SHEGUIANDAH—It has been a long three-year hiatus for the travelling Northern Ontario Art Association (NOAA) Juried Exhibition in coming to the Island to display the very best of fine art in the North, but this past week the 67th edition of the popular art show opened at the Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah to outstanding praise. Best of all, four Island artists are featured in this year’s exhibition.
“I very much appreciate the work of Lisa (Hallaert, museum curator and town events coordinator) in making this happen so we can have these exhibitions at the museum,” said Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands Mayor Al MacNevin. “It is not often you get to see a cross section of Northern Ontario art without having to travel to Moonbeam, Kapuskasing or Hearst—having them all here in one display is very nice.”
“Isn’t this great?” asked local NOAA board rep Pam Jackson. “There are so many talented artists in this show.” Ms. Jackson might be forgiven a bit of bias in this show as one of the works adorning the gallery is hers (a portrait of her late mother). But no less a luminary than renown Island artist Ivan Wheale heartily shared her assessment.
“It’s a good show,” he said. “There is a lot of interesting work, of course there always is, but not to this extent. This is one of the best, if not the best, I have ever seen.”
Mr. Wheale noted that “there is such a nice variety of subjects and medium, acrylics and drawing, mixed media, there is something there for every taste.”
Full disclosure, Mr. Wheale might also be forgiven a bit of bias in this show, as a number of the artists that were chosen by the jury are some of his own students. “It’s nice to see the end result (of his mentoring),” he said.
The Island works include ‘Joan Jackson was Here’ by Pam Jackson, which won the MFAA Agnico Eagle Ltd. Award; ‘Stream in Autumn’ by Richard Edwards, which garnered an MFAA Honourable Mention; ‘Frozen-Plein Air’ by Sue Lampinen (MFAA); and ‘Pink Joy’ by Ellen Lewis (MFAA).
The show will run at the museum until June 28 and is free admission. Museum hours are Monday to Sunday 9 am to 4:30 pm.
