EXHIBITION
URBANITE
Where: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
When: Friday, 8 to 11 p.m.
Tickets: $15 ($11 for AGGV members), available online at urbanite.eventbrite.com or at the door
William Kurelek: The Messenger
exhibition runs until Sept. 3
Want to attend an art event but worried it will be a snobby, staid affair?
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's Urbanite soirée may be the hip, lively alternative you're craving.
Aimed at young professionals, the quarterly do -- offered for the past seven years -- offers guests the opportunity to take in art in a party environment.
It features live music, gallery tours and conversation-starting hands-on activities.
"Urbanite started as a way to engage a younger audience than at other events by offering a fun and informal atmosphere -- something a bit more irreverent than what you might see at a traditional art opening," said Jennifer Cook, the AGGV's communications and events co-ordinator.
Taking place on Friday, the summer edition will feature sonic grooves by DJ Longshanks and live animation by California-based brothers Nick and Zack Young.
Curator Mary Jo Hughes will take patrons on guided tours of the gallery's current feature exhibition, a retrospective on the work of late Canadian painter William Kurelek.
"A major trend in a period of Kurelek's work is depictions of cultural groups across Canada and displays of his love affair with the Canadian landscape and the people who have made it their home," Cook said.
"The flip side of that is another big period looking at apocalyptic warnings of the coming judgment and some darker Christian themes."
She was coy on the specifics of this Urbanite instalment's hands-on activity, but hinted it's inspired by Kurelek's work and "will offer a chance to look inside one's own head."
Even the beverages on tap will tie into the paintings on display, Cook added.
"You'll expect to see some traditional Canadian flavours reflected in the cocktails."
And no, she doesn't mean pemmican martinis.
"It's more like maple."
