Cambridge Art Galleries open with exhibitions of local artists

The Cambridge Art Galleries have reopened their doors after the latest lockdown and are pleased to be able to welcome visitors back.

“We are so happy to be open and it’s so great to see folks back,” said Marcie Bronson, director/curator at Cambridge Art Galleries/Idea Exchange.

“We have reopened with two exhibitions that we’re happy to extend, giving the public more time to view them because both showcase local artists from Cambridge and Waterloo Region.”

The Riverside Print Group: Under Construction, is on view at the Art Gallery/Idea Exchange in Preston until March 27.

The exhibition marks the 15^th anniversary of the Riverside Print Group, a Cambridge-based collective of printmaking enthusiasts.

This exhibition features works by members Ginny Carnevale, Heather Franklin, Kari Mullin, Darryl Nunn, Laura Perrin, Betty Praught, Bill Praught, David Scott, and Donna Stewart.

“These nine artists feature Preston and all of the construction in the area. And with the ongoing pandemic, there is so much change happening,” Bronson said.

“The exhibition theme, Under Construction, was a collective creation.”

Members’ individual responses range from macro to micro views addressing the ongoing construction, as well as the deconstruction of the environment, cities, communities, memory, relationships, personal identity, and the artist’s process and work.

“This is looking at construction within the community as well as the individual construction taking place,” Bronson said.

Despite the pandemic, artists were still able to collaborate, while being physically apart.

“Normally, they would work together in a studio, but they had to devise another way to come together so they did this with a ‘print exchange’ which includes 90 individual prints,” Bronson said.

The interactions that would typically take place in the studio were carried out on the print plate themselves with each member responding to the marks made before theirs.

As the Riverside Print Group celebrates its milestone 15th year, Under Construction reflects the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and creativity and characterizes the group’s history while looking ahead to their continued community contribution through the medium of printmaking.

The second exhibition, SHOW.21, is on view at the at Queen’s Square gallery until Feb. 13.

Established in 2005, the Cambridge Art Galleries’ biannual exhibition SHOW presents the work of emerging artists based in Ontario. Selected from an open call for submissions, SHOW.21 presents the work of eleven artists with connections to Waterloo Region and surrounding areas.

During the pandemic, the gallery did make the shift to an online presence and continues to offer various programming virtually.

Family Crafternoon and Taxes for Artists are free programs offered on Zoom. Registration is required.

“Family Crafternoon is a monthly program for caregivers and kids so that they can engage with current exhibitions through story time and creative activities using materials commonly found around the house,” Bronson said.

This month, Family Crafternoon will explore both Riverside Print Group: Under Construction and

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The Cambridge Art Gallery also features The Fibre Art Collection, a permanent collection established in 1986.

The focus is on contemporary fibre art which reflects the region’s industrial base established by the textile industry that once flourished along the Grand River.

The collection has grown to include 213 works that represent a diverse set of contemporary approaches to the medium of fibre art.

“It’s so great to be back,” Bronson said.

“It’s a great time to come to the art gallery and celebrate the works of our local community artists.”

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