Playing February 22 to 24 at 7:30 pm, and February 25 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm.
A fantastical new play by Sue Rose about the quest for the source of all being.
In this comedic fantasy, a woman finds her concept of God isn’t working for her anymore. Three actors portray her obsessive Mind and her desperate Heart. Her Soul knows the way but it speaks in riddles. How will Mind and Heart reconcile and begin their journey?
For details on this show (including tickets), or other Live Bait programming, or to be added to our email list visit www.livebaittheatre.com
The Sweetest Little Thing: Fundraising Art Auction Valentine’s Day Tuesday 14 February @ 7:00 PM Owens Art Gallery
(Bidding opens February 7th, 9am)
We are thrilled to announce the return of the Sweetest Little Thing live and in-person! We can’t wait to welcome you back to the Owens this Valentine’s Day to celebrate art and community. At the heart of this event is a silent auction featuring artworks donated by local, regional, and national artists. For the first time in two years, artworks will be on view in the Owens’ second-floor gallery.
This year’s event will be a little different than before the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is sure to feel as warm and fuzzy as always. You can expect a chance to gather in your fanciest dress, to snap a photo at the Instant Lovin’ Photo Booth, and partake in some dancing. We’ll have outdoor refreshments of hot chocolate and apple cider served by Mount Allison’s Flame snack cart.
While there won’t be a cakewalk this year, there will be a raffle for an epic cake donated by Cranewood on Main Bakery and Café and other fabulous prize packs.
Masks continue to be mandatory at the Owens and Struts and in all buildings at Mount Allison University. We will have extra special pink, magenta, and red KN95 masks to keep us looking festive. Available for free in both child and adult sizes.
Admission to the event is by donation. Capacity is limited.
This year, bidding will take place entirely online, so remember to bring your device of choice. Bidding opens on 7 February @ 9:00 AM AST at www.sweetestlittlething.ca. Artworks will be available to preview in-person beginning 7 February at the Owens.
Forbidden Music: Chamber Music under the influence of 1920’s Germany.
Tutta Music Orchestra alongside musicians from the Faculty of Mount Allison University Department of Music, directed by Tony Delgado and Greg Burton, perform works written under the influence of 1920’s Germany by Ernest Bloch, Erwin Schulhoff, and Kurt Weill. The concert will take place at Mount Allison University Department of Music’s Brunton Auditorium Sunday, February 5th at 3:00 p.m.
Online Exhibition 27 January to 23 April 2023 Game Night: 10 March @ 7:00 pm
Works by David Clark, Ronnie Clarke, Elizabeth LaPensée, the Oshkii Giizhik Singers and Sharon M. Day, Amanda Low, Emily Short, Kara Stone
Life is not a continuous line from the cradle to the grave. Rather, it is many short lines, each ending in a choice, and branching right and left to other choices. —Doris Webster and Mary Alden Hopkins, Consider the Consequences!, 1930
Bringing together online works of interactive, non-linear storytelling, this exhibition explores how embodied experiences are created through sensory interactions. With each click, keystroke, swipe, or choice, you are taken deeper into webs of poetic hypertext, interactive narratives, and games. There is no winning or losing, and numerous endings are possible. Serving as a means to re-examine and expand our understanding of both the digital and physical world, these works create personal, intimate interactions where we interact, touch, and converse with code.
Open Studio with Francisco González-Rosas Wednesday, February 1st | 5:30 – 7pm Struts Gallery
What constitutes performance in a digital age? What are the biases of the technologies we use? How do we understand the impact of these biases on our attempts at self-expression?
Please join us for an informal studio visit and Q&A with Francisco González-Rosas. The artist will show a selection of their past work and discuss their current project, the digital production and post production of a multichannel video installation.
Francisco is a performance and new media artist born in Chile, and currently based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. Their creative research practice revolves around the constant mediation of reality in contemporary life, using performance as a generative device to approach the studio work. Their current work can be understood as a form of hyper-mediation: a conceptual exploration in which by-products of the body —scanning, CGI avatars, performance scenes— are arranged and projected into multiple pieces. This process is substantially determined by the technology with which the work is produced. The gesture of self-mediation emerges in connection to questions of queerness, identity, capital, and spectacle, understanding them as invisible technologies that intervene and alter the creation of the contemporary body.
Image: Work in progress by Francisco González-Rosas
All members in good standing are invited to participate in this year’s Annual General Meeting. Please email the gallery to RSVP and obtain the zoom link. info [at] strutsgallery [dot] ca
The Board of Directors for 2023-24 will be elected by the membership at the AGM. Nominations will be taken from the floor during the meeting or can be submitted by email.
Not currently a member but wish to attend the AGM? Purchase or renew a membership online or in person at the Gallery.
Sappyfest Presents: A free concert with Century Egg, Lil Omar & Klarka Weinwurm at the Royal Canadian Legion!
Century Egg (NS) Century Egg is a colourful band boasting a diverse range of influences and artistic traditions. Refreshingly modern and fun music about the importance of chosen family, staying together and the love of daydreaming and eating wonderful food.
Lil Omar (NB) Oscar Tecu (lil Omar) is a Latin American songwriter based out of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Touching on subjects like love, racial injustices, and mental illness, Tecu portrays the refugee experience in Canada through song writing by blending traditional Latin American rhythms with western folk rock. By drawing inspiration from Latin American telenovelas and Joāo Gilberto’s bossa nova style, lil Omar’s multilayered compositions tell a story whether lyrically or instrumentally.
Klarka Weinwurm (NB) A Triangular force lifted from the marshes of Sackville, New Brunswick. Soft vocal melodies of folk and the grit of garage, Weinwurm (guitar/vocals) along with Glenn Barrington (drums) and Evan Matthews (Bass) craft their own form of sludgy alternative indie rock. Klarka’s straightforward and catchy riffs have pop spirit and charm, paired with a heavy driving beat. Weinwurm’s work is dynamic, undulating between full-band distorted grooves and softer, sparser contemplations over folklike lone guitar melodies.
Masks are required except when actively drinking for all show attendees. Please note this is a shared venue, so there may be unmasked people in shared/common areas.
John Murchie’s art explores the relationship between order and accident. By focusing on simple actions, such as drawing a line, applying paint, or selecting colours, he seeks chaos in constraint and humour in seriousness. Straight lines end up crooked, evenly applied layers of paint become strange formations, crossword puzzles reveal modernist abstractions. À rebours (Against the Grain) spans fifty years of Murchie’s artistic practice, which found its direction in the 1970s, when he was Director of the Library at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Murchie is also widely known for his generous mentorship and support of artists and cultural producers at all stages of their careers, his tireless work building artists’ networks, and his significant contributions to artist-run culture in Canada. These contributions have led many artists to express their respect and admiration for him through their work. This exhibition is accompanied by a small selection of these homages done by artists Erin Brubacher, John Haney, Micah Lexier, Deborah Margo, Graeme Patterson, Felicity Tayler, and Tara K. Wells.
Originally from New Jersey, John Murchie immigrated to Canada in 1967 and has lived in Sackville, New Brunswick, for the past thirty-two years, earning a living as a gallery director, curator, writer, teacher, farmer, and cook. From 1972 to 1990 he worked as Director of the Library at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. His art practice spans more than fifty years during which time he published several artist books including A Quiet Evening (1978), Lines (1979), and One Way Ticket (1983). He has had several solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions at venues including AC Institute (New York), Dalhousie Art Gallery (Halifax), Articule (Montreal), Mercer Union (Toronto), The Nickle Arts Museum (Calgary), and Open Space (Victoria). He participated in Mountain Standard Time Performative Art Festival in 2003 and 2008. As a curator, he has organized exhibitions for Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery (Halifax), the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax), the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton), and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery (Charlottetown). He received awards and grants including two Canada Council for the Arts “Curator and Critics” awards, and, in 1995-1996, he was a Research Fellow at the National Gallery of Canada. From 2003 to 2013, he worked as the Coordinator of Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts Centre (Sackville, NB).
Magic Shrink Plastic with Vanessa Blackier Wednesday 18 January 7-9 PM
After three years on pause, we are thrilled to relaunch our MAKER MAKER workshop series! Join us as we kick off our 2023 program with Sackville artist, Vanessa Blackier, and discover the magic of shrink plastic.
At this workshop, you will learn tips and tricks for working with shrink plastic. We’ll have everything you’ll need to get started;shrink film, Sharpies, and scissors. Draw and cut out your designs and pop them into one of our portable toaster ovens, then watch in amazement as they shrink to half their original size. Turn your small-scale creations into charms, pendants, pins and more!
Vanessa Blackier is a crafter and connoisseur of cute tiny things, so naturally shrink plastic is her medium of choice. Finding inspiration anywhere from the garden to the thrift store, she designs colourful jewellery pieces for quirky and kitschy souls. You can find her handcrafted accessories at @veebeeshoppee on Instagram.
MAKER MAKER is a monthly program of seriously small after-hours art workshops. Led by diverse Maker Mentors, each workshop introduces a pocket-sized art project that can be made in two hours or less. Designed for accomplished and aspiring makers alike, MAKER MAKER is for anyone interested in making small things by hand with friends and fellow makers. This informal workshop series explores how working small can be practical, portable, and playful, economical, sharable, and even wearable.
While the hot chocolate and cookies are still on hiatus, we are so looking forward to gathering with you again! Masks are required at the Owens and in all buildings at Mount Allison University.
MAKER MAKER is free and all materials are provided; no registration required.
