The Semiahmoo Peninsula will be teeming with arts events this coming weekend, as a newly expanded White Rock-South Surrey Culture Crawl gets under way (Oct. 5 to 6) in some 25 separate locations.
But it couldn't be more appropriate that the starting point of the festivities – Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at Nomad Gallery, 1377 Johnston Rd. – honours International Artist Day, the globally recognized celebration founded by White Rock artist Chris MacClure.
The show Small Introduction – featuring smaller pieces (no larger than 11" by 14") by some 16 noted area artists – will be hosted by MacClure and gallery proprietor Jenny Evans in recognition of the 20th anniversary of International Artist Day.
“As Nomad is approaching its three-year anniversary in October, I’m honoured to have the opportunity to showcase and support so many amazing and talented artists in our community, while also celebrating the 20th anniversary of IAD,” Evans said.
Marked by nations around the world on Oct. 25, IAD celebrates the birthday of one of the most iconic and influential of artists, Pablo Picasso, born on that date in 1881 in Malaga, Spain.
Particularly pleasing to MacClure is that the city has this year declared White Rock the permanent home of IAD.
"Council voted in favour of it unanimously," he told Peace Arch News. "It's the first time it came into city hall for a vote."
Ironically, he said, "even though it's huge around the world; locally, half the people here don't know about it."
Among a staggering list of organizations and venues that recognize IAD in some way – from exhibitions and special events down to publicizing the day on their websites – are The New York Met, The National Film Board of Canada, The Sundance Institute, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Juillard School in New York, the Guildhall School of Art in London, the National Endowment for the Arts (U.S.), The Government of Canada, Westminster Abbey, the Museums of India and the Cleveland Ballet, to mention only a few.
"And Cirque du Soleil just put it on their website," MacClure noted, adding that he has received photos and clippings from around the world to demonstrate how the concept has taken hold.
"I've been invited over to India, which has one of the biggest IAD celebrations. In Nigeria they did a whole music festival to honour it, and it's a very important day in the Lithuanian school system.
He didn't ask anyone's permission when he first declared IAD via the internet in 2004, he recalled.
"All art is a declaration," he added, with a twinkle in his eye.
The way the concept has been embraced around the world has more than confirmed that such a statement was necessary, he agreed.
"I really had no idea when I started this that it would become so big. If it weren't for the internet, it would have probably taken 100 years for it to become established. There have been attempts to mimic it, but this is the one that stuck."
The idea originally came about after MacClure noted the way that dates were being arbitrarily declared 'something-day' with little or no authority.
"I think it was after I noticed that someone had established an international 'Talk Like A Pirate Day,'" he said. "I thought, come on, society has to do better than this!"
Although he chose Picasso's birthday for IAD, it's meant to honour all artists – not just visual artists – he said.
"It's for all the disciplines – we're trying to get musical people more involved, dance people, theatre people. That's why it's so important that the White Rock and South Surrey Arts Festival has become part of the momentum.
"In the past, all of the arts disciplines were so fragmented – everyone was doing their own thing. This is a great way to get them all together."
For full details of the Culture Crawl and the International Artist Day celebrations, see whiterockcity.ca/culturecrawl.
