Located on Hunter Street in downtown Peterborough, amidst the hub of culture and cafes, is the Gallery in the Attic. Easy to miss at first, the beautiful little gallery provides space for local artists to display their work.
The Gallery in the Attic is the passion-project of founder and curator Elizabeth Fennell, who held galleries in her partner’s home before the space became available. Fennell jumped at the opportunity to create a full-time art space, opening the Gallery in August of last year.
The Gallery is a members-supported space, and every nook and corner of the unique space is filled with their works. Not a single area is bare, with large windows that fill the space with natural light to illuminate paintings and sculptures.
Currently on display as part of Built/Environment are pieces such as Dale Brownson’s colourful cityscapes and Rebecca Padgett’s larger than life abstract paintings.
Brownson has been a member since the very beginning, his paintings filling a room that once operated as his studio. His love for architecture and eye for detail is seen in his work.
Padgett, who is a self taught artist, hair stylist, and makeup artist, has her tools out for display to show the enormous scale she works with. Her collection is titled “End of Daze.”
In addition to these two solo exhibitions are works from the rest of the gallery’s membership, which are environmentally themed.
Built/Environment opened on May 3. The night was a huge success. Fennell claims that upwards of 300 people flooded the Attic to see the diverse works.
The exhibit runs Tuesday to Saturday from 12- 5pm until June 1. Located at 140 ½ Hunter Street West, admission to the exhibition is free, and donations are accepted.
Whether you are out of a coffee or a little bit of culture, the Gallery in the Attic is worth a gander; here you can find a display of photographic history and contemporary pieces that are sure to inspire.
The historically designated Roy Studio building is also the site of one of Canada’s largest archival image collections, as well as a continuously operating darkroom that holds the beautiful Balsillie Collection of Roy Studio Images (documenting Peterborough between 1896-1992).
Fennell has since used the Gallery’s space to found The Darkroom Project, which aims to keep film photography alive in Peterborough.