Harbour City Highlights

Arts & Culture

Renowned Artists Create Island Magic

Colourful Tibetan prayer flags wave us under a wrought iron arch overgrown with scented honeysuckle and ahead a high yellow shrine pays ritual tribute to an international mélange of cultures. The blue plastic head of a hippopotamus peaks from beneath a nearby pond of lily pads, the fish net on hand meant for kids to catch and release the pond’s resident frogs. Winding concrete paths set with gem-like glass and trinkets are shadowed by a towering mix of West Coast rain forest and semi-tropical flowers and greenery. Renowned Nanaimo artists Nixie Barton and Grant Leier have fashioned their whimsical visions into a truly original garden and gallery in the Cedar countryside. The Barton Leier Gallery seemingly worlds away is just 15 minutes from downtown Nanaimo.

Visit Nanaimo’s historic downtown core for a self-guided art gallery tour that features the beautiful and extraordinary art of many of Vancouver Island’s finest artists. Gallery 223 in a renovated heritage building provides an inspirational 10,000 square feet of space to display the artwork of many local artists; upstairs several well-known painters work on-site in their studios.

Artworks of local artists and artisans are featured in routinely changing exhibits at the Nanaimo Art Gallery downtown. Permanent collections of First Nations, Nunavat, European, Chinese and Canadian artists can all be seen here, including works by BC luminaries Bill Reid and E.J. Hughes. The Nanaimo Art Gallery has a second location at the Malaspina University-College campus, well worth the 10 minute drive from downtown to tour the visiting collections and for the panoramic view of Nanaimo city and harbour.

Continuing downtown, The Artisan’s Studio is a local cooperative where you’ll find quality arts and crafts, including pottery, woodwork, wall hangings, weaving, original prints, paintings and stained glass. Hill’s Native Art is home to one of North America’s largest collections of Northwest Coast First Nations artwork and the place to go for authentic Cowichan sweaters, Inuit sculptures, masks, totem poles and fine native jewellery.

For more on Nanaimo’s art galleries and exhibits, go to www.nanaimotourism.com/visitors/arts-and-culture.php