New art collective looks to bring local artists together, showcase new talent

“There are actually a lot of artists here in Prince George, and I think we all feel isolated because Prince George is very much a trades town, and not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think artists don’t really realize how many of us there are until we all come together,” added fellow Co-founder Blair Wingerter.

Rathrat is only ten months old, but since officially forming the group says the community response and feedback has been extremely positive.

“We have had quite a few people join us almost off the streets in a way. One of the main ways we’ve recruited people is just people noticing the paint on my hands. I’m like, ‘oh, are you an artist as well?’ And then they agree, and I show them our Facebook and get them in touch with us. That’s been the main sort of way that we’ve been doing things, word of mouth,” Taylor-Oullet said.

“They’re (the community) always super receptive and just like, ‘wow, this is really cool. I’ve been wanting a community like this and some people to bounce ideas off of,'” said Wingerter.

Getting in touch with Rathrat is as simple as reaching out via its Facebook page, where the group explains you can join either as an active artist taking part in things like exhibitions and workshops, or as what it calls “lurkers,” being people who enjoy art and want to be a part of an art community but may not want to be as directly involved. Regardless of your level of involvement, the Art Collective strongly believes in the importance of establishing connection and community within the local art scene.

“We decided that there was not a lot of support for artists in Prince George in general. There’s the fine arts program, there’s Omineca (Arts Centre) and a few galleries. But all in all, there’s not a lot of community support of artists coming together and learning from each other and taking on these big projects together, so we decided that we wanted to start one,” Winkler said.

“Art is word of mouth, art is connections. It’s connecting with people through art. It’s connecting with words, with everything like that, it’s just connection. And to make that into a physical form allows people to enter the world of art that they didn’t think that they were able to in the first place, because it opens up that avenue for them,” Taylor-Ouellet.

Several pieces by Taylor-Oullet, Wingerter, and fellow Co-founder Keshawna Garnot are currently being featured at the Omineca Arts Centre as part of its monthly exhibit, with this month’s theme being “Utopia And Our Dystopia.”

“I hope that it starts a conversation, and I hope that it really makes people think. That’s what we wanted with the dystopian end of it and the utopia, but then to shine inspiration and hope with the utopia to come full circle,” Garnot explained.

On August 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. a workshop will be held with the artists on display at Omineca. Garnot explains the day will start with a warm-up activity where you have to draw a prompt based off of a dice roll, and after that it will be a group collaboration project,

“The idea is that you’ll bring a friend or family or something, or you’ll pair up with somebody else here, or you can do it alone as well to do a collaboration on a prompt that we’re going to give everybody and you’ll get to work on a piece and make a piece together,” Garnot said.

She added the group is looking to make this as accessible as possible, so a wide variety of mediums will be accepted.

The workship will take place on August 18, and Garnot added a reception will be held on August 25 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. where visitors will have the chance to meet with all the artists on display and learn more about them and their work.

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by Tommy Osborne

New art collective looks to bring local artists together, showcase new talent

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