WEYBURN – Registration for the 38th annual James Weir People’s Choice art contest ends on Tuesday morning, Dec. 21, but art has to be at the Spark Centre by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Schools and community groups are currently booking tours for the JWPC. Voting will be held online and in gallery.
People who would like to enter this year’s James Weir competition do not have to have a membership at the Spark Centre, but the deadline cannot extend beyond Dec. 21 to get their names in.
Also, people do not have to have proof of vaccination or a COVID test to view art exhibits, and there is no cost to come view the art. Proof of vaccination or a COVID test are only needed if one intends on taking an art or recreation class at the Spark Centre.
In the Upper Gallery, there is an exhibition entitled “Where We Started/Where We Are”, which features three pieces from the City of Weyburn Permanent Collection.
One, an 8x11 foot painting of Tommy Douglas is a mystery, said curator Regan Lanning.
“It was discovered in the permanent collection room a couple years ago when we were photographing the collection. We aren’t sure where it came from, as we had no records on the piece. We think it was created when they moved Tommy’s Church to the hill and made it into the TCD Performing Arts Centre,” said Lanning, adding, “It’s by an artist credited only as ‘Robin’.”
The other works in this exhibit are by former Tyvan artist David Johnson (deceased), and are a part of his Steve series. Steve was a resident of the old mental hospital in Weyburn. Johnson was an artist who created in many mediums, and did some of the windows at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church here in Weyburn.
On the main floor, two exhibitions will be shown: the 38th Annual James Weir People’s Choice exhibition, and “Sacred Spaces” by Courtney Milne.
Milne was a Saskatchewan photographer, who spent his life traveling the world photographing the presence of the goddess. Milne’s works are a part of the City’s Permanent Collection.
In February, the Milne show will come down, and in its place, a show entitled “Scissorcuts” will be installed.
