NEWS RELEASE
MACLAREN ART CENTRE
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The MacLaren Art Centre reopened to the public on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021, with new hours. We are excited to welcome the public back into the gallery with an engaging fall season of exhibitions and programs.
Michael Farnan’s Canoe Fight: From Reverence to Redress is on view until Oct. 24. Featuring the canoe — an Indigenous technology that was deployed by white settlers to expand the colonial state into the Canadian interior — this exhibition demonstrates how beloved Canadian cultural symbols actively inscribe Canadian settler culture as the natural inheritor of both land and power in the area and beyond. Farnan is a Victoria Harbour-based artist whose work has been exhibited throughout Canada.
An exhibition by chum mcleod titled small world is on view until Oct. 24, and features intricate dioramas of hardscrabble bunny characters in a closed and strange universe. Battling floods, visiting a travelling circus, solving arcane domestic mysteries or ice fishing alongside their skidoos, the bunnies are completely engaged in the dramas in which they find themselves.
Polyempath Polyethylene by Kelly Jazvac, a Montreal-based artist, presents an installation of new work in which she continues to engage with the prevalence of synthetic materials in contemporary life. Featuring sculptures five years in the making, works are paired against the uncanny meeting of bodies and landscapes, using sewing techniques to alter waste from commercial advertising. This exhibition is on view until Oct. 31.
In addition to an exciting calendar of art programs for all ages and experience levels, including Family Sundays, children and adult programs, the Youth Community Quilt which was created through a series of workshops hosted by the Downtown Barrie Youth Collective and led by regional artist Sean George this summer is on display in the MacLaren lobby.
Gallery Public Hours: Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Café Public Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Framing Shop: By appointment Tuesday to Thursday. Please book online.
Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5.
The Gallery Café is open with limited hours from Tuesday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Come and enjoy a great cup in the courtyard while the weather is still warm.
Visit the gallery website for more details on all the exciting exhibitions, programs, events, and COVID protocols.
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