Art lovers in Peterborough and the surrounding region are once again gearing up for the highly anticipated annual event, Artsweek 2013.
Scheduled to run from September 6 – 13, Artsweek is a week-long celebration of arts and culture that aims to “program high quality, highly visible, and engaging projects that bring the arts front and centre for the broadest possible audience.”
The week will be filled with a wide variety of openings, workshops, and performances not to be missed by community members and university students.
Artsweek was founded in 2005, and exists as a non-profit, volunteer-run initiative. It is managed by a volunteer subcommittee of the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Advisory Committee to the City of Peterborough.
Artists apply to participate in Artsweek, and a small jury of arts and culture professionals review the project submissions. The jury of five will discuss characteristics such as, “commitment to artistic and professional growth, works that engage audiences in an active way, and an approach that embraces innovation and diversity” when considering a submission and its potential suitability.
Artsweek provides a great opportunity for contemporary artists to launch new projects, and this year the list of participants is both diverse and innovative.
Artsweek kicked off with an opening reception featuring musical guests Nick Ferrio and Jake Dudas. Atelier Ludmila & Public Energy also presented the outdoor performance: Wunderbar.
On September 8, two unique workshops—the first focusing on stop motion animation and the second on printmaking—were held.
Events still to come include a creative Peterborough storefront photography project pioneered by artist, Esther Vincent. This exhibition of portraits is an inventive collaboration between photographers and entrepreneurial business owners featured in their places of work.
Also still to come in the near future is a “Fun With Projectors Workshop” with Vincent Chevalier; “1000 Wishes – A Shared Vision of Community,” a print making workshop; “Making Your Way” Reframe stop motion workshop; “Light Sculpture Performances, Projection Video Mapping” with Lester Alfonso; and “Neighbourhoods: A Peterborough Anthology of Creative Words and Visual Art” with Jeff Macklin.
In addition to providing local artists with an opportunity to professionally showcase their work, Artsweek aims to engage the public at a level unlike that found in a traditional gallery. There are many opportunities to closely interact with artists, and the event is as much about professional development as it is socializing and sharing new ideas within the art community itself.
When asked what the public can expect during Artsweek, Coordinator Lyall Brownlee summarized by saying, “The arts front and centre. With multiple workshops and collaborative projects, there will be several opportunities for the public to get involved, to learn and interact with local artists.”
The very presence of Artsweek is proof that Peterborough is a great place to cultivate art. The arts represent a powerful force of cultural expression, and the community of Peterborough is highly supportive of such dramatic, audio, and visual creativity.
With performances and projects scheduled to take place all throughout the week, Artsweek 2013 promises to be yet another inspiration to the art appreciating community.