Art show leaves university and the gallery behind

Corrie Peters, Isabelle Scarfo and Jessica Watchorn hope to engage their audience with their new art show, Play Between.
They are three of 17 Concordia fine arts students behind this interactive exhibit. All of them bring something different to the table. While the show features photography, painting and drawing, like most other exhibits, Play Between also features videos, sculpting, embroidery and an electro jam session. The artists hope to engage their views in an active way, in an effort to turn the viewing of art into an art form in and of itself.
“We are looking at the gallery as a social space,” said Peters, 33, who is hosting a chocolate workshop at the gallery on March 25.

Key to Play Between is the ability for the audience to expand on and participate with the works.
While some of the art will be created live, other performances will turn the audience into the artists.
At one show, a performance is photographed by the audience, whose photos become the art.

For her show, Scarfo hopes to turn the mirror onto society with her videos. At 39, she considers herself an outsider and does not see herself as fitting in to society. “I want to push the feeling of being different,” she says about her videos. She hopes they can “push the limit of acceptance of the society, the community.” Scarfo’s goal is to “create a state of introspection where the viewer dwells on loneliness, ambiguity, irregularity, fatality, chaos and abandonment.” She often feels discriminated against because “society favors the extrovert, which I am not.”
For Watchorn, 21, it was important to plan Play Between outside the university system so they can get first-hand experience on the “business side of the fine arts practice,” since most are planning to make a career out of being artists. Her “Walk with Jessica” on March 27 at noon, aims to make the audience see the art in everything and everyday life. Her wool, fabric and fibre-based works will also be on display at the gallery.
The art is not confined between the walls of the gallery. A session of audience participation sculpture will take place at the nearby Papineau metro station which Peters says will “expand who the art audience is.”

“We really want the people to be able to engage with the work and for the work to engage with the people,” said Watchorn. “We have encouraged the artists to incorporate an [interactive element] to the events that we hope will dissolve the barriers between artist, gallery and viewer.”
A highlight of the show is sure to be the periscope making workshop on March 29, where attendees can take home their creation. Food and beverages will be served at the gallery and the artists are hosting a potluck brunch on March 28 at 12:30 p.m.

The vernissage for Play Between will be March 24 at 7 p.m. at Ethecae (2131 Ste. Catherine E). It runs until March 30. Go to playbetween.wordpress.com for full schedule and artist info.

Corrie Peters, Isabelle Scarfo and Jessica Watchorn hope to engage their audience with their new art show, Play Between.
They are three of 17 Concordia fine arts students behind this interactive exhibit. All of them bring something different to the table. While the show features photography, painting and drawing, like most other exhibits, Play Between also features videos, sculpting, embroidery and an electro jam session. The artists hope to engage their views in an active way, in an effort to turn the viewing of art into an art form in and of itself.
“We are looking at the gallery as a social space,” said Peters, 33, who is hosting a chocolate workshop at the gallery on March 25.

Key to Play Between is the ability for the audience to expand on and participate with the works.
While some of the art will be created live, other performances will turn the audience into the artists.
At one show, a performance is photographed by the audience, whose photos become the art.

For her show, Scarfo hopes to turn the mirror onto society with her videos. At 39, she considers herself an outsider and does not see herself as fitting in to society. “I want to push the feeling of being different,” she says about her videos. She hopes they can “push the limit of acceptance of the society, the community.” Scarfo’s goal is to “create a state of introspection where the viewer dwells on loneliness, ambiguity, irregularity, fatality, chaos and abandonment.” She often feels discriminated against because “society favors the extrovert, which I am not.”
For Watchorn, 21, it was important to plan Play Between outside the university system so they can get first-hand experience on the “business side of the fine arts practice,” since most are planning to make a career out of being artists. Her “Walk with Jessica” on March 27 at noon, aims to make the audience see the art in everything and everyday life. Her wool, fabric and fibre-based works will also be on display at the gallery.
The art is not confined between the walls of the gallery. A session of audience participation sculpture will take place at the nearby Papineau metro station which Peters says will “expand who the art audience is.”

“We really want the people to be able to engage with the work and for the work to engage with the people,” said Watchorn. “We have encouraged the artists to incorporate an [interactive element] to the events that we hope will dissolve the barriers between artist, gallery and viewer.”
A highlight of the show is sure to be the periscope making workshop on March 29, where attendees can take home their creation. Food and beverages will be served at the gallery and the artists are hosting a potluck brunch on March 28 at 12:30 p.m.

The vernissage for Play Between will be March 24 at 7 p.m. at Ethecae (2131 Ste. Catherine E). It runs until March 30. Go to playbetween.wordpress.com for full schedule and artist info.