City hall can now call itself an art gallery.
The fifth floor of the municipal government headquarters is where the mayor's office is located, along with a number of other important functions of the City of Prince George. On Monday it was also busy with measuring tapes and hammers as the annual art show was changed over.
The 2015 Canada Winter Games prompted the first such exhibit. The inaugural artist was Lheidli T'enneh First Nation painter Jennifer Pighin (she was also the designer of the medals, items of Team BC clothing, and other images within the Games). After a year of showcasing her works on the walls of the offices, corridors and conference rooms of the fifth floor, it is now time for a new artist to be displayed.
Laura Chandler is a longtime local photographer and painter of watercolour and acrylic images. She is also known for teaching art at the Two Rivers Gallery.
She, too, has a Games connection, with her work among the official gifts given to VIPs. She has also been commissioned for local murals, was part of the citywide highway banner program, the BC Lions Society spirit bear fundraiser art initiative, and her work has been featured at locations like Two Rivers Gallery and Studio 2880, among other high profile locations.
Now she can add city hall to the list. A collection of 30-40 of her pieces was installed there on Monday morning.
"I was very excited, I was not expecting this," she said, tickled that it comes on her 25th anniversary of residency in this city. Identifiable images of this area are frequent in her work.
"A few of these items will be for sale," she added, "but most are ones I consider special in some way so there is no price on them."
The selection process was made jointly by mayor Lyn Hall, who originated the idea more than a year ago, and the Community Arts Council that operates Studio 2880 and its many programs fostering arts of all sorts in this region.
"Prince George has a very robust arts and culture scene and many highly talented artists, such as Laura Chandler and Jennifer Pighin," said Hall.
"The display is part of an informal agreement with Studio 2880 to help us feature local art in city hall. There is no formal application process; the Studio recommends artists to us who have a sufficient quantity and quality of work. We are also looking into whether we can display more art throughout the entire building in high traffic areas such as the lobby in front of the Service Centre. I can think of no better place to highlight the work of Prince George talent than on the walls of Prince George City Hall."
"It is important to me to capture the look and feel of a notable local landscape, and make it recognizable and enjoyable for others to relate to," Chandler said. "I take pride in living here in Prince George, as do many others. I am happy to be able to create work that gives people what they enjoy while reminding them about how lucky we are to be living here."
Consequently, many of the images in the fifth floor collection are easily recognizable spots in the area's landscape: Mount Robson, the Nachako River cutbanks, etc.
CAC project co-ordinator Lisa Redpath agreed that it was a great initiative to draw positive attention to particular artists and to the arts in general. The more local that spotlight could be, the better.
"We have no trouble selecting artists based on the calibre of their work, the quality of the work, and we all agree that it's important in this kind of setting to maintain a very high level," said Redpath.
"We do this as well at the Prince George Airport, so this is another phase of the outreach we began under the Artnership program we started for the Games. There is every reason to continue it on. The CAC is about community and engagement between the community and its artists."
"I make art because I feel an inner drive to react to and interpret the natural world, in particular closer to home, my surroundings and my experiences," Chandler said.
"The ability to express myself defines me as a person."
