Abbotsford, BC – This fall The Reach Gallery Museum prepares for the back-to-school season with a range of virtual programs for all ages! These courses offer a different experience than your average virtual how-to video. Taught by local professional artists who are committed to helping you find your creative voice and hone your skills, many of these classes are also designed to help you connect with your fellow classmates.
“We know that as the weather gets cooler, people will be spending more time indoors and looking for meaningful ways to stay engaged while remaining socially distant,” says Diana Hiebert, The Reach’s Curator of Learning and Community Engagement. “That’s why we’ve collaborated with local artists to put together an exciting roster of creative virtual classes that will appeal to adults and children alike.”
Virtual Drawing Course | Expressive Speed Drawing for Beginner and Intermediate Learners (October 19, 22, 26, 29; November 9, 12, 16, 19)
Whether you are new to drawing or want to hone your skills, this class will teach artists of all ages a range of ways to use everyday materials to build skill and creative confidence through drawing. Artist and course facilitator Sidi Chen believes that drawing is a unique way of expressing experiences of the world, and speed drawing is a fundamental part of nurturing artistic skills and minds. You’ll come out of the course with pages of sketches and four finished drawings, including a landscape, a portrait, a still life, and an interior. Meeting in the evenings from 7-8pm, the course is designed to help you build a practice of short but regular drawing sessions. The cost of this eight-session course is $120/person, and if you register with a friend, you will each get $10 off the course fee! For more information on class materials and to register, check out thereach.ca.
Virtual Bookmaking and Binding Workshops
Books tell stories – not just through the words on the page, but also in the way they are bound and printed. Local artist and bookmaker Ember Munnin brings two exciting book making and binding classes to our virtual learning space: Story-Bound Book: Learn the Blanket Stitch which takes place on October 6, and Story-Bound Book: Learn the Long Stitch which occurs on October 20. Munnin will guide participants through the process of developing their own narrative that can be reflected in the pages of the book as well as in the binding technique. Students will come out of each of the two-hour classes with three books: an instant book, a chapbook, and either a blanket stitch-bound book or long stitch-bound book. Both virtual classes take place in the evenings from 6:30-8:30pm and the cost is $85 per class. These classes are geared toward adults aged 16 and up who are beginners to bookmaking. For more information on class materials and how to register, check out thereach.ca.
Virtual Book Club (October 7, 21; November 4, 18; December 2, 16)
Do you dream of slowing down? Curl up with How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell and share your thoughts in this virtual book club discussion group facilitated by UFV professor and practicing artist Aimée Henny Brown. These informal discussions will consider our current experience of being “isolated in-place” and will challenge/explore ideas of productivity, objects, and labour. This is free discussion group for adults aged 16 and up. Registration is required.
Virtual Artmaking Course | Sunday Family Arts (October 4, 18; November 1, 15, 29; December 13)
Sunday Family Arts is back this fall – with a virtual twist! Gather the household for a fun craft session taught by local artist Austin Kwidzinski, that you can stream from Facebook Live from the comfort of your own home. Our projects are often based on current exhibitions, holidays, and other timely themes. Details of the free classes will be posted at least a week before each class date, to give you time to gather the artmaking supplies around the house. Class starts at 1:30pm and lasts no longer than 30 minutes. These live virtual events will also be recorded and available for viewing afterwards.
For more information on The Reach’s virtual classes and other online programming, visit www.thereach.ca.
Image courtesy of Sidi Chen