Free two-day art extravaganza is open to all

The Collectif returns with two opportunities to engage with artists and writers, this year at a new venue. The Big Show 2023 will be held at Community Living, 332 Macdonald Blvd, Alexandria. All events are free.

  • Friday, 14 April 2023: a grown-up Wine & Cheese from 6 – 9 p.m. with many rooms of distinctive art.
  • Saturday, 15 April 2023 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., families are encouraged to view the more than 160 works – paintings, sculpture, photography, carvings, clay, wood, writings – by 39 artists. Enjoy coffee and cookies, chat with the artists, and see what the fuss is about.

Special this year

  1. The 2023 Challenge to Artists: Still Life, however that can be interpreted! Traditional, cartoon, abstract, collage, ceramic, carved, written word. Can you find the creator in their work?
  2. Celebrating our writers in two ways:
  • Original one-page stories or poems distributed throughout the venue
  • Techno-drabbles, 50-word originals scrolling across screens. Testing writers’ abilities to express ideas in a very confined space.
  1. Guest artists: students taking part in programs at Community Living, will be exhibiting with us because art is for everyone. Also 10 per cent of Collective sales go to Community Living.

What is The Collectif?

Founded in October 2016, The Collectif has more than 75 artist members. Our intention is to make art a living asset in our area. To date the not-for-profit group has created:

  • Regular exhibitions:
    • The Big Show [2017-20, returning 2023]
    • Glengarry Pioneer Museum [2018-22, August 2023]
    • The Nor’Wester & Loyalist Museum [2019, 21, 22, May-June 2023]
  • Workshops for members and non-members
  • Town-wide art displays, Windows on Our World [WOW 2017,18, 21, September 2023]
  • Readings, concerts, the Stuart McCormick Tribute, The Write Thing, Cabaret
  • ArtBank: putting art in businesses year round
  • Three mural projects decorating the community. Individual panels of School Spirit mural (2018) returned to schools in 2020; fourth project in development for 2023.