The Draw of a New Art Season

As the days grow shorter and the landscape begins to glow in a riot of colour, the arts scene in Headwaters gets busy unfurling itself. From gallery walls to community spaces and stages, art lovers can take in a vibrant lineup of exhibitions, festivals, studio tours, hands-on workshops, cultural celebrations and art sales. 

Consider this your guide to the creative happenings worth discovering this season.

Caledon 

There’s still time to catch the tail end of The Art of Abundance, where more than 30 Headwaters Arts members examine the theme of inspiration from nature and the poetic word at the Alton Mill Arts Centre, on until September 13. 

Up next is one of the local art scene’s most anticipated events – the Headwaters Arts Juried Fall Festival Art Show and Sale, which this year celebrates three decades of artistic excellence. Showcasing more than 50 established and emerging artists, the festival kicks off with an opening night soirée on September 17, followed by a juror’s walk on September 20 where you can learn more about why each piece was selected. In her playful new sculpture, Ringmaster, metalworker Courtney Chard captures the fluidity and energy of an otter in motion. Other artists include painters Michele Taras, Judy Willemsma, Gita Karklins and Brian Barrer – along with textile artists Fabienne Good and Pat Hertzberg. And don’t miss Diana Hillman’s soft, yet clear-eyed aerial landscape paintings. This event runs at the Alton Mill Arts Centre from September 16 to October 4.

Caledon’s award-winning Culture Days events are part of a national 16-day celebration with free activities, hands-on workshops, exhibits and more. New this year is the Caledon Under the Stars kick-off event on September 25 with live music, theatre and arts-focused activities under the open sky. Flagship events include the Caledon Creative Arts Weekend on September 25 and 26, Caledon CultureFest on October 3, and the Caledon Studio Tour running on October 3 to 4, taking you behind the scenes to see artists at work. Mary Scattergood, one of the artists on the tour who is known for her storybook-like memory folk art, will also be holding an “art at the farm” sale at her studio in Caledon. 

There’s a new home for art in Belfountain with the opening of the Olde Forge Gallery. Located in what was once the hamlet’s historic blacksmith shop, this fall the space will be a hub for local artists to display their work, including Wendy Mitchell-Burke’s earthy, nature-inspired pottery, Kayla Jackson’s delicate rural landscapes and Sam Meandro’s sleek yet organic woodwork. Watch for hands-on workshops, too.

Dufferin

This autumn, the walls of the Shelburne Town Hall Art Gallery welcome many talented artists, starting with Robert Chisholm’s expressive brushwork in September and the quiet, atmospheric photography of E. Connie Munson in October. November brings five members of the Southern Ontario Visual Artists group; look closely at Lynden Cowan’s oil paintings and you’ll often spot creatures hidden among the foliage, while Margaret Pardy’s unbelievably detailed scratchboard work captures wildlife in its element.

Perfectly folded fortune cookies, whimsical bird-motif bowls and masterfully sculpted blown glass take centre stage at Earth & Fire: Clay and Glass, which returns to the Museum of Dufferin on September 19. Highlights include Christopher He’s charming ceramic fortune cookies, Carly Weir’s perplexed stained glass astronaut in How Did I Get Here?, Amanda Kerr’s cheeky owl plates and Elise Chung’s cat-lidded jars. In The Hills editor Elaine Li will present her adorable line of tiny trinkets, Little Clay Bites. Adult pottery workshops will be offered on-site by Mono’s Claymore Ceramics, as well as free drop-in crafts for kids. 

Be sure to catch the Home and Heritage Photography Exhibition at the Museum of Dufferin until October 24, where 30 photographers from Ontario delve into the theme of what home truly means from diverse cultural perspectives. Then starting on November 14, Our Guiding Stories is an exhibition of artwork from local Girl Guides that celebrates the impact of the program. The museum will also display Girl Guide artifacts and historic photographs.

Crazy for quilts? Step into a world of colour, pattern and intricate handiwork of the Dufferin Piecemakers Quilting Guild as they host Quilts at the Park at Monora Park Pavilion in Mono from October 16 to 17. Enter the raffle for a chance to take home a quilt of your own.

Three spots in Orangeville allow you to shop and learn. At Dragonfly Arts on Broadway don’t be shy to stop and chat with the artists working in situ on something new. Watch Rosemarie Armstrong as she adds the final touches to paintings of wild, crashing waves, or the delicate, graceful sumi-e brushwork of Roslyn Levin. And if you’re inspired to hone your own art skills, Maggiolly Art’s upcoming classes include learning to paint Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night or making Celtic knot greeting cards, and creating your own painted floorcloth. Over at Ricky Schaede Art Studio practise drawing landscapes in graphite or focus on oil painting.

Erin

Arts by the Pond returns to Erin on September 19, featuring the grand unveiling of the Station Stop Caboose Hop, Jefferson Campbell-Cooper’s new public art installation on the Elora-Cataract Trailway, which pays tribute to the town’s railroad heritage. At the grounds of the Wellington County Library in Hillsburgh, there’s a plein air paint-out, a pop-up gallery and artisan market, a main stage of live music, and a hands-on community quilt project.

Melissa Auchincloss’s wild and turbulent Eye of the Storm, elegantly poised portraits by Christina Clare and Rosalinde Baumgartner’s moving sculpture, Sunshine Girl, are some of the works on display. Event organiser Over Here Community Arts Adventure has teamed up this year with Erin Tree Trust, which is inviting artists to honour Henry, a stately elder American elm in Erin.

Creemore

Creemore Arts Fest offers a weekend of creativity, joy and inspiration from October 2 to 4, with 50+ artists on location, award-winning musicians, storytelling, horse-drawn wagon rides, hands-on “messy fairytales” for kids, and an open-air market. The marquee art show this year is A Refugium of Infinite Stories, a multimedia installation by the Odeimin Runners artist collective, which weaves together Indigenous and Black histories through storytelling and trickster figures Nanabozho and Anansi. There’s a lineup of live music and shows, including Toronto’s Sultans of String on October 3, bringing an exhilarating fusion of global rhythms that weave fiery violin and flamenco guitar. Hosted by Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society, event locations include Station on the Green, the Creemore Log Cabin, Avening Hall and the Village Green.

In conjunction with the Creemore Arts Fest, Gallery Lagom hosts Common Ground: Fired and Found, which welcomes two artists from October 3 to 25. Cat Marchese is known for her photography of Toronto’s forgotten or abandoned “ghostly bricks,” under her label Citybonez. And Vicky Pratt Becker brings a collection of earthy ceramics. From October 30 to November 29, Kathy Ebbinghaus Melanson explores the elemental energy of water and earth through abstract paintings inspired by rivers and landscapes.