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Special Programs
The Gallery at the J

ARCTIC COASTS

www.janet-read.com / janetread3@gmail.com / @janetreadvisualartist

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

This body of work began with travels in the high arctic in 2018, returning in the fall of 2023. The Arctic region is losing permafrost, sea ice, and glaciers: an impact rapidly overtaking our ability to understand and remediate these changes. I visualize the processes of wind and water with improvisation and abstract mark making. These are internally mediated responses to the geography, not descriptive but experience based. A new direction in my work is the media of archival pigment prints created by drawing on an iPad. Small paintings in oil and acrylic further explore arctic seas, ice and oceans. Sustainable cultivation, sovereignty, and climate remediation issues prompt my ongoing desire to “keep faith” artistically with my haptic experience of the arctic. My works respond to Arctic fragility, beauty, and the urgent need for climate response; moving hearts and minds to action.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Janet Read is a painter, poet, and music educator with roots in the Ottawa Valley Irish; Belfast, and Wexford in Ireland: explaining a fondness for fiddle music, poetry, and the sea. Travels in the high Arctic sparked investigations of water with special reference to the North Atlantic and Arctic rim where climate change is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Notable exhibitions include the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa. Works collected by the Michael Garron Hospital; Royal Victoria Hospital; Ontario Archives; Markham Museum, Cornell Markham Library, Town of Markham, Whitby Station Gallery, Art Gallery of Northumberland: internationally in Australia, England and US. 

This exhibit runs from January 3 – 27, 2025.

Arctic Coasts - Gallery  - Insta+Wix.png

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Call for Submissions

The Gallery at the J is seeking artists and partner organizations to participate in our 2025 season! We are attracted to artwork that tells a story. We want our viewers to experience a journey - yours and theirs. 

Artists and organizations are asked to examine universal values through a Jewish lens. Each month has been assigned a theme/subject which represent a selection of our core principles. Please carefully review the criteria before submitting. (We acknowledge the additional themes associated with months of the year such as Asian Heritage Month and Black History Month. If there are themes and subjects you are not seeing that you feel we should include, please write to deannad@mnjcc.org for future consideration)   

 

Please click these links for additional information:

THE GALLERY AT THE J

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Pottery
Please be advised that we are no longer offering pottery classes at the J. We are repurposing the pottery studio to be a multi-use space and are hoping to offer other adult art classes going forward. Thank you for your understanding.

From Dysfunctional Families to Dirty Knickers: A Herstory of Jewish Women's Comics - Thursday, Mar 6, 1-2:30 pm

In the comic book world of superheroes and villains, history has often overlooked the significant contributions made to this medium by women. In celebration of International Women's Day, join Eisner award-winning British writer and graphic novelist Sarah Lightman as she dives into the careers of Jewish women comic artists - whose work explores family, motherhood, miscarriages, identity, queerness and more! Presented in partnership with Koffler Arts, generously sponsored by UJA’s Kultura Collective. Join us live on Zoom or register to receive the recording!

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