Karrie Emms, a North Bay artist, and gallery owner likes the challenge of a good competition and there are not a lot of high-energy competitions for artists.
So she says when she found Art Battle just before the Covid 19 lockdowns she was hooked.
After competing in one event in North Bay she applied to paint at several others across Ontario. As she was headed to Caledon for her second competition, news of the lockdowns caused her to turn around and it would be nearly two years before she would get the opportunity to compete again.
That opportunity came this past February in Brantford and then in March in Quebec City. She was so taken by the events that she decided to bring the officially licensed event back to North Bay after a three-year hiatus.
Art Battle North Bay returns to the city with dates on May 21, July 2, September 2, October 22, and December 3.
Each Art Battle features 12 artists who paint in three 20-minute rounds. The first two pit six artists against each other, after which the audience, both in-house and online, vote for the top two artists. The final round is made up of the top two from each round who paint against each other in a final 20-minute round and after voting the winner is crowned.
"The rounds are fast and the energy is intense as the artists focus," said Emms.
“Our events are fundraisers for Nick’s Place For Us a local youth center at 157 Main St. W. where we provide programming in a safe inclusive environment for youth 13-30 and their extended families. While a number of our programs are art based we focus on leadership, life skills, education, and relationship building. We offer summer camps and sleep away camps and more,” said Emms.
Art Battle North Bay will be co-hosted by Emms and Scarlet Diaz who is a local drag queen and each event will feature music, demonstrations, and a vendor or two. The events are being held at the New Ontario Brewing Company with the exception of the September 2nd event which will be a full-day event at the Bill Barber Complex in Callendar. Each event features a live auction of all works completed at the battle as well as a cash prize for the winning artist.
“We wanted to make the September 2 event something a little different so it will be a family-friendly event starting at 11 with a handmade artisan market, art demonstrations, speakers, a BBQ, family-friendly activities, and entertainment from 11-4, and the actual art battle which will require a ticket purchase from 5-10 p.m. The whole event is being run by volunteers.
The roster of artists is already full for the May 21 event including local artists and artists from as far away as Hamilton, Montreal and Pembroke.
"It is promising to be an exciting battle with a lot of paint flying," predicts Emms.
The winning artists will be given an opportunity to later compete to move on to national and world-level battles.
“We have a small but mighty board of directors who all care deeply about the youth in North Bay and work hard to provide them with a safe space. They will work incredibly hard to make these events amazing,” said Emms.
Local sponsors to date include High Class Variety, Scratch E. Wear, Gateway To the Arts, New Ontario Brewing, and Northgate Shopping Centre. The organizers are currently seeking event sponsors for all of the events, artists for each battle, and vendors/performers and demonstrators for the September 2 event.
Interested parties can email [email protected] for more information. Artists can register to compete at: https://artbattle.com/artists and tickets can be purchased at: https://artbattles.eventbrite.