Our History
On January 24th, 1988, Doreen Lowe, Sharon Cote, Shirley Brokke and Alanna Rawluck met to discuss the possibility of forming an art club.
After much discussion and planning it was decided that advertising would be done to see if there were others in the community interested in the same. Much to the group's surprise and delight, many people expressed an interest leading to the first general meeting in Ashern, Manitoba on February 28, 1988.
Village Artists was born with fifteen paid members and the promise of more to come. An executive was formed and long term goals were determined.
~To provide local and provincial exposure.
~To provide motivation and instructional opportunities.
~To provide art supplies at a reduced rate.
~To provide marketing availability and information on national/provincial competitions and exhibits.
Our first annual show was held in Ashern on November 26th, 1988. The show was well attended with a lot of local interest. This enabled us to present our community with an annual show and sale in the subsequent years. The beauty of the show is that one will experience a variety of styles of art which helps to create a special feeling for each one in attendance. Most of the artists are on hand so you can meet with them to discuss their works. One would have the pleasure to commission a painting from the artist of one's choice if so desired. As we know, all artists have to start somewhere and possibly some of our members may reach the heights of being known for their works.
The goals that were determined in February 1988 have become a reality in every sense of the word to the group. We find that no longer are we alone in an endeavor to create and make presentation to our community. The club has continued to grow to a membership of 25 artists within a radius of 60 miles. We have presented instructional classes in the local school and have created an annual art contest to all schools in our division to help create an atmosphere of encouragement for our children.
We feel that we have alot of undeveloped talent in our area that only needs that ray of light and spring of hope to grow and nurture into something beautiful that will perpetuate to future generations.
