Submitted by
Max Himsl
The rumour was greeted with shock. It said that Art Farm 5 would be the last Art Farm and all that heard it were stunned and wanted details. Was it true that the vast profits had been funneled to the Cayman Islands? Some claimed it was the result of ego clashes, the Prima Donna having it out with the Star, and so forth. The more realistic and practical suggested political interference was at play with the police and crazy radicals being suggested as culprits with equal vehemence.
The suggestion was inevitably made that there must be a link between this catastrophe and the recent upheavals in North America. Was it the collapse of the oilfield, the coalfield, the wheat field and the football field (Oh! Riders...) that all seemed to take the wind out of the collective can-do Saskatchewan sails?
Or the revelation that the police were tapping phones and reading correspondence of journalists that sent all sorts of free-thinkers and over-imaginative sketchers scurrying back into their hidey-holes? Or was it the spectre looming out of the smoke and ash of the US election, the assumption of the mightiest seat in the world by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named? Whether from one cause or many there can be little doubt that the happy, care-free days of innocence and prosperity seem about to be sorely tried.
The truth, however, is every bit as shocking as the fanciful speculations. In fact, Art Farm 5 was intended to be the last Art Farm ever since the first Art Farm. “All things have a shelf life,” says chairperson Rickee-Lee. “We planned from the outset to inspire artists to strive, to get out in the public and show their work and to expose the general public to some superb art in a friendly, entertaining and festive atmosphere.”
Well it is no secret that art galleries can be intimidating places for certain folk, what with the standard funereal black dress of the serious artists to the incomprehensible artistic dissembulations of the curatorial directors, it is a wonder anyone has any interest ever! In any case, there is no arguing with success.
Each edition of Art Farm has seen attendance from a single day equal that which many established galleries would be pleased to see in a year. Many artists were pleased to make their first ever commercial sale at Art Farm and some have attended every year even as new talent has swollen the ranks of the productively creative.
Naturally there will be a certain grand finale aspect to this year’s event. Expect more musical songs, more salivary food, more horsey corrals and artier art. This is the year we jump the shark. Let’s do it with style and make this the Art Farm to end all Art Farms.
Art Farm 5 will be held at the van der Breggen farm on June 10, from noon to 7 p.m. Admission is $4, with six and under getting in free. The van der Breggen farm is located south on Highway 35 and west on TWP080 south at white barn. Van rides will be available every hour from the City Centre Mall.
Residents who are interested in volunteering, sponsoring or donating to Art Farm can email [email protected]. For more information, residents can checkout the www.artfarmfestival.com website or find ArtFarm on their Facebook page.
