Honouring Garfield Saunders and Fredericton’s Harvest Music Festival

“Jazz Festival Fredericton #4” by Garfield Saunders, c 2010; Gift of the Artist (2011.17.1), Fredericton Region Museum

FREDERICTON, NB – September 9, 2024 (for immediate release):

In celebration of Fredericton’s Harvest Music Festival, the Fredericton Region Museum invites all visual artists to capture the spirit of Harvest by setting up their plein air studios on the balcony of the museum. Between Wednesday September 11 and Sunday September 15, come enjoy the magnificent view of Officers Square and all its happenings. Visitors are welcome to stop by, view works in progress, and reminisce on past years through the eyes of Garfield Saunders. While there, you can also order a picnic lunch on the balcony!

As a special tribute to past years, the Fredericton Region Museum is featuring an exhibit of plein air artwork created by the late Garfield Saunders (1950 – 2019). A graduate of Mount Allison University, as well as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, during the early 2000’s Garfield Saunders poignantly captured the spirit of Harvest in Officers Square. Described as an Impressionist artist who produced “gems of colour and light,” he preferred to work on masonite board because of his “fast and aggressive” style of brushwork. He worked quickly, rarely spending a full day on any composition: “When I start to fuss I leave the painting.” He also preferred to use cheap worn out brushes, which greatly contributed to his impulsive style of painting: “Painting is intimidating enough without having to worry about stuff like that [his brushes] … The old ones are great, the ones worn down to a frazzle”.

During this year’s Harvest Music Festival, stop by the museum to reminisce on the early years of Harvest. We’d love to hear your stories! Perhaps you’ll discover yourself in one of Garfield Saunders’ paintings!

Artists from all walks of life are invited to set up their plein air studio on the museum’s balcony. All are welcome! The museum will be open special hours during Harvest: Wednesday September 11- 1pm to 4pm; Thursday September 12 to Saturday September 14 – 10 am to 7 pm, and Sunday September 15 – 12 noon to 5 pm

For more information, please contact:
Alena Krasnikova, Executive Director
Fredericton Region Museum www.frederictonregionmuseum.com
Email: frederictonregionmuseum@gmail.com or phone 506-455-604

The Fredericton Region Museum acknowledges the unceded and unconquered territory of Wəlastəkokewiyik / Wolastoqiyik. The Fredericton Museum, located in Ekwpahak | Fredericton, sits on lands designated by the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1725-1779. These treaties did not deal in the transfer of land, rather they laid a foundation for what was to be an ongoing nation-to-nation relationship between the British Crown and Indigenous Peoples.