Gallery and studio space cre8ery is located in a non-descript building in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. Established in 2006 by artist Jordan Miller and her partner Shawn Berard, cre8ery helps local artists pursue their artistic endeavours. Colourful local artwork hangs from the white walls of every hallway and a self-guided tour reveals several doors tagged with the names of various artists (as well as their mediums) and a spacious main gallery for the shows that occur every few weeks. All of the studios have been full since late 2007 and there’s a waiting list for the at-cost studio space. Close to two dozen artists now use the cre8ery to create everything from paintings, drawings and photographs to glass art, jewelry and fabric art.
But running the arts hub takes up a lot of time for Jordan Miller, a Winnipeg artist, curator, art teacher and recent winner of a “Woman of Distinction Award for the Arts.” In fact, she’s so busy running cre8ery and trying to make ends meet that she hardly has the time to produce her own work. “Most of the time, I’m okay with that because I see other artists be successful. That in itself is worth it,” she says. “At other times, it drives me crazy that I am surrounded by artwork on a daily basis and unable to find the time to make my own works!”
Though the job is demanding, Miller works hard to help and promote other artists. When I stop by to look around, she mentions that a one-man show is rehearing a play for Winnipeg Fringe in one of the studios. Whenever people come into cre8ery, Miller helps by handing out pamphlets for the upcoming show.
Currently on display is Candace Propp’s “yielding overcoming hard,” a collection of paintings and drawings that incorporate cast paper, found objects and image transfers (pictured above). It will be on display until July 5, when a new exhibit, “Surface Tension” from P J Anderson and Rachel Kroeker, opens on July 7.
For more of Miller’s thoughts about the Winnipeg arts community, and the ways that it can be developed and strengthened, see her article “We need more Winnipeggers buying local art” at http://uniter.ca/view/6237/
Details:
Location – 2nd floor, 125 Adelaide Street (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Hours – Tuesday-Saturday 12-6pm; Monday & Thursday 6-10pm
*See www.cre8ery.com to sign up for cre8ery email notices, or to learn more about studio rentals, workshops, memberships and upcoming events and exhibitions.