The Sudbury Via Rail Station will be transformed into a large-scale experimental art gallery during the second annual Fair of Alternative Art of Sudbury (FAAS), running May 6-8 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Thirty-five visual artists and writers from Sudbury and across the country, will turn 17 freight containers into performance arts masterpieces, with audio, visual, and video installations right before the attendee’s eyes.
“This will be a good opportunity for the public to have a good eye view of what’s happening in contemporary arts on the national level, in one visit, or a few if they wish,” Danielle Tremblay, director of la Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario (GNO), said.
“The goal is making art accessible to the main public and having people talk about it, write about it, and exchange about it.”
The first event attracted 25 artists and six galleries. New additions this year include two from Montreal — Le Centre d’art et de diffusion Clark and Praxis art actuel de Montreal — and two from Ottawa – Galerie Saw, and Gallery 101.
Local artists featured include Heather Topp, Mercedes Cueto, Darlene Naponse, Daniel Aubin, as well as Espanola’s Celine Blais Maltais. The artists were invited by the local gallery, in collaboration with 10 other galleries in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
Tremblay said she’s visited various homes across Sudbury looking for relations between aesthetic details in personal environments and their larger urban environment. The theme of this year’s fair is the exploration of relationships between people and landscapes.
Tremblay explained public discussions will help visitors understand and appreciate the modern artworks, and online forums and chats will integrate visitor’s impressions and comments directly into the event. She added everyone is welcome to attend free of charge.
The public can ... get a good idea of what’s gong on in literature and visual arts across Canada.
Danielle Tremblay,
director, la Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario
“Because of (the fair) being outside, we will be getting a lot of new people and new faces,” Tremblay said. “But also because we’re coinciding this project with the Francophone book fair, which will be happening at the arena across the street during the same days.
“We’re working together, collaborating, so the public can circulate and get a good idea of what’s gong on in literature and visual arts across Canada.”
The book fair usually gets about 30,000 visitors, and Tremblay said she expects a “good crowd of people circulating to both events.”
There will be guided tours given as well, she said. In addition, three curators will come in for the event — one from Moncton, one from Quebec City, and one from Ottawa. They will be writing regularly on the Wikipedia space for the GNO, so people can follow the activity online.
“It’s experimental art, so people can expect just about anything,” Tremblay said. “It’ll be quite interesting.
“There will be such a nice variety for people to come and visit,” she added. “They can go from one train container to another and visit with the artist that will be working on the site throughout the process.”
The closing evening of the fair is slated to take place at the Elgin Street train station on May 8 at 6 p.m. It will include the official unveiling of all the container-based artworks, as well as the Salon Du livre du Grand Sudbury’s staged reading of the novel, Mary-Jane la Tueuse, by northern Ontario writer Sylvie Maria Filion (for adults only), and eight performance arts presentations.
For more information, contact the GNO at 673-4927.
