“Art for Everyone”
Halifax’s Veith Street Gallery Studio Association is an
organization that fosters artists with disabilities and advocates “art for everyone”.
Guest contributor Christopher Jackson shares about his extensive involvement with the
organization, including advancing his artistic skills, recreating the Gallery’s
website and founding the Creative Spirits Photographers club.
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| Screenshot of Veith Street Gallery Studio Association website Designed by Christopher Jackson |
by Christopher Jackson
In
August of 2006, I bought my first digital camera and began my digital
photography journey. By late fall 2007, I was looking for an avenue to
showcase/ sell my works. One day, at
Team Work Cooperative/Workbridge, I was talking with one of the job
facilitators about this and she mentioned the Veith Street Gallery, a place for
people with disabilities to practice and showcase their art, as an option.
I
looked into in the Fall of 2007, and became an official member that Winter for the 2008 year. Over the next five
years, I developed my photography skills, using suggestions by our then
curator, Mike McCarty, which allowed me to explore different types of
photography. I was an Artist-in-Residence in 2009, where I learned portraiture
techniques. In 2011 got involved in the Project Curator program and became a project
curator, which I continued to do until we lost funding in March 2013.
Of
the many things I have done for the
Gallery, the thing of which I am
proudest is recreating the old Veith Street Gallery website, which can
be found at: http://veithstreetgallery.weebly.com.
This
website has all the features of the old website and some new ones as well. The
purpose of the website is to promote the Gallery and its programs, upcoming
events and exhibits, as well as the eclectic art of the Creative Spirit East
collective of artists, in its many forms.
The
Creative Spirit photographers club developed from two related projects I was Project
Curator of: Macabre (which was also presented as part of the Nocturne At
Night festival) and Gallery of Horrors in 2011. During the
selection process for these exhibits, we had members put together some of their
images to preview as a slideshow and give them feedback. Shortly after the
exhibit's opening (which was actually merged with a Halloween Party) I was with
Mike McCarty and asked him if the Gallery had ever had a photo club. He said no
but that it would be a great idea.
In
February, 2012, we had our first monthly
meeting. During our meetings, we present and discuss members’ photography
submissions and sometimes discuss the techniques they used and how it could
have been done differently. Lately,
instead of photo challenges, we have been doing photo shoots based on action
heroes and are continuing with upcoming shoots within the fairytale/fantasy
vein. I am proud to say this month we
are celebrating our 2nd anniversary.
The
Creative Spirit East collective is a great opportunity for artistic people to
practice their unique forms of art and, at the same time, meet, socialize and
make new friends with other members of the collective, which currently has over
100 people. Most of these artists develop a body of work and have exhibits of
their own. One such person, Hossien Faridi, will be having an exhibit of his
unique paintings and sketches coming to Veith Street Gallery in March 2014.
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| By Hossien Faridi |
If you are interested in joining or learning more about the Veith Street Gallery and its Creative Spirit Photographers club, or would like to become a Kindred Spirit to show your support, visit:
