During the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, people of all ages were struggling to find ways to spend their time. A group of artists has immortalized those memories through artwork.
Now, that artwork is open to the public for viewing at the ACT Arts Centre Art Gallery.
Read: Tiny Art Show creates colourful display in Pitt Meadows
The juried exhibition, Close To Home, is a 63-piece collection created by 31 artists from the Garibaldi Art Club in the past two years.
This year marks the Club’s 60th anniversary which will be celebrated with a silent auction and dinner later this year.
Currently, there are 85 members of the Club and some new ones joined in January, shared Diane Spiers, president of the club.
All artworks are paintings albeit some made with pen while others with pastels or acrylic.
Recalling her COVID-19 pandemic days, Lyn Thomas, an artist showcasing at the exhibit, shared that she felt fortunate despite living alone.
“I was fortunate because I had a home with a garden and I went on frequent hikes with two other women, took photos and then painted them later. The club has been extremely helpful because we could still get together in the outdoors and paint together.”
Her favourite painting of the three exhibited is Tumbling Down at Steelhead Creek made from pastels, a medium she recalled falling in love with immediately.
The first-prize winner of the juried exhibition was Clara Gye Yoon. Her painting, Peaceful Days is made entirely from pencil and shows her memory from her house in Langley where she spent 20 years before moving to Maple Ridge, seven years ago.
The opening reception was attended by Mayor Dan Ruimy of Maple Ridge, Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Bob D’Eith and other council members.
The exhibition, which takes place every two years, is open till June 24, 2023.
*Correction: The previous version of the story misspelled the name of the first place artist and stated that the artwork was from Abbotsford. We have made the correction
