After a long shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Kimberley Arts Council – Centre 64 Visual Arts Committee is excited to re-open the Gallery at Centre 64 with one of its most popular annual exhibitions, the Kaleidoscope regional adjudicated exhibition.

However, this year the number of entries to this normally fully populated exhibition are down by almost 60%, due, no doubt, to the pandemic. Less quantity, however, does not mean less quality. The artworks in this August’s exhibition display the same variety, creativity, professionalism and talent as always.

After the 33 pieces were hung in the gallery, four selected professional artists volunteered to take on the always difficult task of judging them for prizes, guided by judging criteria provided by the visual arts committee.

First prizes in the emerging and established categories were sponsored by Jurate and Michael Haiduk and by Greg Sternig respectively. All other prizes were sponsored by the Regional District of East Kootenay with funding from the Columbia Basin Trust.

From the 19 pieces entered in the emerging artist category, the winners are as follows: First place – “Alaska,” a unique portrait of her dog, painted in oils by Kimberley artist Brittany McLean; second place – an acrylic composition titled “Mystery” by Invermere artist Elizabeth Stuart; third place – her multi media/watercolour piece, “Quilter’s Daughter,” by Kimberley artist Lenore Gish.

Honourable mentions in the emerging artists’ category went to Baynes Lake artist Autumn Baxter for her acrylic painting, “Nature’s Beauty,” and to Kimberley artist Brian Leeb for “Fumbling,” a watercolour ink painting of a flowing mountain range.

The jurors selected the following winners from the slightly smaller selection of works by established artists: first place – “Quixote Moon,” an intriguing piece of engraved metal art by well-known Kimberley artist Walter Comper; second place – one of her very detailed three-dimensional sock monkey creations titled “High Wheeling Gent,” and third place – a beautiful and earthy multimedia piece titled “Tree on Plaster,” both by another familiar Kimberley artist, Elaine Rudser.

Honourable mentions in the established artists’ category went to Cranbrook artist Dawn Fenwick for her acrylic painting, “Remains of a Day,” and to Cranbrook photographer Neal Panton for his black and white photograph of a street performer, titled “Mack the Knife.”

The exhibition will run until August 29 and can be seen in person in the Gallery at Centre 64 from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday or in our online gallery www.kimberleyarts.com.

Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favorite piece for the People’s Choice Award, also sponsored by the Regional District of the East Kootenay on behalf of the Columbia Basin Trust, for which the winner will be announced at 5 p.m. on August 29. Votes can be submitted in the gallery or online (one vote per person only).

Please note: To protect the health of Centre 64 visitors, volunteers and staff, masks are mandatory when visiting our gallery. The Kimberley Arts Council would like to thank all volunteers, participating artists, gallery visitors, and sponsors for helping to keep the Kimberley Kaleidoscope Regional Adjudicated Exhibition alive during these challenging times.

Photos submitted by Kimberley Arts Centre 64

Kimberley Arts Centre 64

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