Two of the exhibition catalogue covers

The Images & Objects title was chosen the following year for an exhibition in Vancouver. As Ann Rosenberg noted in an article titled Ten Years of Images and Objects: A Celebration & Reflection in the 10th Images & Objects exhibition catalogue:
       "Everyone - the self-taught woodcarver who had completed a single piece;
       the just-on-weekends painter; the full-time professional; the ceramicist,
       glass-blower, furniture or quilt-maker - was welcome to enter what has come
       to be the only on-going, province-wide juried exhibition in British Columbia."

A large amount of work went into the selection process for each show. Juried events were held in numerous locations all over the province in order to select works for the annual exhibition. A different city was chosen every year for the main exhibition so that the "wealth" was spread around the province. The exhibitions were usually accompanied by a varied programme of workshops, tours, lectures, and musical events.

Approximately 2,000 artists applied annually to the exhibition. After the first show, 240 artworks were accepted and displayed annually until 1995, when the number was dropped to 165 accepted artworks. A message from Francesca Lund in Images & Objects XIII noted that "this smaller number allows us to produce all aspects of the exhibition in a more professional manner (installation, lighting, documentation). This smaller number also allows all artists who have work selected to receive subsidies from the BC Festival of the Arts to attend the Images & Objects conference; importantly, it also allows artists who did not have work selected to apply for subsidies to attend the conference, as not all artists selected do attend."

The last exhibition in the series was in 2002. After that, funding was cut, and the money was put towards events at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. It was an unfortunate end to such a long-lasting and important series of exhibitions. The amount of work that went into the 21-year long series cannot be calculated. For example, the artists of British Columbia would have made over 40,000 submissions over the years, all of which were juried. For the final exhibition in 2002 over 5,500 artworks from over 1,300 artists were juried.

Catalogues for these exhibitions have proved difficult to find. Thanks are due to those who have provided copies or loaned originals to me: the Vancouver Art Gallery Library (2 catalogues); artists Jaleen Grove (1), Raymond St. Arnaud (1), Peter Sickert (2); Bob McIntyre (4), and the Festival's former Visual Art Program Coordinator Yolanda Olivotto (4).

The final exhibition catalogue cover image

Exhibitions

References

Clippings