On what would have been Sybil Andrews’ 120th birthday, the Campbell River Arts Council once again celebrated her legacy at her cottage.
Community members, along with one of Sybil Andrews’ few remaining students, Morgan Ostler, gathered at Sybil Andrews Cottage last Thursday afternoon to celebrate the 11th annual Sybil Andrews Day.
Ken Blackburn, executive director of the Campbell River Arts Council, officially accepted a cheque from the Daybreak Rotary Club for the printing of See With Your Own Eyes: The Sybil Andrews Story, the graphic novel created about her life that has been a work in progress for almost two years and is scheduled to be printed next month.
Blackburn calls April 19 “a wonderful day to get together and remind ourselves about how important Sybil was in the international art world, alongside the fact that her cottage has really become a cultural hub here in Campbell River thanks in large part to the city’s investment in the property and their confidence in the work of the arts council,” Blackburn says.
“The cottage is still the only heritage property in town on the Heritage Registry and it really represents how far we’ve come as a community in terms of our outlook on arts and culture that we recognize this story and acknowledge this cottage every year like this.”
Blackburn also accepted the Campbell River Community Builder Award that was bestowed upon Andrews this year by city council.
Related: Late artist Sybil Andrews honoured as Campbell River Community Builder
“It is a privilege to formally recognize Sybil Andrews as an outstanding artist who made an impact internationally and as a person who inspired and mentored our local arts community,” says Mayor Andy Adams. “Over her 40-year career in Campbell River, Sybil Andrews taught music and art classes and held weekly gatherings for artists in her home.
“The lives and practices of all the artists she mentored were enriched and some have gone on to build strong careers in the arts.”
Andrews is famous for linocuts she created from the late 1920s through to 1988. She is associated with the English Futurist movement. Her birthday, April 19, was officially declared Sybil Andrews Day in 2007.
Before her death in 1992, Andrews donated a collection of her art to the Museum at Campbell River. This donation includes linocuts, woodblock prints, watercolours, sketches and drawings from the period that she lived and worked in our community. Her home in Willow Point was the first property listed in Campbell River’s Heritage Registry, was restored in 2011 and is managed by the Campbell River Arts Council as a popular location for art shows and programs.
See With Your Own Eyes: The Sybil Andrews Story is available for pre-order now for $10.
Contact the Campbell River Arts Council at 250-923-0213 for more on the graphic novel or to order your copy.
