The City of St. Catharines’ 2024 juried art exhibition, titled “Phases” and on view Sept. 20 through March 2025, asked artists to explore how they understand and interpret this year’s total solar eclipse.
“I chose to focus on the eclipse because it was a phenomenon each artist located within the Niagara Region was going to experience,” Culture Coordinator Olivia Hope said. “I thought it would be interesting to see how a singular event could profoundly impact individuals in a variety of ways, providing an opportunity for artists to respond with their own visual interpretations.”
The selected artists worked in a variety of artistic mediums, such as textile, collage, photography, and painting. For the first time, this year’s exhibition features a three-dimensional art piece.
The “Phases” exhibit is on display in the Third Floor Gallery space at City Hall. Featured artists include Emily Andrews, Ashley Buston-White, Jadyn Deming, Samantha Fickel, John Halenko, Kat Leibfried, Charlotte Moffatt, Victor North, Katia Perez Mendez, Jon Shaw, Rajshree Jena, Richard Smolinski, John van Wissen, Adam Wiebe, Rachelle Wunderink, and Yong Yi.
The public is invited to the opening reception on Friday, Sept. 20 starting at 5 p.m. in the Third Floor Gallery at City Hall. Artists will be in attendance.
Visit stcatharines.ca/Exhibits for more information.
The exhibition helps kick off and is part of Culture Days, running this year Sept. 20 to Oct. 13. Local artists and culture organizations will bring arts and culture to the community through a diverse range of live and virtual performances, events, and workshops. All Culture Days activities are free.
A full list of Culture Days activities in St. Catharines is available online at stcatharines.ca/CultureDays.
Art: Rajshree Jena – Lunar Harmony, 2024
"The painting captures the essence of the moon's phases in connection with human emotions and cultural diversity, Jena said of her piece. "Through the varying representations of the moon, from waxing to waning, it mirrors the ever-changing moods experienced by individuals across different cultures ..."