Abbotsford Art Galleries & Artists
Glass artwork, Tourism BC/Dannielle Hayes photo
A well established and very active arts council works year round to promote local artists, primarily through the Kariton Gallery at Mill Lake and at special events such as the Christmas Craft Fair and a downtown Art Walk Week.
Kariton Gallery
The gallery's Arts in Mill Lake Park program stages a series of open-air art exhibits during the summer where visitors are treated to meeting, watching and engaging with artisans at work. Singers, musicians and dancers add to the joyful melee.
Envision Concert Series
Performing arts are also scheduled into a Saturday night Envision Concert Series through the year, held at different coffee bistros and ranging from bluesy and riverboat jazz to country, pop and rock music.
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Cultural Tours
The best way for cultural buffs to discover the richness of the region's artistic talent is to pick up an Arts, Culture & Heritage Self Guided Tour brochure. In addition to arts-oriented festivals and events, it details where to find hot spots such as a glass blower's studio and a farmhouse pottery kiln, galleries such as the Kariton Gallery and the First Nations' Hummingbird Gallery in Clayburn, as well as heritage sites such as Threthewey House.
Public Art
Look out for a number of public art pieces, including 30 murals. The whimsical statues in Historic Downtown are especially eye-catching as much for their cartoon nature as for their colourful character.
The Reach
When The Reach opened in September 2008, Abbotsford laid claim to being a serious arts destination. With its mandate to preserve and share the community's cultural diversity alongside visual arts from both inside and outside the community, The Reach is an innovative gallery-museum hybrid featuring three gallery spaces as well as historical archives.
Displays change every two to three months and, a soon-to-be-approved Class A museum, will host international traveling exhibits in addition to national and regional shows. This $10 million facility is centrally located to City Hall, the Library and an International Friendship Garden.
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