The sonic sounds of Alisdair MacRae and Patrick Lacasse’s Perfect Music: High Voltage ring through the gallery as patrons holding cocktails interact with the display to create music.
Meanwhile in an adjacent open space, debonair gentlemen and elegant women use watercolours to create galaxy art, inspired by Destanne Norris’s Stellar.
They’ve all gathered at and in support of the Vernon Public Art Gallery for Art After Dark Sept. 29.
The soirée-style party is VPAG’s way of generating interest in the creative world through interactive art and exhibits, food, drinks, a live DJ and local tastings.
“It’s an opportunity to put on something a little special,” said Dauna Kennedy-Grant, VPAG executive director. “It’s an excuse to get dressed up and kind of change the environment for everyone.”
Visitors have the opportunity to test their art chops and tap into their creative sides with live watercolour galaxy art paintings set up and the hands-on music, sound and electrical exhibition Perfect Music: High Voltage.
“It’s a fun environment to dabble in. Once people get in there, it will be hard to get them out,” Kennedy-Grant laughed, adding that this will be the first hands-on display for Art After Dark.
A DJ will be on-site to serenade the patrons as they taste offerings from the Grub Truck; sip cocktails, wine and beer from Marten Brewing Co. and sample free appetizers compliments of the gallery.
Art and community is the central focus of the event, and Kennedy-Grant is excited to showcase new pieces added to the gallery’s permanent collection in an exclusive pop-up exhibition during Art After Dark.
“We don’t have the opportunity or space to showcase all of the great art we have in our collection, so it will be fun to bring out a few pieces for this evening event to share with those in attendance,” Kennedy-Grant said. “Viewers will need to look beyond what they first see to find out what the art is trying to say.”
The pieces in question are those of Marsha Kennedy’s Mapping the Land and Body, which were last exhibited at the gallery more than a decade ago.
Kennedy is a Winnipeg product whose work in the exhibition depicts naked human beings accompanied by bones, images of a DNA helix and a map of the North-West Rebellion, to name a few, and relates to endangered or extinct animals and the stemming environmental impacts.
“We were lucky enough to add them to our collection last year thanks to a generous donation by the artist,” Kennedy-Grant said. “They’re significant pieces.”
VPAG acquired seven pieces from Kennedy’s Mapping the Land and Body.
“There’s so much you could look at and talk about with them,” said Laura Ashton, VPAG marketing and programming coordinator. “It’s so exciting to get to display them to the public.”
VPAG’s pop-up exhibition also features a large scale painting entitled The Great Divide by Shawn Serfas, which the gallery acquired in 2014.
By transforming the ambiance of the gallery for a night into a modern chic party, VPAG hopes to inspire and entice a new demographic.
“We’re appealing to the audience that doesn’t necessarily come to opening receptions,” Ashton said. “We also get a lot of people who are new to Vernon.”
And for VPAG, getting the community interested in art is what it’s all about, Kennedy-Grant said.
“It’s making art accessible to everyone and part of the social environment in our community.”
Art After Dark overtakes the Vernon Public Art Gallery Sept. 29 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $15 at the gallery, 250-545-3173, or online at www.vernonpublicartgallery.com. Any remaining tickets will be on sale at the door. Cocktail party chic attire is suggested.