Dear members and friends of PSEC,
We are pleased to share with you today some news that has been burning our lips for some time!
You will no doubt be equally elated to learn that we are organizing a gallery exhibition specially reserved for our members! In fact, we have to spell “exhibition” with an “s”, since we’re not talking about only one exhibition here, but two, in addition to the 3rd edition of our international online exhibition, Pixel Pastel!
Here is what we’re up to…
This year, in parallel with our online exhibition Pixel Pastel, we are organizing a gallery exhibition which will be completely dedicated to our PSEC members. This exhibition will be held at the magnificent Gallery 203 in the heart of Old Montreal, where PSEC has had the repeated pleasure of exhibiting in the past.
But that’s not all! We are also pleased to be able to announce that at the end of the exhibition, all the winning artworks will be transferred to the walls of a brand new gallery on Greene Avenue, in the heart of Westmount, and this, for a period of two additional weeks! This beautiful new gallery is the little sister of the 203 gallery in Old Montreal and shares the same name. Greene Avenue is well known by collectors for its many galleries, including the internationally recognized Galerie de Bellefeuille. The celebrations will continue in style with a second vernissage to honor our winners. Collectors will be invited, and all art lovers will, of course, also be able to join the festivities!
These colorful and joyous events are intended to be a very special opportunity to meet again, to exhibit together, to renew the precious links between our very own pastel artists, and to showcase our great talents! The atmosphere will certainly be festive but will also leave room for learning about pastel in the form of workshops, demonstrations, and guided visits. Indeed, a variety of daily activities will occupy the calendar during the exhibition. Among other things, we are working on hosting a 3-day workshop taught by none other than Jacob Aguiar, a master pastellist from Maine in the United States, specializing in landscapes. We are just waiting to officially announce this once Jacob has confirmed.
We will also be hosting the third edition of our international online exhibition Pixel Pastel! Its growing success encourages us to continue this great international momentum. We are therefore thrilled to be able to present these three exhibition opportunities to you this year and hope that you will participate in large numbers! We look forward to seeing you and your art again!
We will send you more details on the full calendar of activities shortly.
Here’s how to participate:
To submit your artworks and thus participate in the members-only show, you must do so through our international online exhibition Pixel Pastel, using the SHOWSUBMIT platform.
Your registration for Pixel Pastel gives you the opportunity to be selected in our online exhibition and therefore be eligible to win a prize with Pixel Pastel. If you are a member in good standing and your PSEC membership is current, you will automatically be accepted into the members-only gallery exhibit. Please note that Pixel Pastel is a juried exhibition and that the choice of artworks that will be part of this exhibition depends on the decision of the jury. Acceptance at this exhibition is not automatic. This competition is open to all members and non-members and remains international. However, all PSEC members who have submitted one or more paintings to Pixel Pastel will automatically be accepted into our members-only gallery exhibition.
All PSEC members who have applied to Pixel Pastel will, therefore, be guaranteed to have at least one artwork accepted for the members-only show, even if their painting has not been selected for the online exhibition. A second work could be exhibited, depending on the number of paintings we receive and the space available.
Important dates:
- Call for entry opens via Showsubmit for Pixel Pastel (including the members-only gallery exhibition): Saturday, July 22nd, 2023
- Deadline for submissions: Monday, October 16, 2023, at midnight EASTERN STANDARD TIME
- PSEC members-only gallery show opening vernissage and awards ceremony: Friday, November 3rd, 2023, 5 pm, Gallery 203, Old Montreal, rue Notre Dame
- PSEC members-only gallery show ends and takedown: Monday, November 13th, 2023, 10 am – 3 pm
- PSEC members-only gallery show WINNERS exhibition, Galerie 203, WESTMOUNT
- Opening vernissage and special event: Wednesday, November 15th, 2023, 5 pm
- The winners will hang for a guaranteed 14 days at the Westmount location and may hang longer! Takedown will be determined in November.
- Pixel Pastel acceptance notifications: November 1st, 2023, via email by Showsubmit
- Pixel Pastel International online exhibition launch and awards announced on our website: December 15th, 2023
The reasons why you need to go through Pixel Pastel to be eligible for our gallery exhibition are based on a matter of logistics and a desire to make things easier on our side as well as yours. This way, all payments are received the same way and in the same place. It also gives you a chance to be accepted into Pixel Pastel, so in the end, everyone wins!
We’re happy to share this news with you, but more than anything, we’re excited to see all of your faces, get a chance to see your artwork in person, and celebrate together! It’s time to get together and share our love for this beautiful medium through activities, demonstrations, and workshops. We are orchestrating everything to offer you the most inspiring experience. We missed you all very much, and we can’t wait to see you at the vernissage, which will be very extra special this year!
Here are the addresses of the two galleries:
Gallery 203 at the OLD PORT OF MONTREAL: 227 Notre Dame Street Ouest, Montreal, H2Y 1T4
Gallery 203 WESTMOUNT: 1346 Greene Ave, Westmount, H3Z 2B1
Sincerely and artfully yours,
The PSEC committee
