Art installations have taken up residence in out-of-the-way Okotoks spaces.
The aptly named Nooks and Crannies Festival officially begins July 22 and runs through to Aug. 26.
During that time, small, oft-overlooked spaces around downtown businesses and homes will be the sites of artisitc creations in the fifth annual festival.
“It’s super cool to be able to utilize these kind of weird spaces around town that are just sitting there," said Laura Fournier, a Nooks and Crannies first-timer.
“I think it’s the perfect way to get artwork into the town and showcase local artists.”
The key theme to the whole event is pieces need to reuse waste materials, such as single-use plastics.
Fournier’s installation put to use the dreaded ‘bag of bags’ lurking in many a pantry.
“I chose to utilize plastic grocery bags, because I have so many at home anyway, I didn’t know what to do with them,” she said.
“My practice I do a lot of weaving and crocheting, so I utilized that to create it."
Using those bags stretched out and spun into a sort of thick thread, Fournier emulated a natural artist of weaving.
“I’m always inspired by nature, so my idea was a spider’s web, so I tried to reflect that through my own weaving. I did this kind of terrarium-style box in with a web-like woven piece in the centre, and the side is crocheted."
The piece features a black box, with a woven web of plastic slung across the centre, much in the way a spider builds web through a similar gap to catch prey.
Spanning out to the side is the crocheted webbing, not unlike the sort one catches in their face walking through trees or looking for the Christmas lights in the basement – this web is safely tucked into a corner.
Fittingly, nature had similar plans, with a dense spider web built into the corner of the fence where Fournier’s piece is installed.
“I love spiders, and I think it’s funny that there’s a spider web behind,” she mused. “When I took the box out of the garage, there was a spider web already forming in there, so I kind of left it be and just added my stuff to it.”
The festival includes a scavenger hunt as well as public tours on July 28 and 29. For more information visit OkotoksCulture.ca.
