The Lakes District Museum鈥檚 GR8-by-8 Art Project wrapped up recently with an awards ceremony and art auction.
The fundraiser, which saw local artists donate 8鈥漻8鈥� artworks to the museum for a chance to win more than $1,500 in prizes, generated a lot of interest in the community. The museum society sold 74 canvases to local creators and received 55 submissions.
Winner of the adult age group 鈥� and the fan favourite award 鈥� was an oil painting entitled 鈥淭hus Saith the Lord鈥� by local artist Reese Hogan. Hogan鈥檚 wins earned her $600 in prize money.
Other winners in the adult division were 鈥淪olitude鈥� by Lynda Peebles (second place), 鈥淔ood for Thought鈥� by Dale Kallhood (third place), and 鈥淭urkeys鈥� by Cheryl Dell (Honorable Mention).
The other winning artworks, announced Nov. 20, were as follows:
Children鈥檚 Division:
First Prize ($75) 鈥� Canvas #23 鈥� 鈥淜indergarten鈥� by Theodore Kaskamin.
Second Prize ($50) 鈥� Canvas #37 鈥� 鈥淭he Pink Dancer鈥� by Alexandra Platt
Third Prize ($25) 鈥� Canvas #38 鈥� 鈥淕rowth from Chaos鈥� by Samantha Platt
Hon. Mention ($10) 鈥� Canvas #40 鈥� 鈥淪nowflake鈥� by Samantha Platt.
Teen Division:
First Prize ($150) 鈥� 鈥淲hispers of the Water鈥� by Aliana Petersen
Second Prize ($100) 鈥� 鈥淣ew York鈥檚 Protest鈥� by Hailey Krause
Third Prize ($75) 鈥� 鈥淪hip on Fire鈥� by Finn Elliott
Hon. Mention ($25) 鈥� 鈥淧umpkin Patch鈥� by Hailey Krause
The art auction held the same night as the awards ceremony raised more than $2,000 for arts and culture programming here.
Museum society officials say they were pleased with the public鈥檚 response to the event.
鈥淭he GR8-by-8 Art Project exceeded our wildest expectations,鈥� said Michael Riis-Christianson, curator of the Lakes District Museum. 鈥淲e had far more participants than originally expected and raised more money than we hoped. But this initiative wasn鈥檛 really about raising money for arts and culture programming. It was about showcasing this area鈥檚 talented artists and giving them a reason to work their creative magic. Judging from the response, it achieved its intended purposes.鈥�
Riis-Christianson said the museum society will put the money to good use.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already looking at how we can encourage the arts here next year,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ne thing is certain: the GR8-by-8 Art Project will return in one form or another in a few years. Between now and then, there will be more opportunities for local creators to share their passion for art.鈥�
