Buy some art, have some fun at First Fridays in the Exchange

Holding On etching by Miriam Rudolph (supplied by Gurvitch Fine Art)

As December rolls in, the Winnipeg arts community offers lots of opportunities to see art, buy art, do some good, raise a glass, see old friends - often all at the same time.

In the Exchange District, the popular First Fridays program coincides with the holiday season kickoff, meaning there is tons to do on the night of December 2. Many artists are opening their studios, while gallery shows will be going into the night.

Urban Shaman is launching its annual member show and sale, From 50 to 500, with a big party that will include music from DJ Bear Witness and tasty Indian tacos (think bannock instead of tortillas) from multitasking gallery co-director Amber-Dawn Bear Robe. 

While the bulk of the show is from local artists like KC Adams and Lita Fontaine, Urban Shaman is also getting work from First Nations artists across the country, as well as the United States and Cuba. Mixing up emerging artists with established A-listers like Rebecca Belmore, the show offers photo-based works, prints, paintings, drawings and sculpture. Prices range, as the name of the event suggests, from $50 to $500. 
 
Across the hall, neighbouring Ace Art is having its final Winter Warmer show, a wide- open members' exhibition with work for sale from $40 to $4000. Artists include Darren Stebeleski, Andrew Milne, Sarah Crawley, Takashi Iwasaki, Suzie Smith and loads more. Ace is also offering DJ dance action, not to mention a surprise cake from Exchange District baking hotspot Cake-ology.

Also happening December 2 is Chutney Mayhem at the Pyramid.  It's an arts fundraiser for the Jagruthi Orphanage in Bangalore, India. This popular event combines performance art, live music and uncategorizable "creative moments."  There are also art pieces for auction.

Gurevich Fine Art, which will be open late for First Fridays, is doing a small works sale, with prices made for giving at $6 to $600. Mayberry Fine Art is also keeping things small, offering 16 and 24-inch square pieces from contemporary artists like Sheila Kernan and Simon Hughes.

This weekend the Forum Art Institute in St. Boniface, a not-for-profit centre providing art education for anyone who wants to learn, continues its Affordable Art Week -- you've got to love the name -- with a bid-and-buy auction and sale.  And A Finely Crafted Sale (formerly known as the ever-popular This Ain't Your Grandma's Craft Sale) will be offering smart, sexy and sometimes downright subversive crafts from local artisans at the Park Theatre on Sunday, December 4, with proceeds from admission prices going to Art City. 

Plug In ICA, meanwhile, is raffling off a gorgeous Wanda Koop painting as a holiday fundraiser.

Clearly, in Winnipeg, tis the season to buy art.

 
Alison Gillmor (CBC)

Watch this video by DJ Bear Witness who will be at Urban Shaman Gallery