One of the biggest festivals in Vancouver Island brings more than 160 artists to the streets of Victoria
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) expects to turn the summer into a vibrant canvas landscape by hosting the TD Art Gallery Paint-In on Saturday (July 20).
The city’s largest open-air art festival showcases the boundless creativity of Vancouver and Gulf Islands artists to local attendees along Victoria’s Moss Street, from Fort Street to Clover Avenue, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The AGGV at 1040 Moss St. will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with admission by donation.
The festival, sponsored by TD Bank Group, serves as one of the major fundraising and community engagement events of the year for AGGV, as the donations from the gathering help fund the museum’s educational programs that support students pursuing a career in arts and culture across the province.
“For 35 years, the Art Gallery Paint-In presented by TD Bank Group, has celebrated Vancouver Island art and artists,” says AGGV director/CEO Nancy Noble. “We are excited to once again welcome thousands of art lovers back to our neighbourhood.”
This year, AGGV offers the general public four free curator guided tours of current Canadian art exhibitions that take place throughout the day. These are hosted by chief curator and director of collections and exhibitions Steven McNeil, and Asian art curator Heng Wu, whose tours are given in Mandarin.
The Art Gallery Paint-In has gone through considerable development since it first debuted in 1989, as the event draws no less than 40,000 people every year. Along with the vast array of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and ceramics, the public is also encouraged to relax and indulge in the delicious foods offered by numerous vendors and beverage stations that are on every corner.
The occasion has been coordinated to offer entertainment for the whole family, hence Moss Street will include eight imagination stations for a variety of hands-on activities along with a Bosley’s by Pet Valu Pet Station, an area perfect for any four-legged companion.
For the first time, the art museum has made the Art Gallery Paint-In tote bags available for purchase at the information booths, the gallery shop and the AGGV membership booth.
On top of it all, the largest open-air art festival on the Island features live music from around the world, held in the Family-Friendly Beer Garden on Moss Street, adjacent to AGGV, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The performances feature products from Hoyne Brewing Co., Phillips Brewing Malting & Co., SeaCider Farm + Ciderhouse, and Vancouver Island Brewing.
“We hope that everyone enjoys a day full of art, music and fun, on the street, in the gallery and at the beer garden, while supporting our Island artists,” Noble said.
For more information, visit aggv.ca.
