By KIRSTEN BOLTON
FOR ARTSPRING
As ArtSpring readies to celebrate its 25th anniversary of opening its doors with the ribbon cutting by Birgit and Robert Bateman in April 1999, over a decade of petitioning, fundraising, coordinating and building occurred in the community leading up to that big day.
Four game changers from what is being called the “pre-history of ArtSpring” are assembling for a panel discussion to share stories and lived experiences on how and why the dream of ArtSpring came to be. The panel, Q and A, and coffee mingler session is free to the public on Saturday, March 16 from 12 to 2 p.m.
This is the first in an ongoing speaker series to be coordinated by the newly launched Community Roundtable Committee, an initiative that came out of an ArtSpring “listening session” in May 2023 to gather opinions from the island’s artists and organizations. A volunteer group passionate about developing public programming for ArtSpring was established to engage and grow community creative thinking, skill sets and involvement through local speakers, workshops and networking cafés.
“The story of why ArtSpring was wanted and needed and how it was achieved is an epic drama,” explains April Curtis, who served on the first Island Arts Centre Society board formed in 1989. “It’s a perfect theme to set the tone for engaging long-time residents, while inviting more recent arrivals to learn about our unique history and culture.”
Salt Spring has long had a reputation as one of the most dense per capita regions for artists in North America. The impact it has had on local culture, attracting tourism and contributing to the economy is a defining trait. That the island’s performing and visual artists needed a centralized place to stage productions and exhibitions, learn and practise their crafts and support students became a driving priority.
At the event, Curtis will be touching on how the seed grants arose, what fundraising events were hosted by enthusiastic groups and how the community came together with over 12,000 signatures to prove interest for a home for the arts on Salt Spring. The process of finding land, architects, design plans and grant proposals will be highlights as well as the forming of the first board of directors.
Sue Newman will be speaking to the community music, dance and education contributions in the process and the specific needs that group of artists, musicians, choirs, bands and students had.
Victoria Olchowecki will present the history of the art and craft guilds and their critical role in the development of ArtSpring. Some work from the guilds will be on display in the gallery for the event.
Finally, Tom Toynbee will lead audiences through the exciting drama of the difficulties and costs of building an art centre. With critical moments of stops and starts, some doubted whether it even could be completed. He will reveal the story of how and who gave the final lift, which made it possible to cross the finish line and open ArtSpring’s doors.
The Community Roundtable Committee is seeking volunteer members who care about the arts at ArtSpring and have ideas and opinions to enrich local engagement and development.