What Islanders can expect at this year's Art in the Open
An annual summer festival in Charlottetown is moving forward this year, despite the long list of cancelled events.
Art in the Open is returning to downtown Charlottetown Aug. 29 with some changes.
"It's going to be an exciting year," said Amanda Shore, one of the organizers for this year's festival.
"Big, bold, ambitious art installations that can be viewed from a distance, that people can experience at multiple different levels."
The free event — celebrating its 10th anniversary this year — features exhibits and installations from local artists at various locations in Victoria Park, The Confederation Centre for the Arts, Victoria Row, Rochford Square and Connaught Square.
This year we've sort of had to redefine the way that we work as a festival. — Amanda Shore, Art in the Open
In order to meet the public health and safety requirements, a number of changes have been put in place.
"We've been in close contact with the province and the city at sort of all levels of the departments to be making sure that we're prioritizing the health and safety of the public," said Shore.
Shifted geography
This year, there will not be any exhibits or art installations in the woods of Victoria Park. Shore said the festival is prioritizing areas that are well-lit with wider sidewalks for pedestrians.
Islanders can also expect to see installations featured along the waterfront this year.
Another addition will be the use of storefronts as a number of businesses have offered their spaces to the festival.
Shore said store owners whose shops have closed their doors are allowing the festival to use their stores as pop ups for the arts festival.
While the festival is having to adapt to changes, artists have been making swift adjustments as well. A number of artists living outside of the Atlantic bubble have been working on their installations remotely.
"This year we've sort of had to redefine the way that we work as a festival, and a number of artists are creating installations remotely and our production team is creating them on our behalf," Shore said.
March of the Crows
For Islanders eagerly waiting for the annual March of the Crows, the decision on whether it will go ahead is yet to be announced. The March of the Crows has become one of the big events for the festival, with a free costume making workshop for the parade.
Shore said Islanders can expect some form of "crow programming" but the official announcement is still to come.
Shore said she is hoping some of the changes the pandemic has caused may actually make people more interested in coming out for the event.
"I think we've seen over the course of quarantine people engaging in new artistic practices," Shore said.
"Everyone sort of leaning into their creative hobbies, so yeah, I really hope people feel that same spirit when they go out to Art in the Open."
Art in the Open will run Aug. 29 from 4 p.m. until midnight.
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