Think Globally, Art Locally
November 2023
We are gearing up for the 2024 NJAS. Here are the dates:
The online version of the 2023 Show is ready, and will be published Monday, May 1.
Check out the galleries from past shows and you will see that we are really full-service! Each artist gets a full page, linked in from the thumbnail gallery, and featuring a full-size image of their work, details and statement about the work, and contact info (linked if applicable).
The pages are based on templates we have developed ourselves, so the entire show has a consistent, professional look and feel. Each page takes from 5 to 10 minutes of work, not counting the time to arrange the spreadsheet the data is pulled from, so it represents a few hours of (volunteer) time.
We think it’s worth it, and hope you do too.
By the way – we work in WordPress. We have been documenting our processes, as we hope to be able to pass some aspects of the organizing and running of the show on to a younger crew. We’re in our 70s, so pretty much everyone is younger :^)>
To that end, I have added a selection to the contact form so you can volunteer.
It was really hard to choose Award winners this year – more than usual! So much good work… But here they are:
| Award Winners | Artist | Work | Donor |
| Jurists’ Choice | Daniel Ross | Warmth | Wasim Jarrah |
| Painting | Vera Walton | Stories to Tell | Jackie Playter |
| Drawing | Peter Moxon | Entwined Forever | Jackie Playter |
| 3D (Sculpture, ceramics, pottery) | Heather MacPherson | Guardian Raven – weight of the world | Bike Sports |
| Photography | Bret Culp | One-Year Solargraph | Andrew Slonetsky |
| Fibre/Mixed Media | Kasia Latos | New Resilience | Bob & Barb Kwapis |
| Award of Merit | Matthew Herzog | Patient Zero | Dr T Hunter |
| Award of Merit | Bob Tunnoch | “From the depths of the Dining Room” weedy sea dragon | Dr T Hunter |
| Award of Merit | Mariela Schiappacasse | Lunch is ready | Stirred Interiors |
| Award of Merit | William Lottering | Tree Circle BC | Robins IDA |
Here is where you can download sharable copies of our 2023 poster. Click the links to start the download.
Printer-ready, letter-size pdf
A good size for a web page
Instagram square 1000×1000 pixels
The show runs at Newmarket’s Old Town Hall from April 18 to April 29. Check the website for updates, since the Town rents out the space occasionally for private functions (which gives the art a captive audience).
The Opening Reception – our Gala – will be April 20, 7:00 to 9:30. It is free, including snacks & refreshments, and open to all. The Awards, totalling around $1000, will be announced that evening.
The deadline just passed, and we have submissions from 110 Ontario artists – a record, by far! We’re happy!
The artists sent in close to 300 pieces of work – painting, sculpture, photography, fibre and pottery/ceramics and more.
Geographically, the artists are from about 40 different communities.
Now – on to the jurying – April 5! Results will be sent out soon after
We think that you will be excited to meet our 2023 jurists, Krys Carruthers, Gavin Gunter and Jeff Nye
Krys Carruthers is a long-time high school visual arts teacher, Visual Arts Department Head, Arts Huron coordinator and Regional Chair for Visual Arts in the York Region Board of Education. She has been a member of the Newmarket Group of Artists for many years. Her art practice includes painting, encaustic, dry transfer and mixed media techniques, and metalwork/jewellery. She can be found on Instagram @six.teenfoxes
Jeff Nye is a Canadian artist, writer, teacher, and curator. Jeff has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Distinction from Concordia University in Montreal (1998) and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Regina (2007). His paintings and multimedia installations have been exhibited in public galleries across the country. He has curated exhibitions for the Mackenzie Art Gallery, Dunlop Art Gallery, and Last Mountain Lake Cultural Centre. He has also instructed studio art, exhibition design, and art history classes at First Nations University of Canada, University of Regina, and Georgian College.
Jeff has received several distinctions and awards for his work, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Gavin Gunter is a self-taught abstract-expressionist painter and former art collector who has exhibited internationally and whose artwork is included in prominent private and corporate collections. A Jamaican by birth, he is also a trained geologist and a former President of the Geological Society of Jamaica. He has a passion for social justice and his Christian faith. Since 2018, he has principally engaged in photography, concentrating on a wide variety of themes but principally concerned with the positive portrayal of Black and racialized peoples. He currently serves as a volunteer photographer for the Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association (NACCA).
Originally we wanted NJAS to be a Spring show. Unfortunately, the Old Town Hall could not accommodate us then, and we had our first show in the Fall of 2019.
All that changes in 2023!
After checking in with our artists and supporters, and verifying with the Old Town Hall, we decided to move to the Spring.
Our new dates will be:
| Jurists’ Choice: David Paolini Not That I Remember But That I Am Memory (Sponsor: Wasim Jarrah) |
| Painting/Drawing: Heather Smiley Manitoulin Morning (Sponsor: Jackie Playter) |
| Painting/Drawing: Sophie Yeh-Chau Hanging On (Sponsor: Jackie Playter) |
| 3D (Sculpture, ceramics, pottery) Cathy Harris: Dragonfly Resting (Sponsor: Bike Sports) |
| Photography: Bret Culp Jack’s Video Sports Bar (Sponsor: Fuse Chamber) |
| Fibre Arts: Bailey Anderson Tied Up In Knots (Sponsor: Bob & Barb Kwapis) |
| Mixed Media: Kate Greenway A Copse (Sponsor: Dr T Hunter) |
| Honourable Mentions: Walter Bauer One Bad Apple (Sponsor: Chris Ballard) |
| Joanne Toth Sterling (Sponsor: Stirred Interiors) |
| Denise Brooker Old Times (Sponsor: Robins IDA) |
| Cathy Harris Covid Relief (Sponsor: Robins IDA) |