Salmon Arm pet lovers are in for a treat as a new exhibit debuts at the art gallery.
SPOT: All About Cats and Dogs opened on Saturday, April 15 to a room full of proud artists and excited patrons.
Director and curator Tracey Kutschker began the exhibition’s introduction stating the gallery’s pledge to use art towards fulfilling its mandate to better the relationship with Indigenous peoples.
Secwépemc knowledge-keeper Louis Thomas then gave a traditional welcome with a focus on respecting and cherishing animals, as the exhibition focuses on artists’ love for pets.
“Our people respected animals,” said Thomas. “Our stories were around the animals because they came here before we did and they showed us how to live off the land. We done what they done, we ate what they ate. So, there was a lot of respect towards animals like we do to our cats and dogs.”
The exhibit is sponsored by Uptown Animal Rescue.
“[Uptown]’s philosophy about caring for their animals and about keeping it a low-stress environment, it’s just unbelievable and it’s so beautiful to watch,” said Kutscher.
SPOT’s opening was an open show, so artists wandered the gallery, discussing their pieces if they saw a patron stopping to look and answering questions.
There is a Best in Show vote running with the exhibition, where patrons can vote on their favourite cat and dog art piece. One dollar gets you four votes and $5 gets you 20 votes. At the end of the show, all proceeds get split between the fan favourite artists, half to the creator of a cat piece and half to an artist who focused on a dog.
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