PRESS RELEASE: Group of Seven Comes to Amherstburg

[Windsor, ON]

As part of its new mission to take art outside of its galleries and into Essex County, Art Windsor-Essex (AWE) installs five artwork reproductions from their collection in Downtown Amherstburg this summer. The project launches July 1, 2022.

“We believe art has the power to transform, in a world that's changing faster than ever. As the Art Gallery of Windsor has become Art Windsor-Essex, we are thrilled to bring important works from our collection to the Town of Amherstburg this summer,” says Jennifer Matotek, Executive Director of AWE. “AWE is keen to bring art and ideas into our broader community and stop visitors in their tracks.”

The five artwork reproductions for Look Again! 0utside: Amherstburg will be on display in Downtown Amherstburg from July 1, 2022 to late spring 2023. The reproduced pieces to be displayed this year include pieces by the Group of Seven and local artist Mary Celestino. Another five reproductions will be featured 2023/24.

During the first week of the launch of Look Again! Outside: Amherstburg, Richard Peddie and AWE welcome visitors to the pop-up exhibition Group of Seven: Not Formed in a Day, graciously sponsored by Cooper’s Hawk Winery. The exhibition, featuring works from the collections of AWE and a local private collector, will open to the public on July 1 and run to July 10 at the “Hole in the Wall” event space above River Bookshop. Admission to the exhibition is free and will be open daily from 1pm to 5 pm. Jennifer Matotek, AWE’s Executive Director, will also be hosting an informal Q&A on the exhibition on July 9 from 1pm to 3pm.

Both projects are made possible with generous support from Richard and Colleen Peddie. “Towns across North America have used the arts to significantly improve the liveability of their communities,” states Richard Peddie, owner and operator of the independent bookstore River Bookshop. “Colleen and I enthusiastically support Look Again! 0utside: Amherstburg because we know it will help make our community an even more beautiful and interesting place to live and visit.” AWE Executive Director Jennifer Matotek says, “With partners like River Bookshop and the Town of Amherstburg, we’re revitalizing where we live, and driving change across our region. We look forward to sparking conversations through these projects, and we are so grateful to these partners for leading these projects with us.”

The public are also invited to a Zoom discussion online presented at Hole in the Wall with author, illustrator and historian Douglas Hunter, PhD on July 7 at 7:00pm on the occasion of these displays. In Conversation: Douglas Hunter on A.Y. Jackson and the Group of Seven, focuses on Jackson’s coming-of-age as an artist during the Great War and his emergence as a founding member of the Group of Seven – two of the most compelling topics of early twentieth century Canadian history.

Funding provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

For all Media Inquiries, please contact:

Kayla van Zon                                                                                        Melissa Parker
Press Contact                                                                                            Manager, Development & Marketing
E: kvanzon@interkom.ca                                                                    E: mparker@agw.ca

P: 905.407.6439                                                                                       P: 519-977-0013

About Art Windsor-Essex (AWE) 

Established in 1943, AWE is the largest public art gallery in Southwestern Ontario and has grown with incredible support from the Windsor-Essex community. For over 75 years, AWE has experienced great change - in leadership, our collection, and our address. With every adaptation, we keep getting better at what we do: inspiring growth through the power of art. At AWE, we share historical Canadian, Indigenous, and contemporary art with the Windsor-Essex community in inventive and creative ways. Through our activities, we spark creativity and conversations, and educate and engage. With 15,000 square feet of exhibition space, new takes on our permanent collection of nearly 4,000 artworks, and through unexpected partnerships, AWE is the creative heart of Windsor-Essex. At Art-Windsor Essex, change happens here.