By: Ewa Chwojko-Srawley
Catherine Babick introduced Georgina to the arts. She moved to Georgina from Toronto as an 8th-grader. Georgina schools offered no art programmes, there were hardly any artistic activities, she recalls. Her first action: start the Georgina Studio Tour and the Georgina School of Art. Her next: she embarked on a major project to establish an Arts Centre in Sutton. Her vision was to gather artists and art lovers in one place, to support them by exhibiting and selling their works, and to widen horizons by offering art classes.
She leased a building from the Town and secured the support of John McLean, (the Town’s leisure services director), then put all her time and energy into creating and running a cultural hub in Sutton. With the help of family and friends, she established what has become both a recognized asset to the community and a tourist destination. She was wearing many hats! She was CEO, accountant, teacher, curator, caretaker, event organizer and fundraiser, until illness forced her to resign.
It’s hard to imagine how she still could find time to create! Catherine’s curious mind always seeks new challenges. She works with oils, watercolours, mixed media and acrylics. As a sculptor she uses wood, wire, ceramics, clay, and poverpol. Her subject matter is as varied as her techniques, moving from traditional landscapes to intuitive, semi-abstract paintings, from portraits to humorous commentaries on human condition.
See what it has become! Visit the Georgina Arts Centre & Gallery between August 25 and September 22 – exactly 20 years after Catherine Babick fulfilled her dream of creating an art hub in our community.
Meet the artist on August 25th at the GAWAC at 1 p.m.
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