Library hosts October gallery
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Strathmore Municipal Library is hosting Lyle Johnson as their artist of the month throughout the month of October.
“We have had our art gallery for many years, and in the last little while we have been restructuring the way that we do it. Now, we are offering artists a month or two months place on the wall,” said Laura Henderson, public services manager with the Strathmore Municipal Library. “Lyle is in for the month of October and his art is just bright and vibrant and refreshing. It is such a neat gallery, and this is his first gallery hanging.”
Johnson largely is displaying acrylic paintings on canvas, as well as several spray-painted pieces.
Henderson explained the library’s previous operation of changing up the gallery every month almost did not feel fair to the artist on display, with not enough time in one month by itself to share the gallery with the community.
On her end, Henderson added it is sometimes easier depending on the size of the display for the library having greater amounts of time between taking down a gallery and setting up another.
“For some, they only want that one month gallery as well, so we are offering them one month or two … a lot goes into this gallery and this time around we hung 29 pieces. It does not sound like a lot, but it really fills those walls, and we want it to look lovely,” she said. “I actually have some experience in art galleries … I love the process of hanging the art and making those displays pop a little bit and highlighting those artists in the way that their art is displayed.”
By allowing a two-month period and having the option to have it as only a month, the team at the library is granted more time in order to better display the art coming into the building.
Currently, the library is booked with artists until March 2025; however, the team is always seeking more and new artists to feature displays at the gallery.
Returning artists who have previously displayed are also still welcome to schedule themselves with the library again.
Any and all mediums are welcomed into the gallery, including three-dimensional art such as pottery and needle felting.
“Art can come in so many formats so I like to find a way to display that art as best I can … I do not even know the limitations; I want to talk to the artists and see what we can do to make that gallery work for them,” said Henderson.
All of Johnson’s paintings are for sale through the library, ranging in prices from $250 to $1,000, according to Henderson. Purchases will net the library a 10 per cent commission, with the rest returning to the artist.