Celebrate the joining of Squamish's past and present with the opening gala of the Squamish Arts Council exhibit Into the Woods.
SAC is hosting the Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival opening party with an art exhibit inspired by the forest, logging or loggers sports at the Arts Council building in Pavilion Park on Cleveland Avenue Thursday (July 29) from 7 to 9 p.m.
"We need to maintain authentic connections to our heritage and our landscape," said SAC president Kristina Egyed, "and doing that through art is an ideal way to preserve our industrial heritage."
Squamish's logging heritage established the roads allowing the public to access the backcountry beauty that makes the area so attractive to so many.
Along with outdoor enthusiasts, an increasing population of artists has flocked to the valley to access these areas,and they are in a unique position to illuminate people to Squamish's culture.
Meanwhile, the Logger Sports festival has the honourable distinction of celebrating 53 years of international calibre competition this year. The event attracts competitors and visitors from around the world, and is one of the largest events in the corridor.
Now for the first time, both Loggers Sports fans and art lovers can come together in combined appreciation.
"It's about building audiences both ways," said Egyed. "People that normally wouldn't come to an art exhibit but are interested in the loggers event discover the art, and vice versa."
The things of beauty are on display from July 29 to Oct. 31 in three locations: the SAC building in downtown Squamish on Cleveland Avenue, the SAC Artisan Galleries on Second Avenue, and on the Al McIntosh Loggers Sports grounds, where all the loggers sport action takes place.
Local woodwork icon Martin Thorne will be showcasing his work along with 20 other local artists, including two internationally renowned and widely acclaimed woodturners.
Art Leistman's creations couple his love of woodturning with the creativity of artistic expression to form intricate pieces such as vases made of puzzle pieces and towers inspired by Terpsichore, the Greek muse of the dance.
"I have a particular interest in making pieces on the lathe that do not necessarily appear to be turned," said Leistman.
Douglas J. Fisher is a North American Pacific Northwest native style artist. Fisher has been producing museum quality fine woodturned art since 1997 using his own exclusive techniques - the meshing of native imagery with traditional woodturning methods - to create a distinct approach to the use of wood as a contemporary medium.
The new partnership between SAC and Squamish Days Loggers Sports is the results of a union Egyed has been contemplating for a long time.
"I've been wanting to collaborate with the Loggers Sports for years and it's only now that I can do it time-wise," said Egyed. "We're always open to collaborating and partnering with other groups here in Squamish because all those partnerships are positive."
It has culminated in a celebration of local history, arts, sport and heritage, and, says Egyed, aims to raise awareness, create new synergies, and build audiences for both the arts and sport.
