The Durham West Arts Centre is a 'hub' organization working to establish links with artists, arts groups and arts lovers. We host exhibitions, activities and events at the Centre as attractors. We want to meet and talk to the groups and individuals who are willing to help build the infrastructure for a permanent arts centre in Ajax-Pickering.
Common Threads: A Show of Diversity highlights the common threads that bind people of diverse cultural heritages. As well as sculptural works by Dorsey James, the creator of "Home Place" on the Pickering Waterfront Trail and by Wayne Headley, the creator of a piece called, "The Underground Railroad", there will be portraits of black women painted by Cheryl Rock, mosaic works by Sudarshan Deshmukh, paintings by Tony Rainford and works of students from Alexander Graham Bell Public School who explored their reactions to the Duffin's Creek watershed using a copper relief technique taught to them by artist Wendy Wallace. These are just some of the highlights of an exhibition that explores the importance of identity, the past and the environment -- all common threads that bind us together.
The exhibition's official opening ceremonies with guests, entertainment and light refreshments takes place February 3, between 7-9 p.m. Some works will arrive by Martin Luther King Day Jan. 17th, with previews starting officially Feb. 24, 2005. Common Threads is well-suited for school tours, especially during Black History month. The study materials provided with tours, or ahead of time, focus on the origins of Black History Month, the historical backgrounds of some of the images in the show and the difference in techniques artists use to explore their Common Threads.