Editors’ Note: The People and Place exhibition was officially opened via FacebookLIVE on Jan.10th. If you would like to get involved with Pop Up Art, please visit ov-caos.org for more information, or contact Anya Gansterer at anya@ov-caos.org
Water is one of the strongest forces in nature, and here in the Ottawa Valley we are no strangers to its awesome power. It has carved a path through the Canadian Shield for millennia, shaping the landscape we know and love. These waterways are the inspiration for a new work of art that envisions the familiar lakes, rivers, and streams of the Ottawa Valley in a whole new way.
Working in collaboration with 51 creative people from across the Ottawa Valley, artist Genevieve Townsend created People and Place, a mixed media tapestry exploring the intersection between people and the natural landscape. Now on display at Fifth Chute Coffee in Eganville, People and Place is a map of our local waterways unlike any you’ve seen before. Above: The tapestry in progress. Photo Ottawa Valley Community Arts.
“It is a true community collaboration,” says Anya Gansterer, co-artistic director at Ottawa Valley Community Arts (OV-CAOS). “The concept for this piece grew out of a desire to support people in working on a project together yet apart during the early days of the pandemic. People and Place pays homage to the places where we feel connected to one another and the land from which we draw inspiration and livelihood.”
People and Place is the latest installment in the Pop Up Art series, presented by OV-CAOS. The exhibit will remain in Eganville until March 20, 2022, before moving on to the Arnprior Public Library for the spring and then Garrison Petawawa later this year. The goal of Pop Up Art is to offer Ottawa Valley residents the opportunity to interact with art in public spaces, and to have meaningful encounters with art in their day-to-day lives.
Because this art is in shared, public spaces, Pop Up Art events carefully adhere to all current public health protocols. Visitors are reminded to wear a mask when visiting the exhibition, and always maintain distance from other visitors.
OttawaValleyCommunityArts(2022,Jan.3) People and Place – Pop Up Art [media release]
