By Andrea Simms-Karp
There’s something that sets one particular square building apart from every other square building on Lisgar Street. Nestled away in the centre of Ottawa’s downtown is a painting of a green glow-in-the-dark horse that has been bolted to the side wall.
This is the first clue to the wonders inside Gallery 101, a contemporary artist-run centre that prides itself on helping artists network and create as they please.
Founded in 1979 by a group of local artists, today the non-profit gallery is known for showcasing unique modern art, and having a valuable resource centre available to artists of all stripes.
The gallery offers an essential service to the local art community, says its curator, Jessie Lacayo.
“It is a place for exploration, it is a place for experimentation, which is a great investment both for us and the artist,” Lacayo says.
The gallery’s latest exhibition, a double-showing by Gatineau artist Michèle Provost and B.C. artist Jo Cook, comes from a year and a half of preparation and planning.
Provost says that she was able to pitch her idea to the gallery, which allowed her to develop her pieces.
She now has a large body of work that the public can visit the gallery and see.
“You leave with a portfolio,” says Lacayo, pointing to the 40 pieces hanging on the large upstairs floor of the gallery. “These exhibits are unique because they are so accessible.”
It is also fitting that Cook’s exhibit on the lower floor could appeal to anyone who has ever gone through the public school system. She has attached colourful balls to the ceiling, put up children’s workbooks, and framed countless doodles one might find in a grade three binder.
But with a closer look, her brilliant poems and symbols peek out from the scrawled pictures.
In the upstairs exhibit Provost has stitched each of her pieces by hand, picking a line from a song for each work, and then embroidering the lyrics into colourful fabric.
The effect is stunning. Each piece becomes a pop culture reference for the viewers, allowing them to associate a memory to the work.
Each canvas seems to burst out from the wall with its vibrant colour and flawless artistry. In the background, the songs that Provost sampled from play through the speakers.
Provost says her work is a “labour of love,” and worth all the effort.
Provost has only been working as an artist for five years after taking it up as her second career. She says 48 years of life experience has helped her keep her focus.
“My work is about the human condition, and the role of the individual in society,” she says.
But she is quick to add that her artistic style is not elitist, and is designed so that anyone can appreciate it.
“I am not the kind of person who will tell other people what to think,” she says.
“You need to leave enough space for the viewer to insert themselves into the art.”
She says she is only one of many people who are grateful for artist-run centres like Gallery 101.
“This is about artists taking art back into their own hands,” she says.
“They give you a chance to just go and run with it.”
Minh Nguyen, who works as an administrative assistant at the gallery, agrees.
“It’s more than promoting and showing work,” she says. “Artists can gather and discuss issues that are important to them.”
She adds that the gallery also does community outreach by starting collaborative programs with universities and other art centres.
To help raise money to continue its work, the gallery is holding a fundraiser on Dec. 3 called 101 Frames. The event will be a silent auction with a twist: the artwork that is sold must fit specific space requirements, and not exceed 12 inches on either side. Over 200 local artists will participate in the auction.
Lacayo says the event will be one of the only times art is brought in specifically to sell.
Usually the focus of the gallery is to help an artist build up their work and their name, she says.
“We provide validation for an artist,” says Lacayo. “We are a stepping stone.”
Sure enough, as her show at Gallery 101 winds down, Provost is preparing another exhibit at Galerie Montcalm in Gatineau from Nov. 3 to Dec. 18.
Cook continues to be an active part of the B.C. art scene. And both have found new audiences from their shows in Ottawa’s downtown.
“It’s wide open,” says Provost. “This is where the interaction begins with the viewer.”