The Oshawa Fibre Art Show takes place every year at the Centennial Retirement Residence in Oshawa, Ontario.

The Address is 259 Hillcroft Street and the Residence faces Ritson Road. Parking is behind the building and on Hillcroft Street.

905-436-1901

Show History

The first show here was in the spring of 2005 when the Residence was referred to Martha by a local quilt guild to put together a display of quilts for sale. Instead of just showing her work in one room for a few days, she asked for two more recreation rooms at the facility and invited 12 more artists to help her fill the walls with original works of fibre art for a week-long exhibition.

The Residence, interested in community involvement, only asked the artists for a small donation to their chosen charity and that the artists sit the show in return for providing the facility, the reception and advertising the show for them. It was an incredible opportunity.

The relationship between the Residence staff, Martha, the artists, and the Charity began to blossom as new challenges and ideas were met with optimism and a shared vision of how this could be a win-win situation for everyone. Martha implemented a Silent Auction for the charity with art donations from the participating artists to raise more money.

For the first two years, two shows a year helped established a presence and expectation of excellence and originality. Due to enthusiastic artist participation, variety became a key feature as new materials and techniques began to open new doors of creativity for fibre artists, many who were exhibiting their work for the first time.

Door prizes were offered for e-mail addresses and bidding in the Silent Auction. Attendance began to rise as more heard about the show and made the trip out to Oshawa to see the display. Two members of the local symphony orchestra began to perform at the "Meet the Artists" reception and a talented caterer provided another level of enjoyment to the festivities. A small catalog was formatted to highlight the artists and list their entries to the show.

3-D art became a new element as mobiles, soft sculpture and art dolls filled podiums and floor spaces. The show dates expanded to include two weekends. Artists increased their contact list of other artists to network, teach, share and support each other.

2008 brought the addition of an Artist's Boutique where lower ticket items of original design are offered, and the show dates moved into November.

2009 saw a fourth room added to the show to provide a Fibre Art Supply Shoppe with raw materials for sale to cater to the textile artist.

2010 will showcase a special guest artist, Jane Dixon of Oshawa, Ontario. The show will also expand to a two week engagement to include three weekends and run closer to Christmas.

Also new, Chartwell has chosen the Diabetes Association to be the new corporate Charity.

Not all works on exhibit are for sale. This is an opportunity for the sale of fibre art, but it's also a showcase for exceptional works from the artists' private collections, included to further enhance the viewing experience for show visitors.

To view and print an artist application form click here

Submission Deadline is Oct. 19th, 2010

The show dates and times for 2010 are:

Sat. Nov. 20 - Sun. Dec. 5th

Hours: 10 am - 5 pm daily

FREE ADMISSION; voluntary donations to the Toronto Diabetes Association are appreciated.

The "Meet the Artists Reception" and Final Bidding in the Silent Auction, are

Saturday night, Dec. 4th, from 7 - 9 pm

The Reception is open to the public. Jane Dixon will give a short tour and talk about her works on display.