Art gallery offering online programs – Estevan Mercury

The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM) has turned to the Internet in an effort to continue offering some programming.

Amber Andersen, the director-curator of the EAGM, said that in an effort to keep people aware of activities they can do, the EAGM has been posting crafts families can do at home. 

“There are different activities that are craft and art-based,” said Andersen.

Karly Garnier, the gallery’s programmer, recently shared activities that were Easter-oriented that gave people an idea of what they could do with supplies at home.

“The idea is to try to showcase things that we think people will have that they do with their kids while at home,” said Andersen. 

Easter-themed activities proved to be very popular with the public. 

The EAGM has also looked at ways to have programs in an altered format using social media to keep people connected. A group like the South Sask. Photo Club has been using Facebook for photo scavenger hunts.

The EAGM is also going to be showcasing the works from their current collection, which includes a large collection of Andrew King printing blocks, prints and travel trunks. In the 1930’s, Andrew King’s business, Enterprise Show Print, was the only full-time show poster printing plant in Canada. He later moved to Estevan and renamed the business King Show Print, and continued to produce posters to sell nationally and internationally. 

King was the owner of the Estevan Mercury from 1944-1958. 

“We have quite a substantial collection of Andrew King, the actual wood blocks that he would have used to print, and then the actual prints and posters themselves,” Andersen said.

They can also showcase contemporary artwork from local artists and displays from the North West Mounted Police Museum.

Another option would be to post photos of some of the works that they still have in their galleries, so that people can maintain a connection to visual literacy. The current exhibits were supposed to come down March 20, just after the pandemic came to Saskatchewan, but the EAGM couldn’t remove them while obeying the two-metre social distancing requirements. 

Andersen might perform a curatorial walkthrough so that if some people missed attending the shows, they can still get some insight into the exhibition and the artwork that is up.

Exhibits that were supposed to be at the EAGM in April and May were postponed. 

“We are trying to see which shows can be maintained and where they can maybe be moved to, or can they be moved to the future,” said Andersen. 

Monique Martin was supposed to be at the EAGM at this time, but has been rescheduled until the end of the year.

Andersen has been in contact with the artists who were supposed to exhibit their works starting in early June. A decision hasn’t been made about those exhibits. 

The artists have been very understanding during the pandemic.

“They know what is going on. This is not a surprise to them. The hope and the desire is that we can move things around and keep them on the schedule as much as possible.”

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