Art Tour, Don Valley show slated for next two weekends

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Local artists will showcase their exhibits at a pair of upcoming shows highlighting the talent within the community.

Next weekend, a group of 23 local artists will host the eighth annual Bayview Art Tour, inviting the public into their own private work spaces.

Frances Craig, who founded the art tour, said she felt it would be a good way to bring the arts community together in the Mount Pleasant, Bayview, Moore Park and Leaside community.

Craig has long opened her own work space to the public, hosting one-person shows in her open studio for years. Having seen the interest within the community, she felt other artists would benefit from doing the same.

"I always got quite good attendance and thought it would be a great way to meet other artists and work together to market our work," she said. "I put up four notices on telephone posts thinking 'I'm sure we have a group of creative people around here, so let's show together.'"

Craig noted because painting is, by its very nature, a solitary exercise, creating a network of local artists would help everyone involved.

"Sometimes you're stuck with a piece and it helps to talk to someone else who understands," she said.

Similar events have popped up elsewhere in the city since the first Bayview Art Tour, but at the time it was something of a novel idea in Toronto. As it has grown, it has become a staple of the community's art scene, with local art aficionados looking forward to having the opportunity to see what their artistic neighbours are working on and seeing where they create.

"We do get a lot more interest than I think we would with a more traditional show," Craig said. "We certainly do expose our work."

Over the new two weekends, the Don Valley Art Club will also host its annual Large and Small Picture Show and Sale at Todmorden Mills.

The club, which is over half a century old, brings established artists and neophytes together to explore their craft. Working primarily out of the Don Valley Brick Works, the group features a diverse array of talents working in a variety of media and tackling a wide selection of subjects.

The Large and Small Picture Show will take place Saturday, Nov. 22, Sunday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 29 from noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 30 from noon to 3 p.m. at Todmorden Mills.

The Bayview Art Tour will take place Saturday, Nov. 29 and Sunday, Nov. 30 from noon to 5 p.m. in the Mount Pleasant, Bayview, Moore Park and Leaside communities, with exhibiting artists clearly marking their open studios with signs and bright yellow balloons.