The Weyburn Arts Council (WAC) is requesting information about art and artists that have pieces in the Permanent Art Collection. WAC is looking for information to add to a series of books about the Permanent Collection featuring artist's biographies and art works.

In 1974, the Weyburn Arts Council began acquiring works of art for the City. The main purpose of the collection is to preserve examples of the visual arts, created primarily in Saskatchewan, and to establish a record of our cultural heritage. WAC has been collecting 1 to 4 pieces every year, and the collection now holds more than 200 pieces from more than 150 artists.

"At some point, some information was lost about the who, the what, the where, the how, the why, and we are looking at regathering that information and documenting it, and preserving it for the future, and then it will all be put together in a coffee table book that will be available for sale to residents," explained City Curator Regan Lanning.

Lanning said that in 1984, the Weyburn Arts Council put together a booklet showcasing the contents of the City's Permanent Collection at that time.

"It was quite a bit smaller, it was almost like pamphlet sized," she noted. "The art was in colour, the artists photos were small kind of thumbnails and very short, concise blurbs. We are looking to expand on that more and will be giving each artist a full page."

"Unfortunately, we don't have all of that information right now, so we are kind of at an information gathering stage of this project," she added.

She said they hope to have it all together for the opening of the new gallery in the Weyburn Recreation and Cultural Centre.

"To celebrate the move to the WRCC, the first exhibit at our new space will be the entire City of Weyburn Permanent Collection hung salon style, so from floor to ceiling, And we'll be having a large gala opening, but we're also reissuing the book," Lanning shared.

Lanning said the City of Weyburn's Permanent Collection is an important historical reference.

"We have a beautiful collection of art that is all some way tied to our community or our province," she explained. "Be the artist is from here, or the subject matter is based local or it's commemorating an event, it's a very rich and complex collection, and it's not celebrated nearly enough. That's what we would like to do with this new book."

"So if you have any connection to the permanent collection, if you know, there's stories that grandma had a piece in there, definitely reach out to us and help us out in our journey," Lanning invited. "If your grandma has a piece of art in the permanent collection, or your great uncle, or your sister, please contact me, and that will definitely help us to document the rich local history that is reflected in the City of Weyburn's permanent collection."

WAC is looking for photos of the artists, artist's works, and for information that can be added to the artist’s biography. Weyburn Arts Curator can be contacted at (306) 848-3922 or email at weyburnartscouncil@weyburn.ca. A complete list of the artists with works in the permanent collection can be found on the City of Weyburn website under Parks & Leisure, Weyburn Arts Council-Permanent Art Collection.

 

Check out more photos and a video featuring Lanning and the Permanent Collection HERE.