Shannon Kelly says anyone looking for an education on a core piece of the County’s cultural history should make a point to visit Minden’s Agnes Jamieson Gallery over the next few weeks.
The facility reopened Jan. 2, with a display of paintings from renowned artist André Lapine hanging on its walls. Kelly, manager of cultural services for the Township of Minden Hills, said she always likes to usher in the new year by honouring the man who served as the gallery’s initial inspiration.
“He’s the reason the gallery was established in 1981 by Agnes Jamieson, because she had access to this amazing collection of pieces by Lapine, who was quite well known throughout his career,” Kelly said. “He lived his twilight years in the community and, really, finished his career in Minden. He’s buried in Minden with his wife. So, it’s a nice opportunity for us to reflect on his contributions and bring these beautiful pieces out for people to enjoy.”
The gallery has around 100 original pieces in its collection – many of them donated by Minden’s former reeve Frank Welch. Kelly selected about 30 pieces to be featured this year.
“The selected pieces reflect the four themes that Lapine was known for, that were his main strengths: his drawings and illustrative work; paintings of horses; his fascination with light and how he captured that in his paintings; and his work with snow. He had this ability to really define different winter landscapes and make them jump off the canvas,” Kelly said.
While there aren’t any new Lapine pieces, Kelly said there are some that haven’t been displayed for several years. There’s also the usual favourites, notably Horses Hauling Logs (1946) and Winter Storm (1945).
Alongside the Lapine display, there will be nine pieces showcased in the Kirkwood Gallery that Kelly says are all new additions – four from Tory Hill-based Gary Blundell and Victoria Ward, who brought their Burner Herzog exhibit to the gallery in 2024; four from Robert Niezen, a Peterborough-based artist who last had his work displayed in 2022’s Cross Cut exhibit; and a pastel piece of the Gull River from the late Lois Raw, a County-based artist.
The displays will remain in place until Feb. 8.
Looking ahead, Kelly said 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for the gallery.
“We have a ton of stuff going on – we’re doing our Family Day open house in February in partnership with the Minden Hills Cultural Centre Foundation (MHCCF). We have documentary screenings every month with different themes. We’ve got March Break activities every morning throughout the break,” she said.
The gallery is also hosting its second annual Archie Stouffer Elementary School (ASES) student art exhibit, opening in February. This year’s theme will see local youth apply their own interpretation to the biodiversity of The Land Between and what it means to them.
Kelly said MHCCF donated $250 to ASES to purchase art supplies for the students to use for their pieces.
“Last year’s event sort of just came together but it was very well received – we had a lot of people on opening night and the kids were so excited to see what they had made up on the wall,” Kelly said. “It’s all about inspiring youth to be creative and show them the possibilities [of having work featured professionally].”
