A casual get-together of artists under a bridge has since grown into one of the city’s more unconventional art shows — the Bay Street Bridge Art Gathering.
On Saturday, a throng of artists took over a patch of dirt underneath the Point Ellice Bridge, also known as the Bay Street Bridge.
Event co-organizer Ricky Long said it’s always a surprise as to what shows up to the gathering, as there is no registration, no entrance fee, and no proposals needed for those wanting to exhibit.
“There have been people here that are very trained artists and they’re putting up their beautiful little flower [paintings], but there’s also the more avant-garde.”
An unusual collection of Jesus sculptures — including one mounted on a tennis racquet that also doubled as a candlestick — was among some of the offerings that included a wide range of canvas art, prints, postcards, sculpture and photography.
There was also live performances. One artist performed a piece of sound art consisting largely of speaker feedback and screaming.
Performance artist John G. Boehme methodically threw rolled up newspapers at a nearby bridge pillar in silence.
Long said that not every piece of art is meant to be pleasant or easily understood. “Some of it is noisy and aggravating — but that’s good, because you’ll remember it.”
Soma Morse, another event organizer, said the best part about the event is that it’s multi-disciplinary and a “combination of stuff that wouldn’t necesarily be seen altogether.”
“There’s trained artists, there’s people that have just started out, there’s people that are untrained and have just been doing [art] for years. It’s just such a neat combination,” she said.
The first Under the Bridge gathering was an organic, almost impromptu gathering between fellow collage artists who wanted to show off their art when COVID-19 restrictions were easing.
“We just did it. We had, like, six or seven strings and we hung our collage art up,” said Long.
Held on World Collage Day May 8, 2021, Long had not intended for it to be anything more than a one-off event.
But a young man stopped by that day and shyly asked if he could join in and also show off his art, Long said.
“He pulled out this big book of all kinds of collage and drawings. It was amazing.”
That made Long realize that Victoria needed more places for people to simply show off their creative side.
The gathering evolved into a regular art show held twice every summer and growing with each edition.
Long, who has been an artist for many years, said he had always been intimidated by the polished, mainstream art world.
But there’s none of that pressure when the art show is held underneath a bridge, he said. “We can make art. We don’t have to be perfect.”
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