artPontiac elects new board, talks past and future events

December 8, 2020

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The Equity

EMILY HSUEH

PONTIAC Dec. 3, 2020

Seventeen members of artPontiac along with Warden Jane Toller met up virtually on Dec. 3, for their general meeting.

The meeting began with a teary review of the past year by outgoing president Louise Guay, who is retiring from her position after nine years. Despite the pandemic, the Stone School in Portage du Fort opened on Aug. 7 and artPontiac was able to host . . .

four exhibits, two vernissages, and three artist’s talks. A few workshops were offered as well, hosting nearly 60 participants of all ages over seven courses.

Their biggest event of the year was InterconneXion, where seven printmakers came together to have their hand carved plates printed onto paper and fabric by being pressed with a steamroller. The event took place on Aug. 22 on Main Street in Shawville and saw between 350 – 400 people come out. They added that it was the first time artPontiac had such a big budget and were able to compensate their artists more.

The new board was elected, and will consist of Geneviève Has, Nicole Lavigne, Claire Taillefer, Linda Girard and Michele Gagnon. Valerie Bridgeman was appointed secretary and Dale Shutt was named the new president. France Lamarche was named volunteer of the year.

In the future, the organization will be looking to implement an online store, artist residencies, and virtual tours of their galleries and exhibitions, though these are still being discussed. More courses will be offered in the new year and will have helpers for second languages so that all of their courses will be bilingual.

Toller said that she and the rest of the MRC council are proud of the work that the Stone School is doing and added that Portage du Fort has become a cultural hub as a result. She informed that the MRC wants to purchase art to decorate their building and would like to support local artists through artPontiac. This was met with approval, and the group thanked Toller for taking the time to attend their meeting and discussing initiatives that could help the organization in the future.

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