Community pop-up art gallery at Lansdowne
By Martha Bowers
Have you been staring at your walls for months, thinking you really need something new to brighten them up? Since so many of us are working from home and staying in, our walls have become a focal point of our lives. Now you have the opportunity to do something about them. A Community Pop-up Art Gallery has opened at Lansdowne, featuring works by local artists!
With so many venues closed because of COVID-19, this is an exciting venture of the Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour, which could not take place last summer. One of the participating artists, Andrew Cardozo, had the idea to ask if one of the vacant stores at Lansdowne could be made available to local artists. He took the idea to Anthony Carricato, chair of the Glebe Community Association’s (GCA) Lansdowne Committee. Carricato approached Mark Goudie, CEO of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), who loved the idea and graciously offered to lease a vacant store rent-free. After securing funding for utilities and insurance from the GCA and the Glebe BIA, the gallery opened on November 20 in the former Structube location.
The gallery features a wide range of artistic talent from painters to photographers to glassworkers. There are landscapes, portraits, still lives, photos, glassworks, abstracts – you are sure to find something that you would love to hang in your home. And you will have the chance to chat with the artists, at a distance of course!
The gallery is a wonderful collaboration between the GCA, OSEG, the Glebe BIA, Glebe Art in Our Gardens and Studio Tour and the artists. It will benefit the artists and will also help make Lansdowne more appealing by offering residents a new and interesting destination to visit. The timing, during the holiday season, couldn’t be better.
Visitors are invited to drop by the gallery at 225 Marché Way, Unit 102 on Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the end of December. In line with COVID-19 protocols, the number of people allowed inside will be carefully monitored, and everyone will be required to wear a mask and stay two metres from others. If you are unable to come by during our open hours, please send a message to glebearttour@hotmail.ca to make an appointment to visit at another time.
We look forward to welcoming you to our Community Pop-up Art Gallery. You may discover a beautiful work of art that will bring you pleasure and joy for years to come. Pop in to celebrate this community initiative and support local artists!
Martha Bowers is a long-time Glebe resident who is not an artist but greatly appreciates those who are.
