If you’ve ever walked along Sidney’s Beacon Avenue and the waterfront, you’ve probably seen the many sculptures on benches and in green spaces throughout the area.
Those artworks are holdovers from when the community used to hold sculpture walk events, art shows and competitions among artists. Those went into decline in recent years but now the Sidney Business Improvement Area (SBIA) has taken up the challenge of breaking a new mold.
RELATED: Reviving Sidney’s Sculpture Walk.
The SBIA announced this week that they plan to mount Sidney Sculpture by the Sea — a collaborative arts event with the Town of Sidney, Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney Museum and the Vancouver Island Sculpture Guild. The planned contemporary sculpture display will open to the public on July 8 and continue until early September.
“We are very excited to be able to create this event for Sidney and the Peninsula,” stated Donna Petrie, Executive Director of the SBIA in a media release. “There is so much talent here on Vancouver Island. We are delighted to be able to showcase some of it!”
Sidney Sculpture by the Sea will showcase artwork by a variety of creators — most will be for sale — and will be of varying sizes and subject matter. It will include First Nations sculptures currently on display at the Mary Winspear Centre. The Centre and the Sidney Museum will be the two main event venues for the duration of the exhibit.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for residents and visitors alike to see an incredibly wide range of outstanding art work from some of the best sculptors around,” said Fred Dobbs, President of the Vancouver Island Sculptors Guild. “We are so pleased that Sidney is mounting this very special summer celebration.”
Shortly after the event begins, the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea will add to Sidney’s collection of artwork, with a contemporary piece by master carver Tenosén (Charles Elliot), celebrating the region’s Indigenous culture.
Sidney Sculpture by the Sea is expected to include the work of 30 artists — close to 100 sculptures.
For more details, visit distinctlysidney.ca.
editor@peninsulanewsreview.com
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