Organizers of the annual pilgrimage to creative hotspots along the Sunshine Coast have announced the final tally of destinations for this year’s Art Crawl.
The Coast Cultural Alliance this week released promotional materials for the popular free event, which will feature 169 studio and gallery destinations from Langdale to Earls Cove during the weekend of Oct. 21 to 23.
“It’s become part of the fabric of the community,” said Linda Williams, chair of the Coast Cultural Alliance. Williams has coordinated the Crawl since its inception in 2010, when 75 participating venues reported approximately $30,000 in sales.
Last year, despite COVID-19 restrictions and a reduced number of venues, a record $528,000 was earned by participating artists, plus $80,000 in proceeds for commissions and workshop registrations.
The highest engagement occurred in 2019, when 185 venues welcomed almost 50,000 individual studio guests during the three-day event. The following year, due to the pandemic, visits and revenues dropped by more than half.
Each year, participating artists pay a registration fee to the Alliance, which is ineligible for government grant funding due to its longstanding policy of fairly compensating artists who lead Alliance programming.
“[The registered venues] get all the signage, all these brochures, all those arrows on roadsigns,” said Williams. “This year, the fee was $145, and I have to say that last we year we had somebody who made over $25,000 in three days.”
The 169 venues this year represent approximately 30 locations new to the Art Crawl. Another 20 have returned after taking a few years off, according to Williams. Some artists prefer to take a fallow year so they can participate in the Crawl themselves as visitors and patrons.
The Alliance website and a widely-distributed brochure identify sites that are reachable by visitors with mobility challenges, offer washroom facilities, or are also members of the Purple Banner Tour, which flags studios that welcome guests year-round.
In a visitor survey last year, 90 per cent of guests reported that the Crawl was “easy/safe to attend… being able to chat with the artists: priceless,” according to an internal report prepared by event organizers.
The 2021 Crawl attracted visitors from scores of communities in B.C. and elsewhere, including guests from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.
In addition to encouraging drop-in visits that often include live demonstrations of artistic disciplines, some venues are organizing drop-in receptions on Oct. 24 that will feature live music and refreshments. A dozen parties have already been announced, with more to be added to the Coast Cultural Alliance’s website.
This year’s Art Crawl takes place amid uncertainty about the potential impact of a bylaw proposed by the Sunshine Coast Regional District. The new Zoning Bylaw 722 would limit unscheduled visitors to home-based studios to six per day.
During a public hearing on Sept. 6, SCRD officials noted that if the bylaw is passed, regional district staff would suspend its enforcement during events like the Art Crawl.
“But it’s hard to consciously be part of something that’s illegal, whether you’re going to turn a blind eye or not, or say that you’re not going to enforce it,” commented Williams.
A full listing of Art Crawl venues is available at coastculture.com.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
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