The West Coast demands to be captured in art – painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography and ceramics. The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria houses a variety of art with pieces from across Canada and Asia that exemplify these diverse forms of creativity. And the Gallery Associates have, throughout their 66-year history, provided resources to ensure that the Gallery continues to display them to the public.
The Gallery Associates are volunteers who love art, collect art and support the Gallery and its role in the community. The 130-member body promotes and supports the Gallery through fundraising events and programs. And, as the exhibitions and acquisitions they promote and fund change, so do their audiences and the volunteers themselves.
The 16 women who formed the then Women’s Committee back in 1952 shunned “social” meetings but were committed, instead, to work. Victoria was a “formal” city then – gloves, hats and pearls were de rigueur. Today, the formality and pearls have disappeared, but the hard work and dedication remain.
The Gallery Associates come from a variety of backgrounds – the army, modelling and science. Sometimes called “the originals,” they remain its backbone. Now others, younger but just as enthusiastic, are joining as new members and bringing a new set of skills and ideas.
Karin Johnson is the youngest new member. Born in Chicago, she relocated to Victoria after a stint as an associate auctioneer on cruise ships.
“My interest in art began at age 10 when I first started painting and has run the gamut from art sales and collection development back to my painting again,” she explains. “Being part of the cultural community was an important part of my life in Chicago and I joined the Gallery Associates to get involved with arts and culture in my new city.” She now works at the Gallery, thanks to a referral from the Gallery Associates.
Norma Fitzsimmons, 96, is the senior member of the group. She ran a flower shop for 50 years, initiated the city’s annual “flower count” of February blooms and then sent the count across Canada. “The media loved to receive boxes of daffodils along with the count,” she says with a grin.
Her efforts to attract cruise ships to Victoria were highlighted by her presenting roses to the female passengers when the first passenger (cruise) ships arrived in 1969. Her interest in flowers continues as she brings floral arrangements to each meeting of the Gallery Associates. She joined 20 years ago and helped with themed teas and fashion shows before being named an Honorary Member of the Gallery and Associates in 1997.
“I still love going to meetings and talking to others,” says Norma. “I know I’ve fulfilled my fundraising responsibilities over the years. And I enjoyed it all.”
Relocating from Vancouver to Victoria in 2015, David Sproule, 81, is proof that a newcomer to the city with energy and a passion for Canadian art can integrate quickly into Gallery Associates’ fundraising activities.
“I first learned about the Gallery Associates on a gallery trip to Japan and I immediately wanted to join,” he says. “I knew it would be a good way to learn more about art and the Gallery and an opportunity for art-loving folks like me to have a community.”
As a former army officer, public servant and senior manager for SkyTrain in Vancouver, he’s added his skills to the annual House Tour committee while participating in art tours and educational programs.
Mona Chai, 62, joined the Gallery Associates this year. “As an art lover and newcomer to Victoria, visiting the Gallery comes to me naturally. I became a member immediately,” she explains. “I am happy to meet new friends who share and enjoy the same art-related interests.”
Born in Shanghai, Mona arrived in Victoria via Toronto. She paints regularly and excels in Chinese calligraphy and brush painting. “I enjoy working hard to contribute to and support the Associates and the Gallery.”
Growing up in California, Joni Hockert, 62, moved first to Nova Scotia then to Victoria three years ago. Her mother was a talented artist as are several other family members.
“My first attempt at painting was in elementary school when I brought home a piece I was proud of,” she says. “My mother praised my drawing of a tree when I had painted a cow. That was the pinnacle of my artistry.” She joined the Gallery Associates “to be with people who share my love of art, to support the Gallery and to expand my knowledge of local art.”
Born in Trinidad, Sita Ferri, 73, came to Victoria from Ottawa and soon became a docent for small children visiting the Gallery. Four years later she was looking for a change and the Gallery Associates seemed like a good fit. Her involvement has included art appraisals, the lecture series and the House Tour.
“The diversity, talent and various backgrounds that members offer and the interaction and friendship within the group is fulfilling and most rewarding.”
Dedication and long service don’t do justice to three of the Gallery Associates who saw retirement as an opportunity to become involved in activities they had always loved. Marie Wardell, 83, the longest standing member of the Gallery Associates has been an associate for 55 years, serving as president and chairing “most every committee over the years.” Her interest in art began at school.
“Art was the only subject in which I excelled,” she says. “I have painted in most media, as a Sunday painter only. My life has been made much richer because of the Gallery Associates.”
Nancy Newton, as sophisticated and elegant today as she was throughout her modelling career, ran the coat check at Government House for 27 years before retiring this year. The program raises funds for the Associates according to the number of coats checked at each public event (about 44 a year) held at the Lieutenant Governor’s residence.
Now 90, Nancy estimates “about 150-plus volunteers joined me in hanging more than 2,800 coats this year.” She proves it’s never too late to start something new.
Thirty-five years ago, Yvonne Mackenzie brought her design experience to the Gallery Associates, then the Women’s Committee. Since then she has assisted with most major fundraising events, including every Paint-in event featuring artists showing, selling and demonstrating their art outdoors, fashion shows and House Tours.
“I love my current volunteer activity,” she says. “I invite artists to show and demonstrate their work in the gardens of homes on the House Tour. I started this tentatively not knowing how artists would react. But soon they were selling work and meeting people who then began following their progress and spreading the word about the art they’d experienced.”
Newest to the group is Eleanor Bell, 73, who joined in August after moving from Nanoose Bay. As an owner and operator of a Canadiana Art Gallery in Calgary for seven years, she became familiar with a variety of Canadian artists and began collecting their work. When she lived in Perth, Australia for a dozen years, she owned and operated a gallery for five years.
“I joined the Gallery and the Gallery Associates to become familiar with local art and artists and, now that I am retired, to volunteer and support the Gallery,” she says. “I like being surrounded by beautiful things.”
Combined, these 10 volunteers, among them, have already contributed an amazing 170 years to the Gallery Associates – an incredible contribution to the Gallery and its many “beautiful things” as well as to the people of Greater Victoria.
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