Body, Mind, Soul

A healthy place to live includes opportunities for the arts, culture and creative expression.

The Oceanside Community Arts Council is doing their best to help create social and cultural capital by nurturing and supporting the arts at the grassroots level. While the performing and visual arts are entertaining, they also demonstrate a more profound concept without which a community struggles for identity. With the ability to remind us of our power to adapt and innovate, the arts are essential to the progress of our humanity, inspiring us to think about who we are and how we wish to be defined. Skills in self-evaluation and self-exploration are what allow us to make sense of ourselves, so we know how to make sense of our place in the community in which we live.

In an advertising-media saturated world of homogenized lifestyles, not many public images are reflections of ourselves, leading us to covet looks and lifestyles that are unhealthy for both our communities and ourselves. People often go to extreme lengths to meet cultural standards for the body and its appearance.

Academic studies have suggested that stronger social ties might provide a buffer against negative images of differing groups in a community. We believe that participation in community festivals, such as Body Fest, that encourage healthy living while celebrating the body in a family oriented way, may be a catalyst to help to continue in making a make difference in the lives of at-risk youth and persons with mental and physical health issues.

OCAC is planning this festival to be a unique way of showing the community of Oceanside that aspects of art go beyond the 2D medium and how the artist's audience is not merely a passive observer, but a component of the artistic process.

Check out BODY+MIND+SOUL

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Small in Nature

In August 2010, the Oceanside Community Arts Council on Vancouver Island on Canada's west coast will be presenting its 13th annual show of miniature art, entitled Small in Nature. The juried show will run from August 17 to August 28, 2010.

Local and international artists working in two and three-dimensional works will be showcasing their art. Submissions have been received from across Canada, the USA and Europe. Admissible Categories to be juried are: painting, sculpture, fibre, ceramics and original prints etc. There is no jewelry, photography and digital art in this show.

First place for this years exhibition is $250, the winner will be announced on this site after jurying takes place on August 17th.

Definition of a Miniature:
For the purpose of this exhibition, a miniature piece of work is, simply put, art on a small scale. Meticulous attention to detail should be paid, so that if it were enlarged it would endure close inspection without revealing faults.

It's a Small World
The OCAC members have been invited to take part in a concurrent members exhibit that reflects the international miniature art show. The restraints are not as ridged as they are for the juried exhibit, but this show is bound to be excellent viewing and a great way to unify the OCAC main galleries.

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Youth Arts Exhibit

Oceanside Community Arts Council takes pride in the work produced during Youth Arts and the 2010 season is no exception! Come see the art prodcued by the children during their week-long day camps at the OCAC

This year the 2D media teachers were Terry Bowen and Pat Sriviner. Each instructor brought new and innovative instrcution to the table while youth arts leader Alexandra Dawley maintained a friendly and productive atmosphere. The work on display is not for sale as each child will get to take their art home with them after the exhibit.

Our budding artists enjoy the opportunity to have their art work on the walls of a real gallery space and the parents will surely love to bring firends and family in to show off the talent within the family!

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The Oceanside Community Arts Council gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the City of Parksville,
Joe Cunningham Ford Parksville, The Regional District of Nanaimo, the Vancouver Foundation, the British Columbia Arts Council
and the Province of British Columbia.

Images of artwork & copy; 2009 by the respective artists