Carmen Drapeau happily holds her congratulations certificate from the Town of Nipawin to commemerate the opening of her art gallery "Art on Main." (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Art on Main

‘Showing the identity of this region’: Art on Main opens in Nipawin

Aug 1, 2019 | 4:21 PM

Carmen Drapeau always wanted to open her own art centre.

The owner of the recently opened Art on Main gallery and classroom in Nipawin studied graphic design in Vancouver and spent 15 years as an art administrator in B.C., Alberta, and Manitoba before settling in Saskatchewan.

During her art career, Drapeau realized she wanted to showcase the artists of the area.

“This is about showing the identity of this region,” Drapeau told northeastNOW. “I’m just happy the artists are trusting me to display their work and sell it for them. There’s so much talent locally and the arts and culturally community show the identity of a community.”

It took nearly 18 months for Drapeau and her husband to renovate the building on First Ave. E in downtown Nipawin.

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Wires were removed, glass was sold and recycled, the exterior was painted, and cement in the main portion of the building was jackhammered out.

However, the near two-year renovation process was worth it for Drapeau as the two backrooms were added to the 80-year-old main portion of the building that was built to last, leaving the property with plenty of space.

“I liked that it wasn’t brand new because you get the character of the shiplap wood,” Drapeau said. “With arts, you need space, and this is spacious. We looked at a few other places, but they just weren’t big enough, especially when you do classes.”

The main portion of Art on Main showcases pieces of work created by local artists. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

The main portion of Art on Main serves as a gallery to sell pieces of art with the artist receiving commission.

While the gallery is open to the public, the classrooms are still under their final renovation stages.

The potential inconvenience could also serve as a blessing in disguise for Drapeau, as it gives her time to find some more instructors to teach classes at Art on Main.

“What classes they can do and what we can provide to people to do some hands-on learning for both children and adult classes,” she said. “The classes that we’re going to have depends on the instructors we can find.”

Because it’s still unknown how many people will fit in the refurnished classroom, Drapeau said she’s uncertain how large her class sizes will be, although Art on Main currently has a sign-up list for potential students.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow