THE ART GALLERY PAINT-IN
Where: Moss Street, between Fort Street and Dallas Road
When: Saturday, July 20, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (gallery is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Admission: Free
Information: aggv.ca
The Art Gallery Paint-In set records for volunteers and participating artists last year, and is on pace to match those numbers again this year. What is liable to change Saturday is the number of people who attend the hugely popular event, now in its 35th year.
The free art stroll, produced by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and presented by TD Bank Group, is still growing in this regard, having expanded from approximately 30,000 to a record 40,000 attendees in 2023. And the tally for the upcoming edition — weather permitting — may very well exceed that, based on the year the art gallery has been having.
“We have been incredibly busy,” said Nancy Noble, director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. “Some days I can’t even get my car in the parking lot.”
The event now known as The Art Gallery Paint-In (which longtime supporters refer to as the Moss Street Paint-In) still feels new to Noble, who came to the gallery in 2022 from the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, where she had been CEO since 2016. The Saskatchewan-born executive arrived just five weeks before the massive outdoor event and was shocked at the impact the showcase for local artists and artisans has on Greater Victoria. It remains one of the largest art festivals of its kind in Canada.
“The first one, I was astounded, to be honest. I had no idea, never having lived in Victoria. It was the first one post-COVID as well, so people were feeling good about coming back and being outdoors again. I was very surprised that an organization this size was doing something that impactful.”
She remains awed by the unique nature of the Paint-In, during which artists from Vancouver Island and several Gulf Islands line 10 blocks of Moss Street, from Fort Street to Dallas Road, to showcase and sell their drawings, paintings, ceramics, and sculptures. The 2km stretch is a boon for both the gallery (which accepts donations throughout the day that benefit the AGGV’s educational programs) and local artists, whose work is seen by tens of thousands of passersby from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
That list includes Victoria artist Tim Hoey, who is known for his instantly-recognizable O Canada series of paintings that include portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Hawkins Cheezies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the Tragically Hip’s frontman, Gord Downie.
Fifteen years ago, Hoey began showing his work at the Paint-In. He’s a big fan of the event, and looks at his involvement as a way of supporting the gallery. “It’s their biggest fundraiser, so it’s a good thing to do,” he said.
He will be sharing a booth Saturday with Victoria painter Zandra X, and the duo will be painting live during the stroll. “We’ll have some collaborations for sale, but technically, it’s a paint-in. It’s not called Hawk Your Wares event. It’s a whole different dynamic, the energy of it. The day is all about having fun, and sometimes I think people forget that.”
The involvement of artists like Hoey and Zandra X is what makes the Paint-In such a special entity.
“That’s part of what we want to do as a gallery — expose local artists to audiences,” Noble said. “It’s a great way to give back to them. Lots of art galleries do events, but this kind of event, where you take over a very long street, on a summer day, that is pretty unique. And that’s what makes it so great.”
The gallery opens its doors at 10 a.m. and welcomes patrons until 6 p.m. Admission is by donation throughout the day, with a full schedule of events on tap inside the building, including gallery tours and a show and sale with over 70 local artists. A bigger point of focus this year is the family-friendly beverage garden and stage area, which features performances by the Lekwungen Dancers (11-11:30 a.m.), Sizzlers Fiddle Group (12-12:30 p.m.), Ukes Misbehavin (12:30-1 p.m.), Folklorico Latina (1:15-1:45 p.m.), Freeze Frame (2-2:45 p.m.), Veselka Dancers (3-3:30 p.m.), Rob Fillo (3:45-4:15 p.m.) and DJ Nova Jade (5-6 p.m.).
Moss Street will be closed to traffic from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., during which time parking is not permitted. Bike parking is available on Fort Street at Central Middle School. Many from the surrounding area walk to the event, and with temperatures expected to hit 23C in the afternoon, the AGGV’s role in the operation an integral one. Not only did organizers adjust the staging around the gallery to give the music and food and beverage offerings more prominence this year, they added more seating and shade potential along Moss Street.
In one way or another, everything under the umbrella of the Paint-In points back to the AGGV, and Noble said the gallery does everything in its power during the event to showcase what it has to offer the city. “From that perspective, people get to know what goes on here, because the gallery is open and it’s free. It’s an opportunity to lower the barriers for people that might think art is only for people with art history degrees, which is completely not true.”
Gallery educators will be running interactive “imagination stations” throughout the day, and guided tours during operating hours by by the gallery’s chief curator, Steven McNeil, and Dr. Heng Wu, curator of Asian Art, include closer looks at new exhibits A View From Here: Reimagining the AGGV Collections and Generations: The Sobey Family and Canadian Art.
Noble isn’t sure yet where she will be posted during the event, but said she asked her staff to put her to work this year. “We’re going to be going through some big changes at the gallery in the years to come, so it’s perfect opportunity for me to talk to the community.”
