As it was believed in the past, an art gallery would offer the community a cultural place where beauty, colours, expressions and memories take place and enrich us.
Back then, an art professor, Mr Archie Harper, was giving drawing classes to a group of young women who decided to help him with his dream of creating an art gallery in Campbellton. With the help of the artist, Robert Percival, they managed to achieve their project. Today, the Restigouche Gallery serves a population of 50,000 inhabitants living up north of New Brunswick and the Gaspesian Coast, not counting visitors from other places.
It is today a Gallery-Museum, and a Cultural Centre. With its multicultural exhibition room of the Athol House Museum, visitors are able to discover our region. Guided tours are offered to present the three nations who settled here and started to develop this community. In early 1600, the Mìgmaq people had a permanent site in the area, which we now know and call Atholville. The French missionaries, Recollets and Capucins arrived from France in 1620 and 1624 respectively. Later, Nicholas Denys came to this region and built a trading post. His son Richard continued the work here till he died. Finally, a Scottish merchant, Mr Robert Fergusson built the Athol House and contributed to the growth of this region.
In the Jeanette MacDonald Exhibition Room, we offer various exhibits, some of renowned artists. We offer exhibits from international artists, such as Raymond Furlotte, Nicole Bolduc, Jacques Desgagnés, and just recently Clémence St-Laurend, a 90 year old artist, are presented along with solo shows of local artists, displaying their art in different and very interesting ways (paintings, jewellery, hats, etc). The exhibitions are renewed every month with a few exceptions.
Our cultural window is also quite interesting, with its varied programs. We offer courses, workshops, concerts, book launch, CD launch, lectures, presentations and sessions. Other activities can be organised on demand, such as reunions, theatre plays, etc. Also, we organise on a monthly basis, Open House days combined with Artists Day, when the local artists meet to paint, do jewellery, arts and crafts in many forms. The visitors enjoy those days for they can meet with the artists and exchange their art ideas.
In this Gallery, culture, history, heritage and art are intermingling and people love to visit. Everyone appreciate our various exhibitions, our many classes or workshops and is pleased to join us when we celebrate special occasion. We never miss an opportunity to celebrate the different ethnic groups that are part of our culture, for instance the Mìgmaq, the Acadians, the Scottish and the Irish people.
Opening May 27 for summer exhibits
Tuesday-Saturday
10am-4pm
