New exhibition opens in St. Catharines today

Artists Survey: the Greenbelt explores rural and environmental themes

ST. CATHARINES, ON, March 18 /CNW/ - Art is often seen as something consumed and produced in the urban environment with little relevance outside the big city. Artists Survey: The Greenbelt is an exhibition that proves this to be wrong. The exhibition opens at Gallery onefortyfive in St Catharines today as part of the Greenbelt's ongoing 5th Anniversary celebrations. The Greenbelt turns five this year.

    
    When: March 18-28
    Reception: Friday March 19 7-10 pm
    Where: Gallery onefortyfive, 145 King S. St. Catharines ON
    www.onefortyfive.com
    

In this exhibition 10 artists have been selected for the ways in which their work illuminates either the challenges the Greenbelt faces or the reasons why it was created. The artists are from Guelph, Collingwood, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Toronto and other regions of Ontario. Together, their art works examine issues such as urban sprawl, air and water quality and the future of agriculture. The artists use a variety of media such as painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography, drawing and video to express their thoughts and concerns.

Participating artists include Elizabeth Chitty, Michael Davey & Delwyn Higgens, Vid Ingelevics, Martha Eleen, Daniel Durocher, Jeremy Drummond, Irene Cymbal, Steve White, Warren Quigley and Brad Emsley. Two of the artists in the show, Warren Quigley and Elizabeth Chitty, are from the Niagara region.

The exhibition was curated by Patrick Macaulay, Head of Visual Arts at Harbourfront Centre and Phil Anderson, Director of Gallery 1313. It will travel to three centres in the Greenbelt, the first of which is Ajax, followed immediately by Hamilton March 11th- March 18th.

Gallery 1313 is the organizational partner of Artists Survey: The Greenbelt. It is an artist-run centre exhibiting local, national and international contemporary art. Gallery 1313 supports emerging artists with professional development and career building opportunities, offers members a welcoming space to connect with colleagues, develop their practice, and contribute to the operations of the gallery, and engages the public with contemporary art exhibitions and cultural events through community outreach.

What is the Greenbelt? Wrapping around the Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt is 1.8 million acres of potential to make Ontario a better place. Encompassing the Niagara Escarpment, The Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park, hundreds of rural towns, and villages and some 7,000 farms, Ontario's Greenbelt is one of the largest and most diverse in the world.

This exhibition was made possible through the generous funding from the Friends of The Greenbelt Foundation as part of their celebrations of the 5th anniversary of Ontario's Greenbelt.

For further information: Media contact: Jeanne Ridao, [phone] (cell), [email protected]; Media may also contact: Phil Anderson, [phone], [email protected]