28 MBiz | may 2016
VIRDEN ARTS MOSAIC - a proud member of the Virden and District Chamber of Commerce in the Western Region
V
irden's Arts Mosaic is 35 years old this year, and it
celebrated in style when Explore Manitoba named it
one of the province's Top 10 galleries.
"That was a nice feather in our cap," says administrator
Christa Milne. "We're very proud."
Formerly known as the Virden Community Arts Council,
Arts Mosaic was started by a group of volunteers who sought
to make the arts more accessible to southwest Manitobans. It
presents exhibits and a concert series, holds workshops, and
provides scholarships and bursaries for students, the local art
festival and community fairs.
"We try to make the arts accessible in terms of education and
promotion," says Milne, whose job requires her to be a jill-of-
all-trades.
"I look after programming, I run the office, I look after the
gallery space, and that involves putting up the exhibitions,
looking for artists to display their work, putting on receptions
for them," she says.
"There is also a gift shop, so I look after the sales for that and
I am always looking for local artisans and craftspeople to put
things in on consignment."
Along with the Virden Chamber of Commerce and other
By Wendy King
THE ARTS
Virden's hotbed of creative life
Cultivating