Artists collaborate with Chilliwack store to bring new gallery to downtown

A collaboration between a group of artists and a framing store has resulted in Chilliwack’s newest art gallery.

Kelly Cushing created The Art Hive Collective in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to give local artists a place to showcase and sell their work online.

Now some of the members of the group currently have their work on the walls of Cornerstone Custom Framing in downtown Chilliwack, but it was a bit of a bumpy road to get to where they are today.

“Being an artist can be quite lonely at times,” Cushing said. “The Art Hive was going to be a place where artists can get out and meet customers and visit with other artists, have workshops and be with like-minded people.”

Originally, Cushing had plans to open up her own gallery for the collective. She was close to signing a lease for a space in downtown Chilliwack when the pandemic hit. She hemmed and hawed about going ahead with the physical gallery, and decided against it. In the summer, after about a month of trying to figure out what to do, she launch an online gallery instead.

Krista Butt, owner of Cornerstone Custom Framing, knows Cushing from various artists’ markets and also as a customer at her shop.

When she heard about The Art Hive Collective, she wanted to help. Butt had recently moved Cornerstone to its new location on Mill Street and had a lot of empty space to fill.

“I had these bare white walls, COVID had hit, and I had nothing planned for the space yet,” Butt said.

So she called Cushing and offered up half of the wall space in her store for The Art Hive Collective exhibition. Cushing graciously accepted.

The two are now inviting people to come down to the little gallery and have a look at the work on display.

The Art Hive Collective is made up of 28 artists from throughout the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland. About half of the artists have their work on the walls at Cornerstone. All of the pieces are for sale and they’re just a sample of the wide variety of work in the collective.

The collaboration is not only a way for folks to see work by local artists, but it also gives artists a way to connect with each other and a chance to join the collective.

The exhibition was installed a month ago and will be on display until Christmas. It can be viewed during store hours at Cornerstone Custom Framing (9369-A Mill St.), Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more info, head to thearthivecollective.com to see work by all of the artists, read their bios and to purchase their artwork. There will also be online giveaways on the website.

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