| Art in the Heart of
Dwight By Angelica Blenich (with permission)
He is excited about a project he has been working on for the last couple of months, namely the North Arts Art Gallery. This place has personality, and an interesting history to boot. "It looks kind of like a converted distillery," says Murdoch, his eyes lighting up. And Murdoch is right. With a garage door on one side of the gallery, and a floor that's painted to look like terracotta tile, the gallery has a unique flair. Back when it was first
built the space was used by Aben Graphics as a printing press. Now the
venue can be found behind Hero Fine Collectables, a local antique
store It took Murdoch about four weeks to convert the space to a gallery, a project he took on by himself. "I am the team," he laughs, when asked if he had help. The gallery has been open since the middle of June and showcases the work of a number of local artists. Everything from acrylics and watercolours to photography can be found there, including some of Murdoch's own work.
Murdoch's work is also on display but in a more discrete way. "My work is being used as filler," he says, "and can be found throughout the gallery here and there. Murdoch charges the artists a small fee for displaying their works but makes no commission off of a sale. "Basically the artist pays a fee just to keep the gallery up and running," he says. "The total amount of the sale goes directly to them." Murdoch says the reception from the community has been a positive one so far. "I had one man come in here and say, 'Oh I'll have to come back with my wife, and my spectacles, so I can take a closer look.'" The gallery has already expanded its services by now offering regularly scheduled summer art classes taught by Janine Marson. Murdoch says most of the artists have already committed to having their work on display until the fall, when the gallery plans on closing for the season. The seasonal off-time should give Murdoch a chance to focus his attention on the many other galleries he manages. But for now he's keeping his eye on this one. "I’ve already had more people come through here in the past couple of weeks since we opened," he says impressively, "and it can take a few years for a gallery to get its name out there." The Muskokan, Thursday, August 21, 2008 |
Ron
Murdoch is excited. Take a drive out to Dwight and it won't take you
long to see what his enthusiasm is all about.
"Right
now there are approximately 16 different artists on display,” says
Murdoch. "We have a diverse group of artists, three of which are
from Toronto."