THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is hosting the Drop-In Unveiling of the community-engaged arts project, Birds of the Bay, on Sunday, February 18, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Gallery on the Confederation College campus. Everyone is welcome to this free event! Birds of the Bay artist, Betty Carpick will speak about the importance of community-engaged art and the processes throughout the Birds of the Bay project. Two avid birders, Thunder Bay Field Naturalist member, Lindy Wagenaar, and eight-year-old Cameron Bill will talk about birding in Thunder Bay.
The Birds of the Bay project is a partnership between multi-disciplinary artist, Betty Carpick and the City of Thunder Bay in collaboration with the Baggage Building Arts Centre and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. The project invited people of all ages and abilities to share their relationships with birds that reside in Thunder Bay during six free Maker Sessions held in January and February 2018 at the Baggage Building Arts Centre during Winter Fundays. Six different fibre arts bird sculptures were made by tying, weaving and stitching on wire armatures. The birds that were selected for sculptures all reside in Thunder Bay; the Bald Eagle, the Great Horned Owl, the Pileated Woodpecker, the Common Raven, the Canada Goose, and the Black-Capped Chickadee.
The Birds of the Bay sculptures will be displayed in easy to access, walkable sites throughout Marina Park on SnowDay on the Waterfront on Monday, February 19 from Noon – 5:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to have a look and take some photos with the birds!
Betty Carpick is a multi-disciplinary artist who has made a sustained and visible presence, particularly at the community level. She creates projects that transfer arts skills, reach for deeper thinking and reflection, while at the same time achieving a high level of artistic merit and cohesiveness. In 2017, her community-engaged art project, Threading Water was selected by Waterlution’s Great Art for Great Lakes initiative as one of eight projects in eight communities in Ontario. The stitched and pigment painted quilt-like assemblage hangs in Mariner’s Hall at the Waterfront.
