At Home in Bronte: Get Outside Safely
In compliance with stay-at-home orders, the BIA is invitinglocals (only) to check out At Home in Bronte: Winter Edition, an outdoor art show that showcases 50 professionally painted Muskoka chairs throughout Bronte Heritage Waterfront Park and the surrounding district.
With community members unable to gather to design and paint chairs this spring due to COVID-19 restrictions, the BIA hired six local artists to create colourful artwork that represents Bronte. Secret: Each Muskoka chair has a hidden lighthouse icon waiting to be discovered. The artwork is safely spaced apart, available rain or shine and on display until March.
Leslie Phelan painted 20 chairs in her chair series “Birds and Beasts of Bronte,” which looks to celebrate the local wildlife in the area. She is a proud former Oakville resident and has done previous mural work in our very own Bronte. If you observe her chairs closely, you can see that on each arm chair has either a paw-print or something related to the animal.
Robert Paterson is a freelance illustrator from Toronto. He painted five chairs in his series called “Faces of Bronte,” that explores the evolution of Bronte, not only the physical landscape, but also the people growing together alongside it. His designs take inspiration from music and old movie posters, which help set the tone of his work.
Rafia Shafiq is a craft artist from Oakville who painted five chairs. Although she specializes in embroidery art, she was able to translate her experience with colorful designs to a large-scale paint project and represent aspects of Bronte in a bold way. Her chairs depict iconic parts of Bronte, making them feel right at home in the exhibit. She painted the chairs while also running her full-time craft business and taking care of her daughter.
Shennel Thomas is an abstract artist from Brampton who painted five chairs in the art show. Her series uses a fluid art style to illustrate aspects of Bronte that stood out to her, namely elements like water, sunsets, nature and the iconic lighthouse. The fluid art technique allows colours to be swirled together to create art that both complements the other chairs in the exhibit while also standing out and telling a story of their own.
Sarah Skrlj, a Toronto-based artist, painted ten chairs. Sarah’s chairs convey three themes: the streets of Bronte, wildlife in the area, and the land and sea that make Bronte so unique and beautiful. Sarah specializes in patterned and mural art, telling stories through patterns and use of colour. After doing art on the side her whole life, Sarah decided it was truly her calling and went full-time this year.
Patrick Hunter is a two-spirit, Ojibwe, Woodland artist from Red Lake, Ontario who painted five chairs for the winter exhibit. In his series, Patrick tries to evoke the soul and spirit of the artwork – placing less emphasis on reality and more emphasis on the spiritual realm. His intent is to create awareness of Indigenous iconography. His work is inspired by traditional Woodland artists as well as the Canadian Group of Seven.