Chronicle Herald
November 2, 2008
Windsor has new door to creativity
By GLEN PARKER
There’s a bold new addition to the arts and culture scene in Windsor.
The doors to the Utata Gallery and Art Centre swung open to the public for the first time on Saturday.
Executive director Catherine Jamieson describes Utata as part social club, part art gallery and part art school. Utata is a "made-up" word, "a lucky word that I’ve kept for many years and I’m going with it now," she said.
Born and raised in Windsor, Jamieson recently returned to her hometown from Winnipeg and immediately recognized a need to boost the area’s cultural awareness.
"Someone had to do something, and a gallery has always been my big dream," she said. "Not only do we want to have a place where artists can show and sell their work, but we are going to have classes in fine art, music, dance — whatever people want to learn. We also want to do outreach where we can take art out to the community."
Utata is privately funded and staffers are already taking registrations for 80 classes, from belly dancing to life drawing. A separate photography gallery is nearing completion.
"Creativity is the most important human resource we have," Jamieson said.
As schools drop art and music classes from their curriculum and more people opt to communicate and socialize online, traditional forms of creative education and expression are becoming endangered. "The community suffers when young people are not encouraged to explore their creativity and older people have no outlet to socialize in a creative environment."
The gallery highlights Nova Scotia artists with a particular emphasis on those working in the Annapolis Valley.
"We are new and a lot of artists have taken a chance on us," Jamieson said. "We have people showing here who wouldn’t ordinarily show. Many of our teachers are showing their own work. The response has been unbelievable. We’ve sold a lot of memberships already.
"We’re very tribal in nature. We see ourselves as facilitators. If the community wants tap dancing, we’ll give the community tap dancing. We’re here to open doors to creativity — in whatever form it takes."
Utata Gallery and Art Centre is located at 40 Water St., Windsor. For more information, visit the website www.gallery.utata.org.
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