Now, Then and Beyond Art Exhibition

It only feels like yesterday when we were busy together at cSpace putting together our featured art pieces on the walls for display. But, in reality, two years have almost past since our group’s revival art exhibition. We can remember the chatter and laughter that resounded the hall space. Time and life may have taken their toll on our bodies but not our passion for art; it remains constant and perseveres in our lives. In essence, it is who we are.

We are not just fathers and mothers anymore, we are now grandparents with a new generation to look after. Therefore, in October of 2017, we put together our art exhibition titled, “Now, Then and Beyond.” We assessed our current status within our world of art and compared it with the past works we created, then we looked forward to, not only our futures, but the future of the next generation. How could we influence them and nurture them to love and enjoy the beauty of art in whatever shape, way, or form? This is how we learn to grow and develop. For anyone of any age, this is an important concept to take into consideration. We self-reflect and innovatively think of ways we can change or improve the situation. We constantly challenge ourselves to be the best we can be. We look optimistically towards the future.

We believe that this was achieved throughout the preparations to and at our exhibition. It gave us a chance to self-reflect upon the decades we devoted to our livelihoods and still managed to maintain our passion for art. It then gave us the courage to proactively do something about our passion for art. To reach out to the community of Calgary so that they could experience something that was unique. A group of Chinese immigrants who have lived in Calgary for more than 30 years and practicing art whilst balancing the worries of life. A group of artists who speak very little English reaching out towards a primarily English-speaking audience. It takes encouragement and courage to brave that frontier and to engage with the public. With help from our sons and daughters, we were able to bridge the gap between the two worlds. They gave us a voice to engage with the Calgarian community and we are proud of them for helping us spread the word of art.

We wish to continue to engage with the public and help influence the younger generation to appreciate the various forms of art. We hope to hold more events to further grow more confident in our abilities to connect with the public. We are grateful for everyone who showed up at our art exhibition. We thank all those who continue to support our endeavors. We also hope that those of the younger generation will be willing to join our collective so that there is continuation, growth, succession, and a passing of the torch to them. We wish to leave for them a legacy to carry on in the arts.

Have a happy summer everyone! Stay safe and take care. See you all in our next post!

Sketch-off! What is it?

Hello Calgary and the world wide web!

In our previous post, we talked about using this platform to inspire, teach, have fun, and ultimately engage in a connection and open up a channel of communication with the Calgary community. And what’s a good idea of opening up a dialog between us and the community? Well, by having activities that are fun icebreakers, like a sketch-off.

We’ve all seen on social media face-offs between rappers and dance-offs and so the idea of a sketch-off shouldn’t be too unfamiliar. But the difference between a sketch-off and the other face-offs is that a sketch-off isn’t about excelling and becoming the best and being the “top dog”. It’s about offering and introducing complete strangers to sketch an object placed in front of them against their peers and a trained artist and then after a short time period review the results. It isn’t about skill or talent; it’s ultimately about perspective. We all see things differently from our own personal point of view. A perfectly round sphere could be a blob in your mind’s eye and then you translate that onto paper. This opens up a dialog between you and the artist and the rest of the community. What is it that you see? What do you perceive to be real? How does your mind interpret the information presented in front of you? And using this as a starting point, we can further delve into the individual artist’s mind and thought processes when they’re working at their craft. And this connects the artists with the community and shares with the community their insights and experiences. It creates an interesting conversation about how art is perceived and felt. There isn’t a “should or should not” about these two things, only what you feel is true. Likewise, in a sketch-off we try to bring out what you feel and put that onto paper. Again, and we cannot stress enough that it is not a competition, it is a chance to explore your creativity and that comes in many forms hence the many forms of art. We want to engage the community in exploring their inner creativity and inspire and teach those who are willing to learn how to hone in their creativity.

So with that said, come October 27th, 2017 join us at our exhibition for sketch off sessions with our artists. Hopefully, you’ll pick up a few tips and ideas in the art of art!