Join in a celebration of human creativity and rub shoulders with 30,000 fellow art lovers at the TD Art Gallery Paint-In, Victoria’s largest open-air art festival, on Moss Street on Saturday.
This is the 33rd anniversary of the family-friendly event, hosted by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. An in-person event was not held in 2020 and 2021, with the gallery publishing a TD Artists Guide (in print and on-line) on both years as a means of supporting local artists in lieu.
This year up to 150 artists are set to take their studios back to the street once again.
“The TD Art Gallery Paint-In is a day-long celebration of Vancouver Island art and artists,” said Nancy Noble, director/CEO of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. “We are looking forward to welcoming thousands of people from across the region back to Moss Street, to join us in supporting the artists in our community.”
Both sides of Moss Street for 10 blocks — from Fort Street to Dallas Road — will be lined with artists demonstrating their art by painting, sculpting, drawing, making pottery and other art forms for the public to see.
“I shall be encouraging kids to play with my easel,” said Sandhu Singh, a watercolour artist. “I got very lucky in discovering art. It gives me purpose — and I always try to inspire other people.”
The 52-year-old, who works full-time as cardiac nurse, recalls a life-long love for art — but he did not pick up his paint brush until after he became a father. His works predominately feature immediately recognizable locales, all infused with a signature use of bright and bold colours.
He can be found, with a paint brush always close at hand, somewhere between Rockland Avenue and Richmond Road.
Apart from artists, there will be eight Imagination Stations, where people can participate in hands-on arts activities or find festival information. A family-friendly beer garden will be set up on the grounds of the art gallery with live music, performances and canned music taking place throughout the day on an adjacent stage. Both run between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Four-legged companions are not forgotten, with free drinks at the Bosley’s Pet Station.
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria will be open, allowing people to view Adorned, Maud Lewis, Reverberations and
Emily Carr: Seeing and Being Seen, the gallery’s current exhibitions. Free guided tours of Maud Lewis will take place at noon and 2 p.m.
Affordable original art by local artists will be available for purchase in the Massey Sales Gallery.
The TD Art Gallery Paint-In is free to attend (donations accepted at donation stations scattered along the route). The art gallery (admission by donation) opens at 10 a.m., with activities on the street taking place between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Moss Street will be closed to traffic from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and there is no parking on the street during the event. Visitors are encouraged to bus, bike or walk. Bike parking is available at Central Middle School on Fort Street.
To volunteer or for more information, go to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's website.
