Celebrating a lifetime in the arts

St. Boniface

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This article was published 29/05/2024 (481 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The life and work of a key figure in the local arts community will be celebrated at an upcoming exhibition.

La Maison des artistes visuels francophones, located at 101-219 Provencher Blvd. in old St. Boniface, will be the venue for The Fabric of a Community: A Tribute to Bev Morton and the Wayne Arthur Gallery.

Morton — who died after a long illness in late 2021, aged 71 — was a much-loved supporter of artists in the province and was the longtime owner of the Wayne Arthur Gallery at 186 Provencher Blvd., which bore the name of her first husband, an acclaimed artist and sculptor. Morton continued working in the gallery, when she wasn’t attending medical appointments, right up until her death.

The upcoming exhibition has been curated by Morton’s sister, Sandra Morton Weizman, and the St. Boniface-based Forum Art Institute, where — fittingly — the sisters both attended classes decades ago. It will run from June 6, when there will be an invite-only opening reception, until June 22.

Morton Weizman — a professional curator, primarily in the cultural history field, who lives in Calgary, Alta. — said she wanted to put together a retrospective reflecting her sister’s body of work for the community to appreciate and enjoy.

The show will also feature a few creations by other artists connected to Bev and the gallery.

“We first studied art together 50 years ago,” said Morton Weizman, noting that her sister started off specializing in acrylics and also worked in fabric collage later in life.

“She did lots of different types of fabric collages, and in her last years, I’d send her historic family photos. In fact, her last work was based on a photo of our father with his siblings and his parents.”

Typically, Bev would hold exhibits in her gallery, showcasing one or more artists for a few weeks at a time, and she’d hold a group show featuring around 50 artists every December, when she’d ask each of them to also submit stories to accompany their pieces.

“We’re hoping to create the aura and character of Bev’s exhibits and group shows,” Morton Weizman said, adding that June 6 was her sister’s birthday, hence the chosen date for the upcoming exhibition’s opening night.

A passionate supporter of the arts herself, Morton Weizman has established, with the help of the Manitoba Society of Artists, the Bev Morton Memorial Scholarship, an annual scholarship for fine arts students in need for a 10-year period at Brandon University. She said the Wayne Arthur Gallery papers are now housed in the University of Manitoba archives.

“I have also established an annual award for 10 years in memory of Bev Morton and Wayne Arthur with the Manitoba Society of Artists Annual open juried competition and exhibition in the mixed media category,” Morton Weizman said.

Visit msaojce.com to learn more about that event.

For more information about The Fabric of a Community: A Tribute to Bev Morton and the Wayne Arthur Gallery, email Weizman at smweizman@gmail.com or Forum’s board chair James Culleton at info@jamesculleton.com