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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, September 28, 2012 · 26 Galleries snags OAAG award Artscene Oakville Galleries has picked up an Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) award at the organization's 35th annual awards ceremony last week. The ceremony was held at the University of Toronto's Hart House. Oakville Galleries, which operates two galleries in town, was one of 16 galleries from across Ontario to pick up a gallery award. A total of 32 galleries were nominated. Oakville Galleries picked up the award in the Art Publication of the Year category for the book Do You Read Me?, written by Sarah Febbraro and Calder Harben. The OAAG Awards recognize artistic merit and excellence in nine major categories: exhibition, curatorial and art writing, public program, education, art publication, design, partnership, colleague and volunteer. "It's astounding how much high-quality work is produced in the visual arts sector each year. The OAAG Awards acknowledge and support work that could otherwise be overlooked," said Olinda Casimiro, president of OAAG's board of directors, in a news release. On now at the galleries Oakville Galleries has kicked off the fall season with two concurrent exhibits about bringing together Canada's expansive landscape and nature's destructive power. Featured at the Centennial Square location, Oakville Galleries is hosting an Infrastructure Canada film project created by the Canadian artist duo Daniel Young and Christian Giroux. The Sobey Art Award-winning artists are known for creating a series of films that consider how domestic and urban contexts are created. For this new project, the film looks at the vast and often remote geographies of the Canadian landscape and how they are united. The pair travelled from Yukon to Labrador and southern Ontario to Nunavut over a three-month period, capturing hundreds of examples of infrastructural forms that have facilitated human access to Canada's landscapes. The film is meant to offer a new perspective on the country's ongoing modernization. The exhibit runs until Nov. 18. At the other location ­ Gairloch Gardens ­ Oakville Galleries is hosting Tricia Middleton's exhibit Form Is the Destroyer of Force, Without Severity There Can Be No Mercy. The Montreal-based artist incorporates painting, sculpture and architecture to showcase the unsettling aftermath of a natural disaster, an otherworldly ruin that is both glistening and decrepit. Using discarded objects collected from public spaces, as well as dust and debris from her work process, along with remnants of past artworks, Middleton has created an environment that has rendered Gairloch powerless against the unyielding forces of time and nature. The show ends on Nov. 4. The Gairloch Gardens gallery is located at 1306 Lakeshore Rd. E. The Centennial Square gallery is located at 120 Navy St. Admission is by donation. For more information and gallery hours, visit www. oakvillegalleries.com. eric riehl / oakville beaver / @halton_photog Festival 500's International Choral Festival next summer. to the worlds: Pictured are singers of the Spurrell Studio Choir with their recent awards. The group received an invite to perform at Spurrell choir heads to international festival By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Following a summer of regional, provincial and national accolades, the Oakville-based Spurrell Studio Choir is preparing to take its talents onto the international stage. The group of 10-13 year olds will be performing at Festival 500's International Choral Festival in July 2013. The festival will be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The group received the invitation after submitting a recorded audition and a summer of awards at a number of festivals. "I just think that being so young ­ with two years of choir under our belt ­ it's a huge accomplishment. I'm very proud of the achievements they have done in such a short amount of time," said Natalie Spurrell, owner of the Spurrell Singing Studio where the choir is based. Spurrell opened the studio in September 2010 and many of the winning choristers are her original students. The choir consists of approximately 23 singers. nity choirs 12 and under. The group then went on to the 41st National Music Festival in Fort McMurray, Alta., where it again took first place and another Margaret Wharton Memorial Plaque. Furthermore, this past May, the group performed at MusicFest Canada in Ottawa where it received a gold standing. Festival 500 is a non-profit, non-competitive international celebration of choral music that takes place in St. John's each year. It will feature music performances by more than 1,000 singers over the course of a week. Spurrell Singing Studio offers vocal instruction for students aged six to adult. For more information, visit www. spurrellstudio.com. Dominik Kurek can be reached at dkurek@oakvillebeaver.com or followed on Twitter at @DominikKurek. "It's a huge accomplishment. I'm very proud of the achievements they have done in such a short amount of time." Natalie Spurrell, owner Spurrell Singing Studio The group won the Peel Music Festival earlier this year. Afterwards, the choir represented Peel at a provincial level music festival where it won the Margaret Wharton Memorial Plaque for commu- No need to drive to see the opera, just get on the bus People are invited to get on the bus with the Oakville Opera Guild to see some of this season's shows. The local group takes three busloads a year to the Dofasco Centre for the Arts for performances by Opera Hamilton. The upcoming season's opera excursions are on Oct. 27 (Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi), Jan. 19 (Popera), and March 16 (The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet). The above are matinee showings. The cost to ride is $10 per person, per excursion, plus the cost of the group discounted opera tickets. To get on the bus, contact Margaret at 905-631-6273.