Arts and Entertainment

Headwaters Arts presents Tapestry of Art and Music at Alton Mill

May 8, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

The annual Tapestry of Art and Music, now in its third year is coming up on May 25. A one day event, Tapestry invites visitors to the Alton Mill Arts Centre to celebrate the “mosaic” of nearly one hundred 6” x 6” canvasses, painted and donated by artists from all over the Headwaters area and beyond. Each of these small canvasses is a token in tribute to Headwaters Arts for how profoundly it supports the arts community.

The theme for this year’s Tapestry is Wonder and Whimsy.

Nancy Kluger, Chair of the Event Committee of Headwaters Arts who will curate this year’s submissions, admitted that she “basically stole the idea from somewhere else where they have done one for twelve years.”

The Citizen had the opportunity to talk to Kluger earlier this week in a telephone interview.

“This year,” she said, “the basic is we strive for one hundred canvasses as being a giant mosaic of the world we live -what makes music ring in our ears.”

Each canvas has to include a reference or be about music as well, we were told. For the pattern of hanging them, Kluger explained, “I curate differently from mounting canvasses next up to each; I put six inches between them.”

Nowadays, in her opinion, art and music are essential for our mental health. The show of Art and Music this year features the Oakville Choir for Children and Youth. The Oakville Choir returned from Orlando last month, following their participation in the Heritage Music Festival.  

They earned a gold medal in the high school category and received an Adjudicators Award, which is given to choirs with an average score of 95% or higher. They scored 96% from 3 adjudicators.  

Most excitingly, the Oakville Choir received an invitation to perform at the Elite Performance Series at Carnegie Hall in New York City. www.oakvillechoir.ca

This May 25, they will attend Headwaters Arts Tapestry to sing under the cover over the Atrium at Alton Mill.

Alton- based Artist Paul Moran has donated a signed original piece of his to the event, a fabulous forest painting. Every $20 donation is rewarded by a draw ticket to win the Moran painting. Every canvas of art purchased likewise receives a draw ticket. The draw will take place at the end of the event for the winning ticket.

The canvasses are priced at $60 each ot two for $100.

New this year, Kluger decided to open the Tapestry mosaic to the high school in the area. There have been some young artists take part before. The ages of 14 to18- year- old teens are invited to offer 6” x 6” canvasses.

Even the choir, Kluger informed the Citizen, is submitting eight 6” x 6” as well.

There will be a new Young New Artist of the Year award for the 14 to 18 year-old artists.

“Someone donated $100 as the prize,” she told us. “Another person donated a gift card of $50 from Maggiolly’s [Arts Supplies].”

Tapestry is on from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on the Sunday with a small reception afterward. Meanwhile, people can buy the canvasses and leave them on the mosaic with red tags denoting “sold” until after the reception.

Such good reasons are offered to tempt us all to come: it’s a couple of hours of time there to take pleasure in the art and the music and the beautiful environment of the Mill.

“Last year was great.” Kluger remarked. “We do it so we can give amazing artists a chance to show their art for free. The proceeds go Headwaters Arts. This makes it possible for artists to show their art.”

Kluger briefed us about her own involvement and enthusiasm for supporting art, though not gifted as an artist herself. She and her husband moved up here from Florida.

When she was in Florida, she did philanthropic work, as a volunteer. They staged “dancing with our island stars, celebrities” to raise money for the arts.

She said, “I am extremely creative but I am not really artistic.”

Humorously, she related, that she did a semester of art classes: “I got through three paintings including a landscape and a portrait and I never worked so hard at anything else. It was terrible.”

Tapestry is Sunday, May 25. Artists wanting to participate must register and pick up their canvasses by May 15 and submit their finished pieces by May 23. For details go www.headwatersarts.org

Said Kluger, “I am not an artist but I am a true believer. I think art is the soul performing at its very highest.”

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