55 Plus Centre’s Spring Into Art Exhibit and Sale
By Adrian Lysenko
Thunder Bay 55 Plus Centre’s annual Spring Into Art Exhibit and Sale has been taking place for almost 20 years now, and chair of the committee and art instructor Biljana Baker emphasizes the high quality of work featured. “It’s not this old people paint-by-numbers,” she says. “It is phenomenal what they can do, and the artwork is so exceptional. It’s really hard to explain that it is high end.”
Fall Birches, Joanne Zachary
The work featured at the exhibit and sale is created by members of the 55 Plus Centre and the West Arthur Community Centre. The opening night takes place on May 3 from 7–9 pm, when a People’s Choice award will also be selected.
“It’s an opportunity for people who are older, who have sort of discovered art in the later part of their life, to be able to do something and to be able to do something constructive,” Baker says. “Not all the paintings out there are from the classes and from the instructors.”
Loons and summer on the lake, Nicole Wojtalik
From acrylics to oils and watercolours, Baker says the exhibit and sale features a variety of mediums. Aside from emphasizing the quality of work, she also highlights how it’s never too late in life to pick up a paintbrush.
“A lot of times people retire and they’ve always said, ‘I always wanted to paint but never had a chance, so I’ll do it now,” she says. “There are very few who sort of say, ‘Well, I’m not doing anything.’ They’ll paint and they start and then they like it. […] I believe that there’s a right time for everything for everybody in this life. And I think once people retire there’s something in them that says, ‘I need to do this.’”
Neebing Farm, Marilyn Farrow
55 Plus Centre’s Spring Into Art Exhibit and Sale will take place at the centre May 3–8. For more information, call 807-684-3066.
