A Recollection of the Fernie Arts Station by Karla Germaine
What does Fernie’s Arts Station mean to you? Artists and Arts Council members past and present concur – The Fenie Arts Station is “a home” and “a common space” for all Elk Valley residents and visitors.
Rose Watson, a founding member of the Fernie & District Arts Council and a member of the weaver’s guild, was one of the individuals instrumental in the transformation of the old CPR train station into The Fernie Arts Station nearly twenty years ago. Rose said that the Station was in pretty rough shape when they went to look at it, but they saw the building’s potential. She recalls with humour that on the day the station was scheduled to be lifted off of its foundation and slid over to its new location, half the town turned up to watch. The council broke a bottle of champagne to launch it on its way, but that day the building moved only an inch!
Rose says that for the past twenty years the Arts Station has served as a home to the various arts clubs and guilds. These have included theatre, photography, pottery, quilting, and weaving, to name a few. According to Rose, the council is now experiencing its third generation of artists, and the flavour of the activities has changed due to a younger influence. Rose attributes this change to openness on the part of the Arts Station and Council toward the youth of the community.
While the Station is a home to Fernie’s arts community, Rose says it has also become a common space, a place for people to meet casually. Beth Gregg, had the foresight to suggest a restaurant in the building, as “people don’t go to an art gallery, they go to a restaurant.” The Arts Station has always had a restaurant, which has brought people into the building.
Long time Community Art Club member, Beulah Limber remembers when the CPR promised to donate both the building and the site where The Station now sits for the low cost of $1. She explained that prior to The Arts Station, The Art Club was always faced with the challenge of finding exhibit space that they could afford, or space to host workshops. Members of the Arts Council were forced to keep their theatre costumes and lights in people’s basements. All that changed after The Station’s opening on October 5, 1990. Beulah said that The Station has always been accessible, and having a regular meeting location for the various guilds has been great because there are always a lot of people around for a beginner to learn from.
Beulah also reflects that over the years the Arts Station has helped to make her feel more a part of the community. She says she was asked on many occasions to demonstrate pottery making and painting to groups of students, and that these presentations helped her to gain self esteem and to define herself as an individual with a role in the community.
Linda Bird, member of the Fernie & District Arts Council since 1975, notes the incredible talent that has been showcased in The Station. In fact, Valdy performed at The Station on its opening day. Today Linda continues to be amazed at how busy the building is. She remarks that The Station is of huge importance to the community. Like Beulah and Rose, she too calls the Station “a home,” and notes how the building has become a meeting place for people in the community.
I can’t help but agree with these artists that The Fernie Arts Station is a home, not only to the arts community, but to anyone interested in art and culture in Fernie. One of my first memories of moving to Fernie with my family is of going to an opening gallery at The Arts Station. It was a warm July evening. Laura Nelson was showing her paintings, and my two children played with other children on the Station deck. Randal Macnair introduced himself, and welcomed our family to the community. Since that evening, our family has visited The Arts Station numerous times, to watch live theatre, view exhibits, volunteer, eat at The Blue Toque, or just hang out on the deck during some community event. For us, the Arts Station has become a comfortable space that we, like so many residents, have appropriated as our own.
As part of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations, there is a retrospective ‘Gallery Exhibit’ on the history of the Arts Station and its many volunteers. This exhibit showcases through August recognizing the 20 years of ‘priming the cultural pump’ in the Elk Valley.
