MBiz | May 2016

VIRDEN ARTS MOSAIC - a proud member of the Virden and District Chamber of Commerce in the Western Region

THE ARTS Virden’s hotbed of creative life Cultivating

By Wendy King

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

28 MBiz | may 2016