Submitted. The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford will surprise, perhaps even shock its visitors this fall with its diverse range of stunning arts and heritage exhibitions. When The Reach opens with its public Exhibition Reception on September 25, 2014 at 7pm, Columbia Kitchen Cabinets-Countertops brings a big surprise: a special funded From Russia with Love concert with accomplished and famous Abbotsford musicians: violinist, Calvin Dyck and pianist, Betty Suderman. The shocker is that it’s free to the public.
Pictured at right: Jude Griebel and Dana Holst, Surface Drifter (black pond)
From that night on and until 4 January 2015, arts and heritage fans will be delighted and immerse themselves in the world-class exhibitions, starting with By Land and Sea (Prospect and Refuge) with artist Marian Penner Bancroft. This Vancouver–based artist, who hails from the Fraser Valley, has exhibited her work in North America and Europe for more than 30 years and is the winner of the prestigious Audain Foundation and the VIVA Award in 2012. Not only those with Mennonite roots, but people from across the Valley and beyond will relate to her exhibition, since it investigates a family history and relationship to landscape out of a narrative of forced migration and relocation. Using text, maps, color photographs, evocative words, and portraits of ancestors, Penner Bancroft charts the journeys of her father’s Mennonite family from what is now the Ukraine, and her mother’s Presbyterian farm family from northern Scotland. By Land and Sea is made possible in your community through funding from Columbia Cabinets- Countertops, F & E Strumpski Foundation and Business for the Arts with Canadian Heritage and BC Government.
Next, Betwixt and Between is a two-person exhibition that features painted sculptures by Alberta artist Jude Griebel and paintings and a drawing installation by fellow Albertan, Dana Holst. This highly intriguing exhibition will have you investigate the fragile relationship between humankind and the natural world. From supernatural phenomena, to dreams and the cycle of life, Griebel and Holst’s works examine young characters negotiating subjects of power and mortality, growth and loss through imagined scenarios.
Oh, and then we have Between Madness and Delight by artist Marcia Pitch. Prepare to go on a mad journey with Pitch as she takes inspiration from her 2010 exhibit “Mongrels” to explore a dark and twisted world of playful but terrifying sculptures salvaged from children’s toys and household objects. In Pitch’s words, “Welcome to the madhouse.”
Crossing over to our history gallery, you will experience Chinese Legacies: Building the Canadian Pacific Railway through the eyes and difficult lives of the Chinese laborers during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s transcontinental line in the 1880s. The lasting impact it had on their lives, as well as their contribution to Canadian national development will both, sadden and inspire you. This exhibition comes to The Reach thanks to the Revelstoke Railway Museum and funding from Abbotsford’s Dragon Fort Restaurant.
In addition, The Fraser Valley Watercolor Society will continue to show in the South Gallery until October.
The Reach will also host a number of engaging and creative public activities that connect to the fall exhibitions, including:
September 26 at 1pm, Jude Griebel and Dana Holst: Betwixt and Between Art Talk, Tour & Creativity I Free;
October 31 at 7pm, The Reach YOCOS (Young Contemporaries) host Art on Tap featuring artist Marcia Pitch with a Build Your Own Freak Workshop, a ticketed event; and
November 8 at 1pm – By Land and Sea Tour and Conversation with Marian Penner Bancroft, in partnership with Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley I Free.
For more information go to www.thereach.ca
About The Reach
The Reach is a registered charity and “Class A” facility in the Fraser Valley that is operated by a small staff team with the assistance of a Board of Directors and 100+ fabulous volunteers. With your support, we will continue to showcase the best in the visual arts by local and international artists, preserve and share the stories of our rich and diverse cultural heritage, provide engaging quality education programming for all ages and offer FREE admission to exhibitions and a wide variety of other multidisciplinary cultural events.