Artists To Battle It Out At Parry Sound High School’s First Art War Event

Local artists are getting ready to battle it out in Parry Sound High School’s (PSHS) new fundraising event Art War!

The exciting evening of entertainment will see Parry Sound students and alumni go head-to-head in a live art-making competition judged by the audience. Attendees will enjoy a delicious meal catered by the PSHS hospitality department while they watch artists create artwork right in front of them.

Artists will participate in a three-round elimination contest until one artist is left standing. In the first-round participants are tasked with creating a still life or portrait, round two is a landscape painting and the final round is freestyle where those remaining can play to their strength and let their imaginations run wild. Participating artist specialties range from ink portraitists and watercolour painters to street artists.

After each round, the audience browses the art and then votes for their favourites with their phones through a QR code found at each table.

Proceeds from the event will go towards replenishing the whole school collaborative event account.

PSHS visual arts teacher Melissa Beasley said the account is used to fund large scale collaborative events at the school such as full-scale musical productions, the One-Of-A-Kind show and even events like Art War.

“Art War was in collaboration with business leadership students, the arts council and hospitality students,” Beasley said. “Hospitality students will cater the dinner, business leadership students are handling the marketing, advertising and are event organizers. Arts council is creating the venue design and selling tickets. They will also staff the event, waiting on tables, ticketing at the door, selling art, and managing the artists.”

PSHS hospitality students will be serving a gourmet four-course meal. Hospitality teacher Blair Cousins said the dinner starts with a ravioli with spinach and fresh ricotta followed by Caesar salad and lasagne with garlic bread as the main course. The dessert will be a cranberry tart.

“Students have been working on perfecting the tart and ravioli for weeks,” Cousins said.

Art War will take place on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. at Parry Sound High School. Tickets are $40 per person and can be purchased by emailing Melissa.Beasley@nearnorthschools.caor David.Wigney@nearnorthschools.ca.