an Evolution – Muse Artspace

Muse artspace - detail of painting by Natasha Kudashkina, photo by Becka Viau

Written by Renee Laprise

Hi everyone,

Over the last month I’ve been wrestling with the idea of continuing to keep MUSEartspace open but with the latest news that MUSE did not receive the Scotia prize this decision was made easier. So I’m sorry to say that MUSE will be closing at the end of July. That said there are still awesome summer camps happening in July so pass on the word! I want to tell you that this last year has been AWESOME. I’ve loved every second and it’s made me grow exponentially as a person. I’ve been able to try so many things and meet so many amazing people. The support that you gave during the Scotia prize voting was fantastic!

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I know many of you will be disappointed but this isn’t the end. There are big things happening in Charlottetown and I will continue to be an active part of the community. I hope to see you all out around town And you can always contact me at renee@reneelaprise.com if you are interested in collaborating on something or if you have questions or needs you think I can address. Please keep tabs on my artist page at facebook.com/reneelapriseartist - you could even LIKE it! Then I can alert you as to any events I may be having like life drawing or classes.

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PLEASE NOTE!!!!!! That means that 211 Euston St. will be available from Aug 1.

It’s 1400 square feet – with a beautiful gallery space, a great bathroom, a full kitchen and ton of other goodies. I am willing to leave some of the furniture and other stuff here if a group of you decide to get together to make this a shared studio space. It’s a beautiful place to work. I had originally thought to turn MUSE into this kind of space but I decided that I didn’t want to spend time managing. The rent is a bit high but split among 8 or 9 people you could cover it and have a storefront to boot. I hope someone decides to go with this idea. I’ll be giving notice June 1 so please get back to me ASAP and I’ll set up a meeting with the landlord — he’s a great guy and wants the space to continue to be a place for the arts!

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Take care everyone. Here’s to the next chapter!

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Renee

Island Poems – digital catalogue now online!

design by Kirk Avery

written by Becka Viau

This town is small would like to congratulate all of the poets and artists that participated in the Island Poems: a collaborative art project! The show was a true success. It was amazing to see such diversity in subject and media, as well as the incredible amount of artists that participated!

This Project was our first collaboration with Peake Street Studios and the PEI Writers’ Guild and I have to say it was a very rewarding process.This town is small would like to thank Donnalee Downe from Peake Street and Yvette Doucette from the Writers’ Guild for all of their efforts in making this happen … including initiating the collaboration!

this town is small has put all of the poems and artworks up on the Island Poems page, in hopes that it will serve as a digital catalogue of the exhibition. Please visit the page and read the poems and view the artwork.

If you would like to see installation photographs of the exhibit please visit here.

If you would like to hear an interview from CBC Mainstreet about the exhibition please visit here.

I encourage the artists to send us an email with links to their web pages so we can link their work from this show to more information about them on the net.

Congratulations on an excellent show! We look forward

Art to the People and People to the Art

 

Muse artspace - detail of painting by Natasha Kudashkina, photo by Becka Viau

 

Written By Reneee Laprise

 

 

MUSEartspace was designed to bring art to the people and people to the art.  It is an open concept creative space with a gallery, studio, lounge, computer bay and retail area.  Muse’s big wall of windows facing Euston street, allows for people to peek in and become curious about what’s happening inside.  The idea of presenting MUSE as a kind of store is vital to pulling down some barriers that often go up when people are faced with a formal gallery setting.  As a store people can just come in to ‘browse’ and this, more often than not, will lead to a conversation about what they are looking at.  It’s a very gentle yet highly inspiring transaction for all of us!  This creative space filled light and beautiful art also works to bring life to the neighbourhood and I’ve been told makes the locals feel better about where they are living.

From a business perspective, I am allowing MUSE to evolve as it needs to for the time being.  i have several different revenue streams in play like art/retail sales, space rental, speciality art parties and various kinds of programming like Wed evening life drawing. I teach drop in classes and workshops for all ages from pre-school to adult and I have 8 week courses coming up called  ”KIDS CREATE!” and “ADULTS CREATE!”, that focus on the creative process rather than the final product.  Starting Saturday, October 16th, participants will be given instruction on the basics in various media but the projects will really challenge the way they express themselves creatively.  These courses are great for any skill level because even professional artists need to be pushed out of their comfort zones once in a while.  By the way, that’ll be the next series: Out of the Comfort, Into the Zone.

As a rule, I prefer to build courses tailored to people’s needs.  This has worked out really well so far.  I am also very open to hearing from artists/creatives who are interested in presenting programming.  The space can be rented out for this purpose or MUSE can handle the marketing and promotion for a percentage of the fees.  The October line up is packed with really great events and programming using both these models.

Creative expression is the heart and soul of MUSEartspace and though I believe that everyone can and should create I want to emphasize that I absolutely adore and admire those of you who identify as artists.  I love your drive, your passion and your bravery.  I love sitting in MUSE because I am surrounded by the hearts and souls of so many different people.   Art is my passion, as well, and I understand how absolutely nerve wracking it is to put your work out there to be judged.  Especially those of you who haven’t or rarely show.  I think that’s why I try to host as many emerging artists as I can.  It’s that raw energy that sits at the surface that really speaks to people and maybe even gets them to look at the world in a different way.  Creativity in all its forms is so powerful.  I’m really grateful to be in such a vibrantly creative place!

See the MUSE calendar of events at www.museartspace.com.