In the spring of 2020, the Penticton Art Gallery, like most public and private galleries, was suffering. COVID had crashed ashore and much of the country was shuttered.
And then along came Bob Ross: Happy Little Accidents. By the time it closed in mid-September, the exhibit would draw 15,000-plus people. Even with the pandemic, it was an all-time record.
Friday evening, Crawford and crew debuted its summer of 2021 show. And once again, they've gone for a name that's familiar to most of us and iconic to many.
Singer-songwriter, feminist, and Indigenous and environmental activist, Buffy Sainte-Marie has stood on the front lines of change for six decades.
"There isn't a person in North America who hasn't somehow been intersected with Buffy Sainte-Marie," said Crawford, "Soundtracks, songs, movies, songs she's written for other artists -- at some point she's crossed into your universe."
But since the mid-80s, she's had another passion -- digital art. She didn't do it for the money, she didn’t do it for the fame. She did it because she loved it.
That she made her first dalliances into the field at a time when few of us had even heard the term "personal computer" and when the Internet was still some bizarre concept that would eventually disappear, makes it all the more intriguing.
In "Buffy Sainte-Marie: Pathfinder," Gallery attendees get to see 16 pieces of her art, many of which capture the causes and the issues nearest and dearest to her.
This is no run of the mill exhibit. Sainte-Mare's art is wild. It's colorful. Much of it is big -- really big.
And at times, it's a little freaky. Like "Ayahuasca Jaguar," a nod to the deeply traditional "ayahuasca ceremony," wherein participants consume a hallucinatory brew as part of a Shaman-monitored ritual to achieve an altered state of consciousness.
But we also get to see memorabilia -- the now-ancient computer hardware she used back in the day, some of her live performance outfits, newspaper clippings from the hippy-dippy 60s, and much more. It's an impressive collection.
And Saturday afternoon, it was especially impressive. For 90 minutes, Buffy Sainte-Marie chatted, live via Zoom, with any Gallery guest who wanted to join in.
The gathering took place in the facility's Education Space, and the subjects ranged from art to music to early computer gear to Indigenous and residential school issues. Saint-Marie was candid throughout, and the crowd hung on to her every word.
And rightfully so. She's an engaging speaker -- bright, opinionated, conversational and quick with the quips. She may have been born in 1941, but she's no old-timer.
"She was one of the pioneers of digital art," said Crawford. "That challenged me in a way because I've always had a conflict with digital art. I wanted to push my own limits as to understanding and appreciating the medium."
Simultaneously in the Project Room is more pioneering in the form of "Brian Fisher: Event Horizon."
"He passed way in 2012," said Crawford. "He was one of the leading op-art artists from Vancouver in the 1960s. His early works are hard-edged op-art, optical illusion type stuff, and they become more meditative as the years went on."
Also on the trippy summer triple bill, in the Toni Onley Gallery, is "Mythic Visions: Huichol (Wixárika) Yarn Painting."
"It's a collection of works from 1959," said Crawford. "One of the earliest collections of that style of art anywhere.
"The Huichol were the only Indigenous population in Mexico that didn't get colonized. All the works are based on Shamonic visions achieved through the peyote ceremony. It's a national treasure in Mexico. Super rare."
Crawford explained that some of the impetus for the new show was inspired by an ayahuasca ceremony he personally experienced.
"I did it earlier this year," he said. "And it was a really profound kinda thing. So I wanted to do an exhibition this summer that explored the idea of transcendental expansion of one's view of the world.
"I wanted to create an environment where people can get out of themselves and into a different headspace. I want to open up a community conversation about it all."
The summer show, which pulled in 200 guests during its first weekend, runs to Sept 13. Admission is by donation. For more information, go here.
