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Create local: Tackle global unique art exhibit and sale

Didi Society, a local non-profit, is teaming up with the Belfry Theatre to celebrate International Women’s Day.
9504mondaymagHappyDowntownersbyShawnShepherd-12
Happy Downtowners by Shawn Shepherd

The Didi Society, a local non-profit, is teaming up with the Belfry Theatre and more than two dozen Victoria artists to stage a special art exhibit and sale to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Create Local: Tackle Global runs from 12 to 5pm Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6 at The Belfry Theatre. Admission is free. In addition, there will also be an opening reception on Friday, March 4 from 5:30 to 8:30pm.

“This one-of-a-kind exhibit is a great opportunity to begin or grow your art collection, support local artists, and help The Didi Society in its work to empower women globally and educate youth locally about gender equality,” says Julia Norman, executive director The Didi Society.

Create Local: Tackle Global will feature pieces from Victoria’s most acclaimed artists as well as from talented emerging artists. Among those whose work will be for sale are award-winning University of Victoria instructor Sandra Meigs and contemporary artist Pat Martin Bates.

Meigs was awarded the Gershon Iskowitz Prize ($50,000) last year and was one of only eight to receive the 2015 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.

Bates has been represented at galleries around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., MOMA in New York, and museums of modern art in Tokyo, Osaka, and Barcelona.

Other artists in the exhibit and sale include Vancouver Island School of Art founder and instructor Wendy Welch, Carole Sabiston, and Phyllis Serota. Among the emerging artists are Bianca MacLeod and Ashley Richter of the Vic High arts program.

The theme of the exhibit and show is empowerment. Paintings, sculpture, ceramics and jewelry will be for sale. All of the artwork will be priced under or around $1,000, with 75 per cent of the sale going to the contributing artist and 25 per cent to support Didi Society projects.

The Didi Society is a Victoria-based non-profit organization that partners with women’s cooperatives in India and Guatemala to market their handmade products. Here in Victoria, Didi educates and raises awareness by providing training and workshops on gender equality, sustainable development, privilege and discrimination, and ethical trade, including its successful Social Justice Youth Conference. Click here for more information.

Where: Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Ave., Victoria, B.C.

When: March 4 from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. Opening Reception. Tickets $25

March 5 and 6 from 12 – 5 pm. Free admission.