A crowd of people looking at artwork displays on the walls of a red lit room
Arts

Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery: Seeking Submissions to its 2026 Annual Member’s Show

The Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery is asking for submissions to its 2026 Annual Member’s Show. Artists may bring up to two pieces. To participate, you must be a member, which costs just $10 a year. The cut-off date for submissions is May 14, and the exhibition will run from May 29 to June 14, 2026.

 ”We would like to make it so nobody feels like, ‘I don’t know if I’m good enough to hang in the gallery.’ If you are picking up paint or clay, that already is a good step. Your next step is to show it. That’s important and that’s why I’ve been volunteering and that’s why we are all volunteering because it is our passion,” explained Meinsje Vlaming, one of the Directors.

Image credit: Meinsje – submitted cartoon

“The showing isn’t always about selling your art. Very few of us are actually commercial artists. It’s way more of a community thing. From beginner to seasoned artist, we welcome everybody. Like we want to share our art. We want to grow as artists and there’s nothing better than putting your work in a group show beside your peers.” 

A little personal history

 Cortes Currents: Tell me how you found the gallery. 

Meinsje Vlaming: “That’s a long time ago. in the nineties when Noberto started up the gallery. He had one show for the whole season. I was not so involved then. I was very busy with other things, but we were doing a few workshops there as well. Kathleen Pemberton invited John Cooper to come to the island and teach a workshop in the gallery. We had a one week workshop going on colour theory, and I thought, ‘oh, I’m going to do that. That’s really fun.’ I think that was my first time in the gallery. I came in a few times to visit and have a look at the art.”

“Noberto was there every day, faithfully. Then I got involved with the gallery and we decided to open it up so we can have more shows and then turn into one show a week. If you create art, then you want to show it at one point. A lot of us do and we needed a place to hang and show our stuff.”

“ In the past we had paintings, collages, sculptures, dolls, puppets …”

Laura Balducci’s YouTube video of Namchi dancing (2018)

Cortes Currents: Namchi was dancing at the first exhibit I covered. 

Meinsje Vlaming: “Oh, yeah, yeah, but she didn’t stay there permanently while the show was going. That was a special event.” 

Special Events

“We tried to create some special events like our second Friday, that’s my baby. I started that years ago because I thought it’s nice for everybody to know a little bit about where the artist comes from. So we ask the artist to do a presentation or sometimes we do an interview with the artist.”

“Then for a group art show, we will do a walk around and we will talk about your art, not in a way of critiquing, but just more in a sense of understanding the work. Maybe the artist could do a brief two minute presentation about why they created that piece, if they want to – nobody’s forced to do anything.”

“The opening Friday we ask the artists that are involved in the group show to bring something for a potluck. The opening is at 6:00 on Friday the 29, and it’s till about 9:00. We have a little wine bar, by donations.  It should be really fun and it’s just lovely to connect and it becomes a whole social event. Art is something that gets everybody together. If you want to go out and you’re not quite sure what you want to do or what to talk about, talk about the art.”

“It’s a consistent social event throughout the summer. We have our opening and we have a weekend of shows. Each show runs for three weeks. We have a third Friday event, which could be anything art related.”

2025 poster for Soma Feldmar’s workshop

“Then we have some great literary afternoons with summer. Soma Feldmar leads us through some process of writing on the show or the artworks.”

Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery AGM

Cortes Currents: “I understand your AGM is coming up as well.”

Meinsje Vlaming: “We are a nonprofit society now, and we will have our meeting on Monday, May 18th. It’s a week before we bring in all the artwork for the show. So yes, we hope to see a lot of people at the meeting.”

Show for 2026

“Our opening times are Friday from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Saturdays and Sundays from 2:00 to 5:00 PM.”

“As it stands now we have four shows and the group show.” 

Cortes Currents: So this is a group show, tell me about the other shows.

Meinsje Vlaming: “I’m working backwards. I can tell you that Hannah Grosser and Volker will each have a show. There’s a group show with Mel and Karen and Jane. Sorry if I forget somebody there. I also have a show with some paintings and puppets.” 

How we put the show together – Pamela Boles photos

Contributing to the Membership Show

Meinsje Vlaming: “Then of course we have our membership show because it just gets people going. I hope everybody has work for it already, because as artists you’ve probably all been creating the whole winter. We’d love to see what everybody’s been working on this winter, what mediums you’re working with, what new discoveries you’ve made. Sometimes people bringing some older work. That’s okay too, if we haven’t seen it yet.

Even if you put something in that you are not that connected with, you see your work in between and amongst all your peers and all the other artists. It hangs there and it might be an inspiration to start working again, or sometimes there’s some different medium somebody works with and you go, maybe I should give that a shot. We inspire each other.

It could be a little haven of relaxation. There’s so many facets of art. We can create art because of its beauty. How can you not create art when you live on Cortes? It’s just almost too good. It’s too beautiful. You have to respond to the beauty of the island. So there’s one reason why somebody could start with art. The other one is its therapy. It’s an oasis of peace, but it could also be an oasis of frustration, just depending on where you want to go. An outlet for whatever you don’t want to feel. You can put what you want to feel into your artwork. I’m a little passionate about it, but can’t help myself.

Cortes Currents: How can local artists submit their work?

Meinsje Vlaming: “Send an email to schoolhouseartgallery@gmail.com. 

You can bring two pieces and the deadline for that is Friday, the 14th of May, because we like to know what we have. We really like it if people make it ready to hang in a safe and secure way.”

“We ask if you will write on the back of your work, your artist name, the title, the year it’s made, the medium or the materials that are used, the price or ‘not for sale.’ Then submit a brief artist’s statement of a few lines about your work or your art process. If you have any questions, just send an email to the schoolhouseartgallery@gmail.com or look at our nice website, oldschoolhouseartgallery.com.”

“The show closes at six o’clock on Sunday. Pickup is on Monday the 15th. We don’t like it if people come during the show to pick up their work. It’s confusing for people that want to do a last minute walk through the gallery.”

Meinsje and her most famous puppet: Charles – submitted photo

Don’t be shy

Cortes Currents: If you had a message for Cortes Island and Cortes artists, or would-be artists, what would it be?

Meinsje Vlaming: “I don’t even have to think about that much. My teacher who I’ve been working with for the last year, said, ‘if you are good, paint. If you’re not good, paint; if you feel like it, paint; if you don’t feel like it, paint more. Paint every day; paint every hour. Paint. And that’s not just for painting: that could be for knitting, for felting, for sculpting, for carving. There’s so many mediums: metal work, taxidermy, collages. You don’t have to be the best painter. You don’t have to be the most mind boggling sculptor. You do it because it makes you look at the world in a different way.”

“Do it and show your work. Don’t be shy, before the 14th of May let us know what we can expect from you in terms of what you would like to put in. It would be helpful for us to know how big it is. We ask for two pieces but guarantee to place one. Some years we don’t get enough people in, then two will be brilliant.” 

A woman standing on the steps of a church like building sings and beats on a drum. A crowd joins in the singing.
Ann Mortifee singing ‘This is a Healing Journey’ at the 2024 opening – Roy L Hales

Links of Interest: 

Top image credit: Opening night – courtesy Meinsje Vlaming

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