Canadian-themed art exhibit unveiled

The Local Collective Art Project unveiled its “O Canada” exhibit April 18 at The O, located within Hotel STRY. It will be displayed for the next two weeks.

Artists within the Local Collective Art Project have put their patriotism on display.

The “O Canada” exhibit and festival was held last Saturday afternoon at The O, the bar and restaurant within Hotel STRY. The local group of artists that comprise the collection will have their work exhibited for roughly two weeks, starting with the unveiling last Saturday.

Approximately 18 artists participated in the Local Collective Art Project’s latest exhibit at The O. The exhibit was described by collective member Matthew Zaidan as a variety of different styles.

The aim was to have the artists create a piece (or two) that showed what Canada and being Canadian means to them.

“After this is over, we’re going to be doing exhibits every week for members of the collective,” he said. “There will 12 artists over 12 weeks. Every Sunday, we’ll switch them out.”

The festival portion of the April 18 unveiling was having pop-ups from three local businesses – Evelyn’s Candy Shop, the Owl’s Nest Emporium and Beavertails.

Lauri Brouyette, co-owner of Hotel STRY, said they have a lot of guests coming in from the United States, joking that many say “I’m sorry” due to more strained than usual state of Canada-U.S. relations. She said the hotel wants to show their Canadian pride and show what this country means to people.

The vendors all have Canadian items, she added, with Brouyette saying it is a great time to show and appreciate what being Canadian means.

“We really want to support the artists,” she added. “It’s good for everybody.”

Canadian-themed art exhibit unveiled

By Ron Giofu