Featured Artists for Comox Valley Airport Art and Culture Program Revealed

Ten talented artists chosen for annual art exhibition at YQQ

VANCOUVER, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - The Comox Valley Airport Commission and the Comox Valley Community Arts Council are pleased to announce a group of 10 talented artists who will display their work as part of the 2012/2013 Exhibition for the Art and Culture Program at the Comox Valley Airport (YQQ).

Brian Argyle, Darren Bradley, Mary Donlan, Tracy Kobus, Lisa Graham, Marilyn Peeters, Esther Sample, Sandra Lamb, Rick Janzen and Wes Seeley will be displaying artwork representative of the unique people, places and environment of central and northern Vancouver Island. The artists were chosen from a call for entries issued in May 2012.

"This year's exhibition is an eclectic mix of photography, painting, ink and sculpture that represents each artist's personal view of this unique part of the country," said Dallas Stevenson, Executive Director of the Comox Valley Community Arts Council.  "We are so pleased to see the program growing in popularity among the artistic community. The number of quality submissions received for this year's exhibition was outstanding and it was difficult to choose just 10 artists for display."

One of the most striking pieces to be found in the exhibition is a 10 foot wide wooden eagle which can be seen hanging by cables from the ceiling of the terminal building.  The impressive piece was sculpted by local artist Wes Seeley who spent more 2,000 hours carving the delicate features of the massive bird, including 1,000 hand crafted feathers.  Stevenson says the three dimensional piece made from fir, red, yellow and aromatic cedar is a wonderful addition to this year's display and provides a great perspective on the local environment.

The Art and Culture Program is a partnership between the Comox Valley Airport Commission and the Comox Valley Community Arts Council.  Artists participating in the program will have the opportunity to have their work exposed to the more than 600,000 passengers and their guests that move through the terminal building annually.

"YQQ values its unique perspective as the first point of entry for many Vancouver Island tourists and we believe it is our responsibility to help positively shape the first perceptions of those guests," said Comox Valley Airport CEO, Fred Bigelow.  "We believe this exhibition contributes to the overall passenger experience in the terminal building, while allowing us to support local artists in our community. We are pleased to be a partner in such a positive program."

The 2012/13 exhibition will run from October 25, 2012 to July 1, 2013. Photos of the artwork on display and biographies of the participating artists are available on the Comox Valley Airport website at www.comoxairport.com under Airport Services/Art and Culture Program.

Attention Assignment Editors:

The Comox Valley Community Arts Council will provide a tour of the 2012/2013 exhibition for media at 1:30pm on October 25, 2012.  Brian Argyle, Mary Donlan, Lisa Graham, Tracy Kobus, Marilyn Peeters and Wes Seeley will be available for media interviews and photographs at this time.  YQQ's Fred Bigelow and Jen Alton of the Arts Council will also be available for interviews.

SOURCE: Comox Valley Airport

Media Contacts:

Dallas Stevenson
Executive Director
Comox Valley Community Arts Council
250-338-4417 ext. 2
[email protected]

Christianne Wile
Manager, Marketing and Public Communications
Comox Valley Airport
Phone: [phone] ext. 253
[email protected]