Local art galleries looking forward to putting on live exhibitions again

Fourth-year AUArts student, Kenzie Roth displays her piece; A Reclamation of Hope, in Calgary on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. Kenzie is a part of Silica and Soda, a Calgary-based glass art collective. (Photo by Matthew Siu/The Press)

Amidst new COVID restrictions and precautions, local art exhibitions are postponed until further notice.

However, some galleries are optimistic that once life returns to normal, art lovers will come flocking back.

“I feel very strongly that [live shows] will come back once people are comfortable,” said Anna Ostberg. “I think that people are desperate, to mingle and to return to that sort of experience,”

Ostberg is the art director of the Ruberto Ostberg Gallery, located in Calgary’s northwest.

The Ruberto Ostberg Gallery recently had to postpone a new exhibition; titled New Normal, originally scheduled for late November.

“I really wanted to have the gallery focus on group shows,” said Ostberg. “So that if there was a full lockdown it didn’t really affect just one artist.”

This was due in part to the overhead expenses on the part of the artists.

As Kenzie Roth, one of the participating artists, points out, the cost put into certain art pieces need to see a return, often being sold during such shows.

“It’s your time cost and material cost getting things ready,” said Roth. “And then, you know, the expectation of making it back.”

This sort of risk mitigation is just one of the ways that the Ruberto Ostberg gallery implemented to protect the participating artists, to avoid ‘putting all of their eggs in one basket’.

However, this approach comes with its own downsides.

As the Ruberto Ostberg Gallery is, physically, a much smaller space compared to other galleries, introducing a large selection of artists quickly fills up the allotted capacity set out by Alberta health guidelines.

While shows are currently having to be postponed, Ostberg remains optimistic.

Many of the social aspects of attending an art exhibition just can’t be replicated virtually.

The experience of getting together and conversing is just as integral to the experience as the artwork itself.

“This isn’t just about selling art, it’s about the artists making a connection to the people that are viewing their art,” said Ostberg.

The Ruberto Ostberg Gallery opened in 2004, the name being a combination of Anna Ostberg’s maiden (Ruberto) and married (Ostberg) names.

The goal of the gallery was to create a comfortable atmosphere, one that is more welcoming and accessible to people who would otherwise be too intimidated by the prospect of an art gallery.

Alongside the gallery, Ruberto Ostberg also offers adult art classes under the Purple Door Art Studio.

Fourth-year AUArts student, Kenzie Roth poses in front of her shared studio in Calgary on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. Kenzie is a part of Silica and Soda, a Calgary-based glass art collective. (Photo by Matthew Siu/The Press)