Friday May 14, 2021 | SOOKE, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
The Sooke Fine Arts Show 2021 event will be entirely online again this year, repeating but further improving upon the 2020 show which was the first virtual experience for the popular long-time annual exhibit and sale.
This week a couple of the jurors revealed their direction with the important task of adjudicating the art pieces that are submitted for inclusion in the show. The Call for Artists is open to midnight on Tuesday May 25, 2021.
This year’s three jurors for the online Sooke Fine Arts Show selection process are Carey Newman (multi-disciplinary First Nations artist and 2018 Order of BC Winner), John Stuart Pryce (graphic designer and architectural illustrator), and Emily Hermant (interdisciplinary artist with themes of communication, gendered labor, technology and craft).
John Stuart Pryce says the adjudication process involves paying attention to an artist’s capability in drawing, composition and colour theory. He suggests that artists submit pieces which have captured the moment rather than what might be popular — that seems highly aptly given that COVID is presently ‘the moment’ and something that has seared the memory of everyone in the past year.
Emily Hermant says she is looking forward to the “surprises” in submission. She’s keen to see what kinds of practices that artists are engaging in “especially given the current conditions we are all living through with this pandemic”.
This year the online visitor will be able to take an online walk through gallery as well as see the details of the artworks for sale.
“This will give our guests several different ways to view the art from the comfort of their home,” said Moore. She adds that this feature is yet another way of displaying the artists’ works to their best advantage. Last year the ‘views’ included how an piece might might look on your living room wall.
“We are getting good response about the virtual walk-through gallery,” says SFAS executive director Terrie Moore,
Call for Artists open to May 25:
Submissions from artists are “on track” compared to last year, or even with a slightly higher count. “That’s a good sign!”, says Moore. The Call to Artists for the 2021 Sooke Fine Arts Show is open to midnight on Tuesday May 25, 2021.
Some artists have produced more art pieces during this time of COVID, with others producing less. “And some have changed their styles or media,” said Moore this week.
All submitting artists are required to pay a submission fee of $15/piece upon completion of their submission via the online system. All submission fees are due by midnight May 25, 2021.
Last year there were 371 artists in the first-ever online show. In the last in-person show (in 2019) the works of 375 artists were displayed.
Ramping up the online show:
A new banner ad has been released today, including artwork called “Lady with Violin” by Clement Kwan, the 2020 Designers’ Choice Award winner.
A site demo might be available in a few weeks for people to get a sense of how the site will function live when it comes time for the show that runs July 23 through August 2, 2021 (also with a Purchaser’s Preview event in the evening of July 22).
===== GOLD-LEVEL SPONSOR:
The Island Social Trends news portal which covers news of the west shore and Sooke within the South Vancouver Island region, is pleased to be a Gold Sponsor of the Sooke Fine Arts Show again this year.
===== PREVIOUS ARTICLES:
Online show in 2021 will include virtual gallery walk-through (April 16, 2021)
Sooke Fine Arts Show virtual again in year-two of pandemic (March 5, 2021)
Success for first-time virtual Sooke Fine Arts Show (August 17, 2020)
Sooke Fine Arts Show goes online July 23 with Purchaser’s Preview (July 23, 2020)
Sooke Fine Arts Show 2020 online during COVID July 24-Aug 3 (June 27, 2020)