Join us as we take a leisurely look back at some of the sights we encountered over the past seven days in St. John’s, won’t you?

In this, our first installment of the series, we’ve got free parking, urban art, sexy triangles and more!

Did you know there’s a bunch of free parking behind Wool Trends on Hamilton Avenue? Not very often you see a sign like that.

Does anyone else detect a hint of disdain in this signage? I guess you’d be pissed, too, if your front window got smashed in. I know the good people at Model Citizens didn’t appreciate it when it happened to them last week, either. Not to mention the laptop and merchandise that was stolen in the process.

None of which matters to these two, who are having a rest in the early hours of the morning before their world becomes bombarded with sticky-fingered children and their guardians. And in case you were wondering, the corn maze at Lester’s is in full effect.

At one point last week it appeared as though the sun had exploded shortly after a diesel-fueled rocket flew by overhead. Though as far as I know, neither of those things actually happened.

Art works like the one you see pictured here have been popping up throughout downtown all summer long. From a beautiful message about love to a garment-clad mask to what appears to be a screen print depicting Maurice Moss from The IT Crowd (played by Richard Ayoade, previously seen on The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, both of which are brilliant.), these works don’t last long but are a much welcomed addition to the cityscape.

The old T.I. Brother Murphy Centre got a fresh lick over the weekend. Rumour has it a posh new restaurant is moving in. Here’s hoping it helps push this under-utilized end of Water Street towards becoming just as bustling as its more westward stretch. By rights there should be steady foot traffic from Harbourside Park to Colossal Pizza, where I only recently learned you can get chicken shawarma. Tell your friends.

And Junctions is being rebranded as Headquarters according to these equilateral flyers circulated around downtown last week. With the Junctions name having been synonymous with so many different kinds of clubbing experiences over the years, from candy-coated beats to blood-soaked metal, I can understand the need for a refresh. The flyers, on the other hand, mostly just left me feeling confused. And possibly violated.

If you happen to snap a photo in the coming days of this week and feel it’s captured something jeux ne sait St. John’s, send it our way!

Graffiti seems to hog all the spotlight when it comes to art that uses the city as its canvas, but some unknown artists are demonstrating that urban art extends well beyond the spray can.

Here are two pieces I found on my way down Duckworth early this evening.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen street art of unknown origins adorning unexpected places in St. John’s, and I have a warm and tingly feeling that it won’t be the last.

Found this outside the Scotia Centre on Water Street Thursday evening, origin unknown. Feel free to shed some light in the comments.

So you’re on a diet as a result of your new year’s resolution and just the thought of a sugary treat sends you into drool-drenched daydream.

A group of local artists are putting off just the show for you. It’s all the wonders and good feelings that come with sugary icing-topped cake without all the calories or sugar high. It’s an art show and fundraiser based on one simple confectionary: cupcakes.

Artist Alicia Simms has been into the simple treat of cupcakes for some time now. And we’re not just talking simple pleasures here. Apparently Alicia has cupcake-inspired clothes, accessories and even cupcake tattoos. That’s certifiably not just a hobby; it’s an obsession. Add to that a passion for creating art work and Alicia had the birth of an exhibition that would be both personal and whimsical. After sharing the idea with some friends, the idea has spiraled and now the show will become a reality this coming weekend.

Artists participating in this show include: Alicia Simms, Tara Bradbury, Peggy Tremblett, Lori Ann Benson, Helen Davis, Nadine Hodder, Hilary Young-Laite and Cassandra Dodsworth, with contribution from Jared Reid, Jodi Rideout, Andrew Davis, Tval Soap and Skin Care and SGO Designer Glass.

Works of art will feature cupcake-inspired art including knit pieces, stained glass, photography-based recipes, clothing and home decor pieces. Many of the art pieces at the show will also be for sale by the artists.

The show will be a way for local artists to showcase some personal multi-material work based on the cupcake theme. In addition, the event will be a fundraiser for Marguerite’s Place, which is a joint effort project of the St. John’s Status of Women Council and the St. John’s Women’s Centre.

“Get Baked: Art For Your Sweet Tooth” will take place in Irwin’s Court, on the main level of the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre and runs from February 5-7, 2010. Opening reception will be Friday night 7:30-9:30. The show is also open Saturday 12-8 and Sunday 12-5. Admission is by donation and every little bit helps the local artists and Marguerite’s Place. For more information, visit

If you’re like me, you just finished exams and you’ve got zero presents bought. Holiday “Shopping” at the Mall is overrated and mildly terrifying. You’d sooner walk in front of a Metrobus than try to find a cardigan at Tanjay for mom*.

Problem solved. A Unique Peek: A local showcase of Baked Goods, Paintings, Posters, Christmas Cards, Jewelery, Accesories, Notebooks, Pillows, Scarves, T-Shirts, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Support local artists! Please your loved ones! Save your sanity.

Seeing this made my day! I found it downtown near Gower and King. Anyone know where I can find other stencil art around the city?

After being buzzed by the provocative import “MY STICKER CANDY PUSSY LOVER“, only just previously having our old wounds exposed and hearts broken by the domestic “Salt Concentrates“, we can be excused for overlooking the fundamentals at our underdog / underground favourite: A1C Gallery.

The quality of the art and the awesome parties at A1C show the gallery’s drive, but the AGM as a function seems like dull necessity. A cold procedural gathering in contrast to the emotional speedball we all just went through down on Baird’s cove as a result of the last two exhibits.

Hardly!

Such a congregation will be a rare look into the minds that shape downtown visual art – a testament to the high-density creativity in this postal code that gives A1C its namesake. New and experienced artists’ vectors are revealed as you find yourself drawing connections between the people and their work.

The gallery’s annual general meeting will be held tonight (Saturday) at 7pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend and listen. Members of the gallery  will vote on issues facing the space. A reception will follow at 8. If you can’t make the meeting itself, you owe it to yourself to go grab a drink while getting Michael Flaherty‘s take on the Grey Islands, or Will Gill’s stories about his time in Vermont.

The first of what will no doubt become a major annual event in St. John’s starts today at The Rockhouse at 2pm and goes right through to the wee hours.

Wallsaway is a music and arts festival featuring an long and lovely list of local talent and come-from-away goodness. Organizer Meghan McCabe explains:

Our headlining act is Toronto’s Oh No Forest Fires! Compared to “a sugar-coated buzz saw” and nominated in XM’s Verge Music Awards’ “Best Band of the Year” category, their live show is not to be missed.

Local musical performers include The Mountains and the Trees (recently back from a showcase at Toronto’s NXNE festival), Mercy, the Sexton, The Subtitles (named “the 2009 ECMA buzz band” on CBC Radio’s show, Drive), Soul man Chris Kirby, Singer-songwriter Ian Foster, Les Domestics, Matt Hornell and the Diamond Minds, The Sellouts, Japan Batteries, and The Mudflowers.

We’ll also have dances from Meghan McCabe, Tammy MacLeod, and The Neighbourhood Strays, comedy courtesy of Sherri Levesque, and a special film screening hosted by The St. John’s Women’s International Film Festival. There’ll be a collaborative community art project for attendees to enjoy, plus the afternoon is kid-friendly – we’ve literally got something for everyone!

And as if that wasn’t enough incentive to get down to the Rockhouse today, yours truly will be performing hosting duties til 7pm.

A mere $15 gets you in. See you there!

From A1C Gallery:

A1C Gallery is looking for an experienced and hard-working individual to fill the part-time position of Gallery Coordinator. The Gallery Coordinator will work closely with the Board of Directors to manage the administrative and logistical aspects of A1C Gallery. Responsibilities will include:

• Planning and organizing exhibitions and events
• Communicating with exhibiting artists
• Maintaining an accurate account of financial transactions
• Promotion and publicity
• Contributing to grant proposals and reports
• Researching avenues for funding
• Installing exhibitions
• Managing the office

The successful applicant will have:

• Post-secondary education in the arts, or equivalent work experience
• Knowledge of contemporary art practice and the visual arts sector
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Experience with Photoshop, Microsoft Office, HTML and other software

Previous experience in arts administration and event coordination are highly desirable. Applicants must be flexible as this position will include work on evenings and weekends.

This is a part-time six-month position for 20hrs/week at $15/hr.

Please apply to:

Attn: Kym Greeley

Hiring Committee

A1C Gallery

8 Baird’s Cove

St. John’s NL

A1C 6M9

Or: a1c@nl.rogers.com

The deadline for applications is July 10, 2009 and the job starts in August.

Looks like an ideal way for an artist to eke out a living while having most of your time to yourself to work on your art. Granted, $200 a week (give-or-take after taxes) probably isn’t quite enough to live off of on its own, but offset that with the odd shift at somewhere like Hava Java or Folly and you’re laughing.

A photo that would certainly be worth a thousand words, and that’s roughly what Halifax-born artist Cliff Eyland gives us in his rundown on the current state of visual arts in our province in a post published today on the Akimbo blog.

Eyland is back on the island after a ten year hiatus, making art out of the Full Tilt Creative Centre in the wooded hills of the west coast.

Offering up an astute outsider’s perspective, Eyland starts with a musing on the outcome of a recent conference panel he chaired that discussed the issue of marginality and isolation artists in various regions of Canada might face — something, it seems, no one actually saw as an issue.

The panel included Shawna Dempsey, Graeme Patterson, Mario Villeneuve, Michael Massie and Mark Prier. None of these artists, not Villeneuve from the Yukon, nor Massie, nor Prier from rural Newfoundland, seemed at all distressed by “marginality” and nobody seemed anxious to move to Toronto or New York. (Dempsey, in fact, moved from Toronto to Winnipeg early in her career.)

Eyland names Kym Greeley as “THE shining hope for young Newfoundland art,” goes on to review Republic, an exhibtion currently on display at The Rooms (which I happened to take in last night and really enjoyed), and caps things off with a plug for the “scrappy new artist-run start-up,” A1C Gallery, and its Going Postal: Responding to Canada’s Most Artistic Postal Code exhibition and fundraiser project.

Now, in keeping with today’s Scope-inspired animal theme, here’s a still Eyland’s shown us from Graeme Patterson’s 2008 Taming the Wild series (Patterson was on the isolation issues panel Eyland chaired).

Yertle the Turtle would no doubt be jealous.

Cliff Eyland’s Mobile exhibition at the Full Tilt Creative Centre opens June 7th.