Maritime Folk Art Galleries and Festivals
Meet Folk Artists on a Nova Scotia Holiday and Tour of the Maritimes
Mar 18, 2009
Canadian folk art boasts as much personality as the folk artists themselves. From the back roads of Nova Scotia to the waterfront galleries in New Brunswick, the Maritimes offers up some fun and quirky displays of folk art.
Folk artists are artists who have little or no formal training in their craft and produce art that reflects the local traditions and lifestyle. In the Maritimes, folk art tends to mirror the hard-working life that surrounds the artists, which includes fishing, farming, and rural pursuits.
Meet Folk Artists at the Newfoundland and Nova Scotia Folk Art Festivals
The east coast is home to many celebrations of folk art. At folk art festivals, visitors can find folk art sculptures, paintings, and functional pieces, as well as meet the folk artists. There are two well-established and greatly anticipated annual folk festivals in Atlantic Canada:
- Nova Scotia Folk Festival, Lunenburg Memorial Arena in historic Lunenburg, Aug. 2, 2009
- Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, Bannerman Park in St. John's, Aug. 7-9, 2009
The Antique Folk Art of Maud Lewis at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
One of the most famous Canadian folk artists is Nova Scotian Maud Lewis, who lived in a single-room house that had no electricity or plumbing.
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia houses a permanent exhibition of work by folk artist Maud Lewis. From paintings of oxen to the Lewis’ restored brightly painted home, the gallery presents a colorful introduction to treasured pieces of antique folk art. Nova Scotia visitors can see the vibrancy of Maud Lewis’ paintings at the gallery at 1723 Hollis St. (902) 424-7542
Folk Art History on a Nova Scotia Holiday
For deeper understanding of Maud Lewis’ rural and humble roots, visitors can include a visit to the original site of Maud’s tiny painted house in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia
In Marshalltown, which lies 7 km (4.3 miles) from the scallop capital of Digby, those on a Nova Scotia holiday can visit the Maud Lewis Memorial site. The site is the original location of Maud Lewis’ famous, miniature home. When the house started to deteriorate after the death of Maud in 1970 and her husband Everett in 1979, a local group started a preservation society.
After much work to first assure the future of the house and then restore the structure, the home was moved to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Today, those on a Nova Scotia holiday can delight in the colorful flowers, birds, and butterflies that decorate the walls, doors, windows, and housewares—all decorated by folk artist Maud lewis.
Other Folk Art Vacation Ideas
When traveling through the rural roads on a Nova Scotia holiday, a New Brunswick road trip, or a summer vacation in Prince Edward Island look for hand-decorated signs reading "Gallery" or "Artist". Another good way to uncover an artist is by looking for creative mail boxes alongside the road.
June through September are safe months to plan a visit with the weather being warm and dry. But no matter the season for a Maritime vacation, visitors will find a region that takes pride in a quirky, colorful, and good-natured style of folk art.
