We thank AS Hanging Display Systems of Montreal for their help in choosing a hanging system that will accommodate a variety of sizes and weights of paintings.  The tension system is sleek, modern and flexible.  Our system is two tracked, between which will be strung aviation grade wires.  Special clasps capture the hanging wire on the back of the frame to hold the paintings in place.

The system arrived last week.  Installation begins the first week in September.  Lakeland Custom Homes, from right here in Elliot Lake, are donating their skill to ensure the installation is flawless.  We thank Jason Wilcox and his crew for their help.

One last, but definitely not least, local organization that made it possible to purchase a system of this calibre is Elliot Lake Retirement Living.  Thank you!

Our fundraising effort to purchase and install track lighting has been a great success.  However, it isn't over yet!  We need seven more units at $250 each to reach our goal of $5,000.  Or you can consider computing...

The Math
70 people donating $25 each will also enable us to reach our goal.  That is the equivalent of 7 book clubs with 10 members each.  Maybe you play euchre in group of 25. Pass the hat for $10 each and you've donated enough for one set of lights.

We remember Leslie Aube
One of our generous donors did so in memory of a loved one - Leslie Aube. We are honoured that our gallery was chosen as a way to keep her in our memories.  Is there someone with a passion for the Arts that you would like to remember?

A community space
The art gallery that we are establishing in the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre will be a community space. We will not charge admission, although we will make it possible to pay what you can.  From time to time we'll have special exhibitions.  One of our first will the the 68th annual Northern Ontario Art Association touring exhibition.  We will open the exhibit on December 8, 2024.  It will leave the City on December 29, 2024.  Thank you to the Elliot Lake Arts Club for sponsoring the exhibition.

Why we need track lighting
Next week we are installing a professional hanging system so that we can showcase properly local artists and the NOAA exhibit. The track lighting is a further enhancement, allowing us to spotlight the works appropriately.

The hanging system and the track lighting are permanent investments. Both of which will elevate the visitor experience when the gallery opens in the Fall.  We thank all who have already donated so generously.  Would you consider helping us light up the gallery?

The ARIEL Arts Space is a work in progress.  The City of Elliot Lake deserves our thanks, for providing us with a exciting space to turn in to a gallery.

​We anticipate receiving our hanging system today.  Thank you Elliot Lake Retirement Living. Your generous donation ensures that Elliot Lake's art gallery will have a professional system for the art work on display.

Harrison Electric is giving us a hand with the track lighting system we plan to install. Harrison isn't the only organization that we want to thank.  Aube Law, ELNOS and ELATE have stepped up and donated so we can spotlight the paintings we will hang.

Then there are the generous citizens of Elliot Lake who have contributed to our Light up the Gallery campaign:  Sandy Prest, Linda and Murray Finn, Arlene Bujold, Bonnie Groves, and Nancy-Jo Wannan. The  anonymous folk who put money in the jar at the Community BBQ on Saturday at Faith Lutheran Church deserve a shout out too!  We recognize the help of the congregation of Faith Lutheran. They invited us to participate in their wonderful event

We have raised enough money to purchase 12 out of the 20 units of lighting we need.  Thank you! 

You have a choice of two documents to download: The Exhibitors Handbook or the Exhibitors Brochure.

The Exhibitors Handbook
This PDF explains the procedures for applying to exhibit if your creations fall into a Visual Arts category, like painting, weaving, pottery, jewellery making etc. ​

The brochure for authors, musicians, filmmakers etc.
Creators of products that retail for $39.99 or less and that do not fall into a Visual Arts category may exhibit in the ARIEL Arts Space as well.  We have isolated the application instructions in this separate brochure.

We would prefer online applications.  To go to the application page use the button below.

UPDATE:  October 29, 2024
The Northern Ontario Art Association has announced the best in show in the 68th Annual Touring Exhibition. Brigitte Bere of Artists Nine Sudbury is this year's honoree.  Golden Sunflowers can be seen above, and in Elliot Lake in December 2024.

The Northern Ontario Art Association is comprised of approximately 400 Northern Ontario artists. The organization began in 1949. The year is the 68th time, the group has sent a juried selection of their work on tour.

Highbush Cranberry Shores, above, was chosen best in show in 2023.  One painting from the 2024 show will also receive that honour.  The juried selection of paintings for inclusion in the tour will occur in September 2024.   Until that time, we can only anticipate the show that will arrive in Elliot Lake in December. The exhibition will remain for most of the month.

The NOAA paintings will be on display in the ARIEL Arts Space at the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre, 14 Elizabeth Walk, thanks to the Elliot Lake Arts Club. ELAC is the local sponsor of the exhibition. ARIEL thanks the members for their foresight in securing the show.

​Mark your calendars!

Jacque Grummet is one of Elliot Lake's most experienced weavers.  As a member of the Elliot Lake Arts Club she has been contributing to the creative life of Elliot Lakers for nearly six decades. We caught her Thursday, August 8, 2024 as she carried into the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre the Club's training loom.  The smile on her face confirms just how exciting the day was for the City's community of weavers!

The Club hosts five additional artistic disciplines in the new Arts Centre:

1. Painting
2. Printmaking
3. Jewellery and Enameling
4. Pottery
5. Stained Glass

The most often asked question from passersby on Elizabeth Walk was, "Can I take classes, when the building is finally open?"  The simple answer is yes.  The how and the when are still being discussed amongst the club members. 

The first step to adding an art form to your life?
Join the Elliot Lake Arts Club.  You do not have to had any art training to join. Get to know the City's artists. By joining the club you will be the first to learn when and what classes are available. The Club's new year begins September 1, 2024.  There is no better time to make friends in the Arts community.

One of the conditions of tenancy in the soon-to-be-open Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre is delivering an Open House, once a month.  Twelve times a year, the tenants will provide city residents a glimpse into the passions of their neighbours.

The Elliot Lake Arts Club will introduce you to a practitioner of weaving, painting, pottery, enamelling, stained glass or printmaking. Those who attend the events will witness art being made right before their eyes.

Did you know that the Elliot Lake Model Railroad Club has an international reputation.  Enthusiasts from Europe and the USA have travelled to Elliot Lake to visit the Club.  During one of the dozen Open Houses, visitors might watch as a diorama is completed, or a track is laid.  When the Club has completed their installation, visitors will be able to watch the model railroad in action.

In the ARIEL Arts Space, during Open House, there might be special exhibits highlighting the work of an Algoma artist or artisan. An expert might discuss a style of art or the influence of an artist on others. We may have a jewellery maker talk about handcrafting bling.

No two Open Houses will be alike.  Our goal is to make our monthly Open House an event to which Elliot Lakers bring their families and friends.  We hope our visitors make a day of it - participating in the Open House; enjoying a meal at a local restaurant, and browsing in the nearby shops.

If you want to contribute to our Open House events, this is your invitation to become a member of one of the organizations that will be calling the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre home.  We would love to get to know our neighbours!

​ARIEL thanks the City of Elliot Lake, Elliot Lake Retirement Living and ELNOS for their generous support of the ARIEL Arts Space at the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre. Our dream of re-launching an art gallery would not have been possible without them. Now we ask you for your support.

The lighting in the halls at the Centre is not intended to illuminate paintings. Yet we are planning to hang paintings along each hall as part of our gallery exhibit space.  But that takes dollars, five thousand of them, as a matter of fact. 

So this week we launched our Light Up our Gallery campaign to raise the money to purchase a track lighting system. During our research process we learned that the average cost of one unit of track lighting - the track, three lights and the connector - is $250.  We need 20 units.

We are asking book clubs, bowling teams...any group...to donate one unit - $250.  Individuals are encouraged to donate any amount.  Businesses can donate a unit too!  Every person, organization or business that donates at least one unit will be recognized in our grand opening brochure and on our thank you wall. If you prefer anonymity, we guarantee that too!

We have made unit donating easy just click the button.
​

Is the building open to the public? Not yet.  Keys cannot be distributed until leases have been signed, insurance put in place and a cleaning company hired. We are awaiting quotes from the cleaning service and insurance companies.  We is inclusive - the Arts Club and the Model Railroad Club - are waiting for quotes.

Where is the gallery going to go?
The small retail space in which jewellery and smaller items will be displayed will be located in the lobby up against the wall that defines the end of the lobby.  Paintings will be hung on the inside walls of the two halls that run the length of the building.  Each hanging space is about 40 feet long, interrupted by a door or doors to studios.

Where is the accessible washroom?
In the room labelled WR, next to the Janitor Room.

What is that dotted line crossing the lobby floor?
It is not a wall. It is there for clarity, as the lobby is NOT easy to measure.

Where do the stairs go?
To the second floor and to the basement.  Neither area will be open for use.  Only the ground floor has been prepared for use.

The stairs marked on the far right of the map are actually the fire exit stairs.  They will be for public use, of course.

For what is the room at the back of the pottery room used?
That will house the kiln or kilns.

What do the black hash marked areas represent?
Ramps to make those rooms fully accessible.

The gallery that will be located in the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre sometime in the fall, will be calling for submissions in August.  A jury will review the submissions, and select the best of the best to exhibit their work in the gallery. 

As this is being posted, ARIEL is writing the gallery agreement for successful artists. The details of the agreement will be included in the information we send to prospective exhibitors. 

While the details are being ironed out, we can tell you that we will be accepting submissions from visual artists of all kinds - painters, sculptors, and mixed media artists.  Woodworkers, weavers, quilters and other fibre artists are encouraged to submit applications.  Potters we want you too!

There is one detail that we can confirm right now.  In order to be an exhibitor, artists must be members of ARIEL.  The annual membership fee is a very reasonable $20.  You do not have to be a member to apply, but if accepted, you must pay your membership dues immediately.

At this time we can also confirm that there will be a virtual gallery on this site.  If your submission is accepted, you will have the option to show your work in our online gallery, as well as the brick and mortar gallery.

To ensure you are one of the first to learn that applications are open, subscribe to our enewsletter.