Paint Ontario is looking for a new home.
After 24 years of operating out of the Lambton Heritage Museum, organizers of the annual juried representational art show and sale have announced they have parted ways with the museum.
Due to renovations at the Lambton Heritage Museum done at the behest of the county, there is significantly less space for artists to showcase their work at the facility, said Paint Ontario’s Teresa Marie Phillips. She said the smaller space will not allow the show to be sustainable in the future.
As a result, the board of the Grand Bend Art Center – the body that governs Paint Ontario – is looking for a new location to host Paint Ontario in Grand Bend, where the show first began 26 years ago, founded by Barry Richman.
“It is no longer conductive to host (Paint Ontario) in the Lambton Heritage Museum,” Phillips said. “The space was cut in half and the revenue was cut in half … we’re a non-for-profit charity, so that really affects us. We can never show more than 100 paintings, which might sound like a lot but it really isn’t. The top artists aren’t going to come here to simply showcase one painting.
“In the past artists and buyers could be in the same room, which was the essence of the success of the show.”
While Paint Ontario was held in September over the past number of years due to the pandemic, the next show is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2024, a return to its traditional time of year, Phillips said.
Both artists and patrons can look forward to a revitalized show in a large space that will be able to accommodate 200 or more pieces of original art, Phillips said, and in Grand Bend.
“We’re planning on bringing it back to downtown Grand Bend,” she said. “We hope that it’s a catalyst to prove that we need culture in that area.”
An announcement regarding the next Paint Ontario will take place in the spring of 2023, Phillips added.