(Fiona Ackerman, “Marginal Space.” Acrylic & spray paint on canvas, 72” x 36”, 2010)
The thing about summer that gets me all excited is the expanded amount of beautiful space that is open to play, explore and and dream in. It’s not that winter shuts you in, but when it’s nice and warm outside, day and night, and there aren’t six layers between you and the air, well, there’s a certain freedom to the great outdoors that totally gets me high.
Of course, there’s so much beauty to be discovered out there in any season really. But for me, there’s just something about being in a space surrounded by these bright summer colours, whether they’re on the crowded beach or in some tucked-away community garden or in your own backyard. It’s like the world has come alive again, “aaaaand the living’s easy….”
Summer isn’t all picnics and playdates, though. The title of Fiona Ackerman’s painting here, “Marginal Spaces” reminds me that beauty doesn’t always get access to the space it needs to express itself. It’s a labour of love to create the spaces where art and creativity can have the freedom to be seen and enjoyed.
When we started doing the PARKSALE two summers ago, we wanted to create a space where we could invite the city to share a beautiful, sunny day in a public park with us and a bunch of our city’s young and independent artists who didn’t always get many chances to show off their work for free. Beauty in a place of beauty, in beautiful summer… ahhh!
Giving the people of Calgary access to amazingly talented creators and giving those creators access to a public who can see and share their hard work is one of the perfect ways we could think of to use the type of great spaces that open up in the summertime. And we’re still doing it, with the third annual PARKSALE coming up on September 4th at the U of C.
