Posted: 23 June 2023
With the summer months on the horizon, it’s time for camps, community events, festivals and lots of sunscreen. At KWAG, we love this time of year because our studios are bustling with young artists, new and returning visitors discussing ideas with each other in the gallery spaces. We get to be creative with community members at locations across Waterloo Region.
While we love when our community comes to visit the exhibitions in our galleries or create art in our studios, KWAG offers a variety of offsite programming throughout the year. Recently, you might have seen us at the Fredrick Neighbourhood Association Bike Fair bedazzling bikes for the safety parade and at the Stanley Park Community Centre making twirling butterflies for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters funfair celebration. In July, we will be at the Community Picnic at Waterloo Park from 4 pm to 10 pm on July 1st with some fun art activities you can do at the event or take home, in DTK for a public art tour, and at various parks throughout Kitchener for Art in the Park.
Art in the Park is a new free program that invites the public to become artists and curators of their own mini art gallery, we’ll come with the supplies, and professional artists will be there to show you some exciting art techniques you can use to create your art. If you see a piece in the mini gallery you must have, you can exchange it for one of your own and take it home. Like KWAG, we hope the mini gallery is ever-growing to meet the community’s needs.
Something special happens when you create art together inside and outside a gallery. It positively changes the space and adds vibrancy. We love having opportunities to facilitate arts and culture experiences outside the Gallery because we acknowledge that there can be challenges visiting the Gallery—location, hours, or wondering if you will feel welcomed or represented in the space—and because we exist to serve the public, we want to connect with all members of our community. Going to parks, festivals, community centres, and other organizations allows us to engage and create with individuals in the spaces they feel comfortable in. We also learn more about the amazing things that individuals and other organizations do and how we can better serve our community.
Galleries are no longer white cubes separated from the public; they can be quiet and reflective, loud and dynamic, messy and healing, or in your local park. We’re your Gallery, we love it when you visit, we love coming to see you, and we are excited whenever we get to engage with you, wherever you are.
Curious about where KWAG will be next? Follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter! We can’t wait to see you!
By Public Programs Coordinator, Desarée Rosskopf