Published: June 05, 2008 09:50 am            

ART: 'Art of Architecture' kicks off binational events

By Ed Adamczyk



This evening’s sampling of wines and desserts at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Chateau des Charmes Winery is more than any old festivity kicking off or concluding another art project.

The second annual “Art of Architecture” Gala will present the winners of the Binational Tourism Alliance’s photography contest and will open the door, so to speak, to this year’s cross-border Doors Open Niagara 2008 and Niagara by Design events.

What might seem like a jumble of efforts in art, photography, tourism and design, for the layman and the professional, have come together in a year-long endeavor emphasizing the attractions of architecture along the U.S.-Canada border.

When Arlene White, executive director of the non-profit alliance, sits in her office in an expertly remodeled industrial building in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and explains it, it all makes sense.

“In a way, we’re an industry trade association with partners throughout the businesses,” she said. “If you bring people in to see the ‘Heritage of Niagara,’ if you bring the artist in to see someone else’s perspective, if you bring in the professionals, large businesses and small, they all have a vested interest.”

It begins with tonight’s presentation of 25 awards to the winners of the “Art of Architecture” and “Architage” photography contests, which “kicks off everything we do during the summer,” according to White.

Of the nine professional and amateur winners in the “Art of Architecture,” five are U.S. citizens and four are Canadian. In the “Architage” contest, which is aimed at students ages 5-17 and includes photography and a local scavenger hunt, six winners are American and the other six are Canadian.

In each case, new perspectives on public buildings in Western New York and southern Ontario are presented in color and black and white.

The photographs will become part of a touring exhibition throughout the summer. The exhibit will eventually arrive at the Amherst Museum and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center in Buffalo, among other local venues. Next year’s photography contest will begin Sept. 1.

There will also be a special showing tonight of a project entitled “Unbuilt Niagara,” an exhibit organized by the Niagara Society of Artists and the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects and billed as “some of binational Niagara’s finest unbuilt designs and plans.”

When it was pointed out that a proposed “museum of plans” is a standing joke on this side of the border (new Peace Bridge, anyone?), White laughed and suggested “Unbuilt Niagara” could be “the beginning of the archive of that museum.”

The Doors Open Niagara 2008 concept originated in France in the early 1980s and has spread across the world. On given days, “heritage sites,” public buildings with a heady mix of history and design excellence, are open for inspection.

Through the Ontario Heritage Trust, the doors will be open in one community after another on weekends through the summer and fall, and the Niagara region’s turn comes Oct. 18-19. With the involvement of Explore New York and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, the local event will be a (here’s that term again) cross-border event.

On the American side, the long list includes the Sanborn-Lewiston Farm Museum in Sanborn the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fontana Boathouse on Buffalo’s waterfront, and several of the area’s noteworthy churches. In Ontario, Port Colborne’s Humberstone Township Hall, the St. Catharines Art Cluster of art organizations and the School of Restoration Arts in Queenston, among others, will be available for free inspection. This is, incidentally, the world’s only binational “Doors Open” event.

White mentions “the cultural destination development of our binational community,” and herein is an example. With Doors Open Niagara 2008, the various agencies present design, architecture, landscaping, interior design and the rest of the historical palette. It’s an easy way to digest and appreciate the area’s history, on both sides of the border.

The autumn will also feature an “Architects Week” of films, speeches and symposia dedicated to convening the architecture and design community to present the breadth of talent and the marvels of the area.

This is an ambitious schedule, comprising events and attractions across one spectrum after another. Young and old, professional and amateur, tourism and heritage, various categories of the arts, and of course, Canada and the States. That it can all be brought under one umbrella is a happy surprise.



Ed Adamczyk is a freelance writer from Kenmore.



IF YOU GO

* WHAT: “Art of Architecture” Gala

* WHEN: 6:30 to 10 tonight

* WHERE: Chateau des Charmes Winery on York Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

* MORE INFORMATION: Call (888) 849-5834 or visit btapartners.com

        

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