Gallery Hours effective September 7, 2010:

Monday – Saturday                         11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday                                                 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Learn more….

What construction?
The Prairie Art Gallery is expanding!  We’ve been in our Montrose Cultural Centre location for over one year and we’re looking forward to the restoration of the gallery’s previous home which partially collapsed in 2007.  This location was home to the Prairie Art Gallery for 22 years and construction is currently underway and is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2011 .  When completed, it will connect to our current location within the Montrose Cultural Centre.  We look forward to better serving the community.  View photos of what the new space will look like.

Are there any exhibitions to see during this time?
AutoPark began in July and will continue to be on view in front of the Montrose Cultural Centre until October 31, 2010.  The Prairie Art Gallery also hopes to present exhibitions within the Montrose Cultural Centre and other locations within Grande Prairie.  Be sure to visit our website for updates.

Will this effect art classes?
We hope to continue our service to the community by providing art classes during construction by hosting them in locations outside the gallery walls.  A youth drawing class is scheduled to begin in September and we hope you’ll visit our interactive space at the gallery called the Green Space.  It’s a family friendly environment where visitors of all ages can engage in viewing and creating art work.  The Green Space is free and open during gallery hours.

These certificate programs are aimed at developing students’ technical skills and art knowledge. Students progress from Level 1 to Level 3. Students will work in a small group setting with a professional artist to learn drawing fundamentals and techniques using a variety of media and subject matter. Each Level is a 5 week program and all supplies are included. Students will receive a certificate at the end of each 5 week session. 

Level 1:  September 29 – October 27
Level 2:  November 3 – December 1
Level 3:  January 5 – February 2, 2011

Location: St. Gerard Catholic School, 9724-88 Avenue, Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie is one of five featured celebration sites in Alberta and the Prairie Art Gallery will partner with other community organizations, including the Centre for Creative Arts, to present exciting activities throughout the Arts Days weekend.

What an Amazing Weekend!
To learn more about the amazing events happening in Grande Prairie visit www.abartsdaysgp.ca.  You will find information about art exhibitions and openings, art walks, film screenings, music concerts, and more.

Events All Over Alberta!
Visit AlbertaArtsDays.ca to learn more about Alberta Arts Days and view a calender of events that are scheduled all over the province.

Visit the Prairie Art Gallery during the event to learn more about the restoration project.  Visitors can also view art exhibitions including The Wild Side of Art and AutoPark.

The fall issue of Community Connections is available at most City facilities on August 25 and in that day’s Daily Herald Tribune.   The Connections Event on August 28th at the Montrose Cultural Centre will feature over 50 exhibits showcasing programs and services offered by the City of Grande Prairie and many Grande Prairie and area community groups.  Learn more about the sports, recreation, community support, arts and culture, and health and wellness groups.  More details can be found in the Community Connections or by calling 780-830-7070.

Learn more at the City of Grande Prairie’s website.

It’s been a long three years but local mural painter Tim Heimdal is finally showing a children’s summer interactive display in the Prairie Art Gallery.

Before the gallery’s snow-load roof collapse in 2007, Heimdal’s work was to be featured, said Lynn LeCorre-Dallaire, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition assistant.

“Because of the collapse, everything got shut down and the whole process got delayed,” she said.

The display is in a smaller space than they wanted, she added, but his piece, C.A.T. Scan, is displayed until Sept. 5.

Images of domestic and wild animals are painted on one side of the mural, while on the other side it simulates a cave which shows the same animals with their skeletons aglow because of a black light placed behind it.

Read more A true renaissance for Heimdal.

C.A.T. Scan is featured with the exhibition The Wild Side of Art.

Each lesson is booked through the Prairie Art Gallery from the school teachers and classes are held during school hours from September through June. Last year we visited 115 classrooms where we worked with 2206 students!

This contract position involves presenting art lessons to elementary, junior and senior high students in Grande Prairie and/or surrounding area. Instructors will demonstrate artistic techniques relating to the art curriculum encompassing reflection, depiction, composition and expression. We hope each successful candidate will continue the gallery’s commitment to providing quality art education for students and we encourage lesson ideas based on the artist’s own practice.

Please submit resumes by email to jennifer@prairiegallery.com or in person at the Prairie Art Gallery at 9839 – 103 Avenue in Grande Prairie.

For more information about the Artist in the Classroom program, view last year’s catalogue of artists and available programs.

Note: A routine criminal record background check will be required of art instructors selected to be in the Artist in the Classroom program.

View other exhibitions currently at the Prairie Art Gallery.

The next time you drive past the Montrose Cultural Centre, don’t despair, that’s not a broken down piece of junk car parked in front of the city’s premier cultural space like an washing machine on a redneck’s lawn.

Take a closer look because the vehicles soon to be displayed in the plaza aren’t junk but growing and living art.

More. . . .

Learn more about our Artist in the Classroom program.

Learn more about the contruction project.