Cannery Brewing helped shine a light on Penticton artists while formally kicking off another edition of the annual Ignite the Festival on Friday, March 22.
The brewery and Penticton Art Gallery teamed up for the Square Mini Mural Unveiling, which showcased the work of 10 local artists who were also rewarded with a $500 honorarium..
Murals will be on display at Cannery Brewing until October before being auctioned off to the public.
Just like it did in 2022 and 2023, Friday’s event marked the start of Ignite the Arts Festival’s Community Week.
Chelsea Terry, communications coordinator at the gallery, said more than 60 artists submitted murals for the competition.
“Giving the artists their chance, that’s my favourite part of this,” Terry said. “Being able to actively provide funding to artists is the No. 1 thing the art gallery wants to do. We want to make sure that arts is a viable economic field, as well as a cultural field.”
Dozens of people crammed into the brewery’s private event room to watch the unveiling.
Glenn Churchill’s piece was first up, with Penticton’s Lakeshore Drive among the images highlighted in his work.
The artist was joined by Diana Palmer, Emily Fitzowich, Jennifer Robinson, Jenny Lewis, Jolene Mackie, Megan Traicheff, Melissa Dinwoodie, Moozhan Ahmadzadegan and Peggy Stel as receipents of the award.
“We’ll have the art on our walls between March and October and I think it’s really cool for the artists because it opens it up and give the artists acess to a whole new audience to see their art,” said Kim Lawton, marketing director at Cannery Brewing.
“It’s great for tourists, too, who wouldn’t necessarily go the to art gallery but now they’ll get an opportunity to see the work.”
The Ignite the Arts Festival is entering its third year in Penticton and runs until March 31.
While Commmunity Week is now undwerway, the official “Festival Weekend” will host events from March 29 to 31.
People can view the full list of events at ignitethearts.ca.
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