Columbia artists active on the West Coast for 30 years. The mandate of the Society is to advance the appreciation of art and enhance the cultural experience of residents and visitors to the Lower Mainland region in the province of British Columbia by assembling, maintaining and exhibiting a collection of visual art works and archival materials that document artistic activity on the Lower Mainland in the last half of the 20th century.

The exhibiting artists are: Donna Balma, Joan Balzar, Anna Banana, Mary Blaze, Susanna Blunt, Ross Bollerup, Audrey Capel Doray, James W. Felter, Stephen Gibbons-Barrett, Pnina Granirer, Sherrard Grauer, John Haig, Jeannie Kamins, John Koerner, Jeanne Krabbendam, Leo Labelle, Sally Michener, Marilyn S. Mylrea, Kal Opré, Sharon Perkins, Friedrich Peter, Henri Robideau, Gregg Simpson, Bob Steele and guest artist Jane Richardson.

For further information regarding the exhibition, please visit www.coastarttrust.ca or contact Pnina Granirer at 604-224-6795 or via email at pninag@shaw.ca