Young artists invited to submit work for Art In The Barn at the mayor’s property

The mayor will host Art In The Barn at his home property this summer.

Mayor Martin Ritsma will host The Huron & Perth County Art Show for the second time at his home property barn on Jun. 6. Titled Art In The Barn, the event invites children and youth aged six to 24 to submit pictures of their homemade art projects for a chance to be featured in the community art show.

“We’re blessed with a beautiful space and to allow the community to come together,” Ritsma said in an interview with StratfordToday. “We’ve had people hatched, matched and dispatched here. If people are interested in having an event in our barn and it works out in our calendar, then we’ll host it with no fee.”

In the past, Ritsma held a variety of community events including weddings, celebrations of life and baptisms.

The idea for the first show became a reality when Ritsma connected with Vanessa Irving, owner of Kind-heARTed Studio, by offering his space and collaborating with her on her artistic background. The partnership led to a fully packed barn with last year’s show displaying 288 pieces of art made by community artists.

Ritsma said he’s looking forward to seeing people smile as they engage with each other at the show. He ensures that the space provides a safe environment for artists to share their personal work.

A coffee house will be held the day before the event, and a live auction will be featured alongside the art show. The live auction will be the newest addition to the event, replacing last year’s silent auction. While viewing community art pieces, attendees can also enjoy a hot dog and ice cream to cool off on a summer day.

The event invites all young artists in Huron and Perth County to submit their work by April 20 to participate in the upcoming show. Submissions can be emailed to artinthebarn.hp@gmail.com. Successful submissions that will be displayed in the show will receive confirmation, and feedback will be provided on unsuccessful submissions to help artists improve for next year’s event.

“Like Michael Jordan would say, if you’re not a risk taker, then you’re never going to have success, take that risk and share your talent,” Ritsma said. “Sometimes we are our worst critics, but you just have to take that chance.”

By Alex Hunt, StratfordToday.ca