New site for a little art

Groop Gallery owner Melanie Desjardins, left, and Prince George Public Library communications coordinator Andrea Palmer display some of the pieces of art which will be hanging on the walls at the library for tonight’s Best Damn Little Art Auction Ever. Allan WISHART/Free Press

The Best Damn Little Art Auction Ever has gotten too big for its original home.

After being held the past two years at the Groop Gallery, the auction will be held tonight (May 1) in the Keith Gordon Room at the Prince George Public Library.

“It wasn’t so much there was too much art,” Groop Gallery owner Melanie Desjardines said, “as there were too many people for safety. There was only one exit from the room we were holding it in.”

So the Community Arts Council started looking for a new home, and didn’t have to look very far.

“I was volunteering with the auction the past two years,” library communications coordinator Andrea Palmer said, “and I could see it was going to outgrow the gallery.

“I was advocating for the library to be the next place to go. I had to convince them this was something we could do here.”

On Wednesday, Palmer, Desjardines and other members of the Community Arts Council were busy unpacking all the works – no bigger than six inches square – and figuring out how to display them. Council project coordinator Lisa Redpath said there was a lot of work to do.

“We should end up with just under 200 pieces this year,” she said. “That definitely exceeds last year. 

“This year there are more than 70 artists who brought in works. It’s open to everyone, because it’s a non-juried show, so anyone of any skill level can bring in a piece or three.”

Many of the artists did do the maximum of three pieces.

“Doing a triptych can be quite interesting,” Redpath said, “because it gives the artist a chance to create a little story with the pieces.”

Among the artists with pieces in the show are locals who are known on a larger scale, Palmer says.

“You have the chance Friday night to bid on a Jennifer Pighin original work,” she said. “She’s just gotten so well-known in the last little while.”

The opening bid on each piece is $35. The artists get 50 per cent of the sale price, while the library and arts council split the other 50 per cent.

The Best Damn Art Auction Ever runs from 7 to 10 p.m. tonight (Friday) at the Prince George Public Library’s downtown location. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $2 at the library during regular hours, Studio 2880 or the door.