Square Foot Show

SSJI fundraiser at Arts on Main Gallery

The South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) was founded in 2018 and has a vision of permanently protecting the south shore of Prince Edward County to be a place where people and biodiversity thrive together. The South Shore Key Biodiversity Area spans 26 kilometres and is the last undeveloped Lake Ontario natural landscape and shoreline. This is a rare and fragile environment and members of the SSJI have been working with partner organizations to preserve and protect this area. As part of its fundraising efforts the SSJI has launched its first ever Square Foot Art Show and Sale at the Back Room Gallery at Arts on Main in Picton. The exhibit is a collection of square-foot artworks inspired by the SSJI’s effort to preserve the south shore. SSJI media contact (and artist) Dawn Ayer came up with the idea for this art show, with smaller pieces of art that are more affordable. Twenty-nine artists came on board and submitted works for the show. “It’s amazing how enthusiastically they responded,” said SSJI board president Cheryl Anderson. The artists are donating between 60 and 100 per cent of the proceeds to the SSJI. The funds will go into the general fundraising revenue, but Ms. Anderson said that there will be a focus on outdoor education and encouraging people to go outside. “One of the things we’re really emphasising is our outdoor education program. We want to let people know how important it is for their health to get out into nature,” she said.

One of the SSJI’s major projects is the development of a footpath along the south shore. Volunteers have been working with partner groups to find a potential route through the public lands as well as through the conservation areas, such as Monarch Point. To help promote their efforts they have been leading a series of public walks along the south shore. The SSJI has other outreach programs including the Naturehood program and working with elementary school students. As part of the Square Foot Show, there’s an exhibit of watercolour art by students from Sophiasburgh School called Watercolour in the Woods. The SSJI will have an owl-themed activity for kids on Family Day in Wellington, and there’s a presentation by Jeff Young during Flashback February at Macaulay Museum about the Avro Arrow flight model tests. There are astronomy talks scheduled at Picton Library in February, March and April, and the annual wildflower walk will take place at Point Petre on May 9.

The Square Foot Show and Sale runs until February 18. For more information about the SSJI and a list of events, please visit ssji.ca.