Behind the scenes at the Glebe Fine Art Show
Local artist Erwin Mistlberger displays his works at GFAS.
Photos: Brian Cox
A portrait painted by local artist Erwin Mistlberger on display at GFAS.
By Brian L. Cox
For two decades, the Glebe Fine Art Show (GFAS) has brought artists from across the capital region to showcase their works in the neighbourhood. Although the occasion attracts visitors from throughout the Glebe and beyond, the effort and fellowship behind the canvasses and exhibits may be less evident to attendees than the works on display.
“Everyone loves the art show,” declared Eileen Durand, who helped coordinate the event. Co-organizer Linda Loder similarly emphasized the “collegial and cooperative” spirit among participants and the local community.
This year, the event was held on September 14 and 15 at the Glebe Community Centre. Loder was an exhibitor at the inaugural Glebe Fine Art Show in 2004. The first event was such a success, Loder recalled, that several participants suggested convening again the following year. Loder has been involved in organizing the annual show ever since.
“We usually start making arrangements as early as December,” Loder explained as she and Durand staffed the table where patrons paid for the works they decided to buy. With a considerable stack of carbon-copy receipts piling up close to the end of the first day, the pair revealed that they had just completed the largest transaction of the show so far: two paintings that sold for a combined $1,750.
Artists pay a standard up-front fee to rent booth space, and all sales are centrally managed by the organizers. A 15-per-cent commission is charged for all purchases.
“An art show really is the ideal set up for artists,” said artist Daniel St-Cyr of Gatineau. Galleries are a convenient venue for displaying works, he noted, but the customer typically pays a significant premium on purchases there. The comparatively modest markup on sales at an event such as GFAS is beneficial to artist and art buyer alike, said St-Cyr.
He recalled being interested in art “since high school” and has dabbled with techniques such as drawing and sketching since then. In 2010, St-Cyr left structured work in graphic design to become a full-time artist. He now participates in about 10 shows and exhibits each year.
“For me,” St-Cyr’s GFAS exhibitor page reveals, “happiness is applying colour to a surface to create art.”
Ottawa resident Erwin Mistlberger conveyed a similar outlook in front of his booth at the show. “You pour your soul into each piece of art,” he said. Like many exhibitors at the event, Mistlberger is mostly self-taught, though he has taken classes in Ottawa, Montreal and his native Austria. He said he’s exhibited work at GFAS “for many years” and also participates in four or five other shows each year.
Glenda Yates Krusberg, a Glebe resident since 1974, has attended the show as an exhibitor for about 15 years. Before becoming a full-time artist, Yates Krusberg was the chief designer at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. At her booth, Yates Krusberg fondly recalled her previous work at the museum, which included designing the beloved “Crazy Kitchen” attraction.
Even so, she eventually decided to refocus her work life to produce art full time.
Though she is grateful for the opportunity to pursue her passion, Yates Krusberg pointed out that “so much work goes in to preparing for a show.” She described her method of constructing “padded sleeves” for each artwork and shielding each edge with duct tape. Collecting, protecting, transporting, unpacking, arranging, and displaying her works for each show involves extensive time and effort, but Yates Krusberg insists it is a labour of love.
At the sales table, Loder and Durand expressed a similar sentiment about organizing the show. Advertising, website design and management, equipment and location rentals, coordinating with artists and the venue among other activities are all necessary for the appreciation of the artwork – and purchases – to happen.
But the experience of bringing artists and the local community together for the annual show makes all the time and effort worth it, the two organizers emphasized. With the works of 34 exhibitors on display and other artists on a waitlist each year, there is no shortage of interest within the regional arts scene to participate in the show.
While applauding the sense of community at GFAS and similar shows, St-Cyr expressed a feeling of apprehension he says is widely shared among artists today. “With AI breathing down our necks,” he cautioned, “there may come a time when human artists are replaced by computers.”
For the time being, talented and imaginative people – rather than machines – are driving the creation and exhibition of artworks at this successful annual show. Events like the Glebe Fine Art Show may help ensure this remains the case well into the future.
Dr. Brian L. Cox is a graduate Master of Journalism student at Carleton as well as an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School, a research fellow at the Centre for International Law and Defence Policy at Queen’s University and a retired judge advocate in the U.S. army.
