The Ferry Building Gallery Ruth Payne, V i s u a l Arts Coordinator, West Vancouver C u l t u r a l Services and curator of the Ferry Building Gallery, has a personal mandate " t o put heart and soul into West Vancouver through arts &C culture." As curator, she takes part in the exhibition jury process, supervises staff, and is involved in mentorship for secondary school and college w o r k experience students and volunteers and is a liaison with community and art groups. The beautifully restored, heritage Ferry Building, has become a meeting place as w e l l as a centre for A r t s and C u l t u r e in West Vancouver. T h e G a l l e r y showcases the artwork of both emerging and established, past o r present, N o r t h Shore artists. E x h i b i t i o n s run t w o to three weeks, w i t h an O p e n i n g Reception and Artist Talk for each e x h i b i t i o n . WHO: Ruth Payne, Curator & Visual Arts Coordinator WHERE: Ferry Building Gallery, 1414 Argyle Ave., West Van WHEN:Tue-Sun,11am-5 pm INFO: gallery@westvancouver.ca / 604.925.7290 The Silk Purse Arts Centre C h e r y l K a r c h u t , curator for the Silk Purse Gallery and Executive Director, West Vancouver C o m m u n i t y Arts C o u n c i l says " O u r philosophy has always been to provide outstanding, innovative and unique arts and multi-cultural presentations in our c o m m u n i t y . " To this end, she blends visual art, music, and literature, sometimes off the beaten path, to demonstrate "there are many ways of approaching art, and seeing the w o r l d . " Karchut's art career has itself been a blend of experience. Starting as a runway model for M a c y ' s and Harts department stores in C a l i f o r n i a , she found she was " m u c h better on the other side of the m i c r o p h o n e . " She switched to public relations at Bell Telephone, and studied A r t H i s t o r y as w e l l . WHO: Cheryl Kar WHERE: Silk Purse WHEN: Tuesday thru Sunday (closed Mondays) noon-5pm WHAT: Exhibits change every two weeks INFO: www.westvanartscouncil.ca / 604.925.7291 She credits her children as her inspiration for her "passion for music and the textile arts." H e r daughter, w h o is completing a degree, hopes to soon o w n her o w n contemporary art gallery, and her son is an accomplished musician. A r t for exhibitions at The Silk Purse is chosen by an outside, independent jury. A c c o r d i n g to K a r c h u t , " W e do ask the jury keep in m i n d that our organization is the West Vancouver C o m m u n i t y Arts C o u n c i l (with the emphasis on c o m m u n i t y ) and we encourage everyone f r o m emerging to well-established artists to exhibit in our gallery and participate in our p r o g r a m m i n g . " The Artists for Kids Trust Gallery Bill M a c D o n a l d is co-founder and M a n a g i n g Director of The Artists for K i d s Trust ( A F K T ) (established 1989), an a w a r d w i n n i n g p r o g r a m that provides art enrichment opportunities each year for N o r t h Vancouver students of all ages and offers scholarships for graduates. M a c D o n a l d has worked with School District 44 for over 30 years, ultimately as the District A r t C o o r d i n a t o r and has held various leadership positions including President of the B C A r t Teachers Assoc., Vice President of the C a n a d i a n Society for Education through A r t , and was an author-team member of Discover Art/Adventures in A r t (the leading K - 1 2 art education c u r r i c u l u m resource for N o r t h America). "The Artists for Kids Trust Gallery," explains M a c D o n a l d "is in fact a museum of stunning work created by its patrons. We are building a substantial, permanent collection of contemporary C a n a d i a n art for the N o r t h Shore community. O u r artists have been called the who's w h o of C a n a d i a n art." Past exhibitions have featured Jack Shadbolt, G o r d o n Smith, Joe I a lard, Robert Bateman, David B l a c k w o o d and Ted H a r r i s o n . WHO: Bill MacDonald, Managing Director (shown here with Gu Xiong's Behold the Silence, 1996) WHERE: Artists for Kids Trust Gallery, 810 Wen 21st St., North Van INFO: info£artists4kids.com/604.903.3797 A F K T Gallery acquisition decisions are driven by a series of collectionbuilding principles w h i c h demand that each acquisition be: Canadian air, representational of a variety of artistic genres and of educational interest to young people (their primary audience). " E a c h spring we curate a major exhibition for the community featuring one of our patrons. We develop curriculum and share the show with thousands of school children and open the doors to the community on weekends. This coming spring A F K T Gallery will feature Douglas C o u p l a n d and friends." January | February www.arts-alive.ca 9