Explore Fredericton’s Art Community Virtually!
During times of uncertainty due to Covid-19, the arts community recognizes that staying connected to art may be more important now than ever. Fredericton may be small, but it has a mighty arts and culture scene. Fredericton is home to more working artisans per capita than anywhere in Canada; this can be exemplified by the bustling art markets, galleries and shops found throughout the city. New Brunswick’s officially designated provincial art gallery, The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a local treasure and epicenter of this cultural capital.
The City of Fredericton itself is a beauty to behold; everywhere you look there is artistic inspiration; from the historic brick buildings, to the tree-lined streets. The view of the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge arching over the Saint John River is a local favorite. It should come as no surprise that art is such a focus in this capital city.
Fredericton is a hub for creative individuals which can be a greatly attributed to the fact that it’s home to The New Brunswick College of Craft and Design; the only college in Canada that focuses entirely on fine crafts and applied design.
The Fredericton arts community has been finding new ways to bring art to everyone, while we stay safely at home and practice physical distancing. A big part of this is being taken on by local galleries; thanks to them, we can now find exhibits turned into virtual tours, video recorded journeys through galleries, educational workshops online and stories typed and shared by artists.
Here is how you can experience Fredericton’s vibrant arts community online:
Beaverbrook Art Gallery
The world-renowned Beaverbrook Art Gallery is dedicated to enriching life through art. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery houses one of Canada’s most impressive and varied art collections, including the breathtaking 4-metre-tall Santiago el Grande by Salvador Dali.
The team at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery has created a Stay Connected with the Gallery section of their website, dedicated to ensuring the public can enjoy Gallery programs and collections while the doors are temporarily closed. Each week, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions, John Leroux, conducts a virtual gallery tour. The first virtual tour was a two-part exploration of the coveted artworks of a Canadian icon, Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing.
The Art activities at home portion of their website features activities like water color painting, and creating art with recycled materials you can find around the house.
Be sure to continue checking The Beaverbrook Art Gallery’s active social media channels to see what they have in store next!
Gallery 78
Gallery 78 has been offering a selection of fine art and craft, paintings, sculptures and photography since 1976, making it is the oldest private art gallery in New Brunswick.
The Gallery 78 Facebook page is keeping the community connected with the artists by sharing their inspirations for specific works and giving a glimpse into their studios and art processes. The first two virtual exhibitions featured artists who have played a huge role in establishing Fredericton’s arts community: Marjory Donaldson – A Retrospective and Treasures by Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak. The website also features photos of current and past exhibits.
The online store is still operating, selling fine art, photography, ceramics, sculptural, and jewellery and are able to ship, or deliver for free in Fredericton.
Gallery on Queen
Gallery on Queen is home to an ever-changing collection of artwork, from traditional to contemporary. The M.O. of Gallery on Queen is to create an inclusive space, that encourages diversity, while representing a wide array of artist mediums.
You can find a video of the exhibit, Wabanaki (People of the Dawn) featuring Indigenous works of art, on the Gallery on Queen website and Facebook page. Also found on their Facebook page are Snapshots from an early March Celebration of Life and tribute to Ned Bear, a master carver from the Wolastoqiyik First Nations Community in Fredericton – a must see for all.
Ongoing projects will continue as usual for Gallery on Queen, except now they will take place online. Artwork from Gallery on Queen is available for online purchase, shipping worldwide for free.
The UNB Arts Centre
The UNB Arts Centre offers programming for all ages, while committing to a multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary approach to education. For 70 years, the UNB Art Centre has served as a link between the university and the wider community by encouraging engagement with art and artists through exhibitions and events.
The UNB Art Centre’s exhibit, eerily named: Attending the Apocalypse showcases works by local artists Jennifer Lee Wiebe and Janice Wright Cheney. The exhibit was originally planned as an in-person experience but became a virtual exhibit with the onset of Covid-19. The UNB Art Center further explored this exhibit by using their social media channels for artist Q&A’s, virtual walking tours and a .pdf catalogue featuring information about the artwork and artists.
You can also visit the UNB Art Centre Blog to view photographs and detailed descriptions of past exhibits.
CreatedHere
Founded in 2014, CreatedHere is a web and print publication focused on uncovering the stories of New Brunswick artists and cultivating a connected arts community.
Their social media campaign #TheNewRegular asks members of the arts community to tag their “new regular” content on Facebook & Instagram. CreatedHere will feature these moments; new routines, reinvented studio practices and way of coping during these uncertain times through creativity; to capture this unique moment in our shared history.
The options for staying virtually connected with the province’s art community are endless with Created here!
Although the doors to local galleries are closed for now, the galleries remain open in the virtual sphere. One can’t argue the fact that art is better witnessed in person but for now, we must connect to it in this new way. Your interaction with what you see may be different; perhaps you can linger a little longer on your favorite piece from behind the confines of your computer screen.
You can help local galleries support artists by continuing to engage with and share their social media and web content. There are many artisan studios and shops sprinkled throughout Fredericton with doors closed for now but online shops are open. The full list of Artisan studios, local and handcrafted shops listed in our Visitor Guide.
To stay updated with how to connect with Fredericton’s arts community during Covid-19 and times of physical distancing, you can keep checking our #SupportFredLocal blog.
