Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Artists will share their own unique take on Jasper the Bear during an open-entry community exhibit in celebration of the character’s 75th birthday.
The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, owner of the copyright, is granting authority to the artists to create their works of art and also sell them at the Jasper Art Gallery, which has put out a public call for submissions.
“We’ve been cooking this up for a little while now,” said Pattie Pavlov, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce.
“It was a question of finding a place in the art gallery’s schedule as well to have an event, and we’re really excited about it and so are they.”
Jasper the Bear was created by cartoonist James Simpkins and officially adopted by Jasper National Park as its mascot in 1962.
Because the Chamber is careful about what Jasper the Bear looks like, Pavlov said it was a rare treat to allow artists to use this copyrighted character for this exhibit.
“We’re just excited to see how people envision Jasper the Bear and how they create him,” she said.
“We have no idea how it’s going to look, but we’re looking forward to the community’s creativity in representing Jasper.”
Pavlov added that the exhibit would be the first major celebration of Jasper the Bear’s 75th birthday, but it would not be the last, with potential upcoming events including a museum exhibit, the business gala and an outdoor birthday party for families to attend.
Greg Deagle, vice-president of the Jasper Artists Guild, said Jasper the Bear’s birthday was “a wonderful opportunity to enter into a community spirited business partnership with the Chamber of Commerce.”
“Further, it’s an opportunity to showcase the talent of the wide diversity of both members and non-members who identify as artists in our community to celebrate Jasper the Bear and [a] cartoon character who also happens to be the town mascot,” he added.
Artists can submit up to two original artworks in their chosen media, ranging from two- or three-dimensional wall art, photography and sculpture.
Deagle noted that submissions cannot violate any legal or ethical considerations of Jasper the Bear, such as including profanity or compromising imagery.
The show itself will be modelled after The BUZZ exhibition, which ended last weekend.
“What viewers are going to see is a real diversity of images and skill sets [such as] traditional representations of Jasper the Bear,” Deagle said.
“Some will be comical, some will be contemporary in nature and I know of two artists who are sort of portraying Jasper the Bear as a pop art icon. We will likely see imagery of Jasper the Bear engaged in things like summer and winter recreational activities and things of that nature.”
This one-time exhibit will be on display at the Jasper Art Gallery from March 3 to April 1, and the gala opening will be March 3 from 6-9 p.m.
These works can only be sold from March 3 until April 1 at the Jasper Art Gallery.
All artwork must be for sale, with the gallery retaining 30 per cent of sales proceeds.
Submissions forms are available for download from www.jasperartistsguild.com. Blank forms will also be available at the Jasper Art Gallery.
For more information, email [email protected] or call 780-852-1994.
