2022 Year in Review
As the year has come to an end, the staff at Homer Watson House & Gallery cannot help but reflect on how much the organization has accomplished. From Spirit Season events to displaying works by creative young artists in our annual Eastwood Collegiate Exhibition. As a team, our staff, interns, co-op students, and volunteers have enjoyed preserving and celebrating the legacy of Homer Watson’s creative spirit by stimulating the appreciation, enjoyment and practice of the visual arts.
HWHG EVENTS
We have hosted major events throughout the year, including the Mother’s Day Soiree, Memento Mori, Art Fair, and our month-long Spirit Season. We have witnessed our programs flourish, including March break camps, summer camps, and winter camps ensuring that our community’s children are always busy. But it doesn’t stop there; our adult students have come together to learn and grow in various ways, forming a bond that goes beyond the classroom and has been sealed with countless smiles.
ART EXHIBITIONS
Having a range of exhibitions throughout 2022 is something we pride ourselves on, beginning with housing the wonderful works by students from Eastwood Collegiate Institute. In February, we were able to show the amazing works by artist Sumaira Tazeen, exploring how trauma disrupts the construct of identity, while showing our precious artist, Homer Watson. As we flew into May, we were able to host Sharl Smith’s intricate beaded sculptures, voicing influences of Japanese elemental philosophy and the Jamaican woodlands and waterways. Alongside Smith’s works, we featured Marjan Kaviani’s series that explores the relationship between the human figure and the atmosphere. In August we were able to provide a platform celebrating the artists involved in the City of Kitchener’s artists-in-residence program and their bodies of work. We proudly ended the year with our very first annual Juried Show.
FOND FAREWELLS AND WARM WELCOMES
We have had some bittersweet moments with the former Director and Curator, Tabatha Watson leaving while welcoming the incoming Director and Curator, Cathy Masterson. As an organization, we have grown profusely, and look forward to growing in all aspects of our operations. We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to our generous donors and sponsors, our achievements this year would not have been possible without your support. We will continue to look to the future and share Homer’s creative spirit with our community by stimulating the appreciation, enjoyment and practice of the visual arts.
