An Enderby art gallery is expanding its current exhibition, community programming and its hours, with an exciting new event coming up soon.
Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse — the private museum dedicated to the multimedia and sound installations of artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller — is now open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The art warehouse at 507 Granville Ave., has received more than 2,800 visitors since opening in August 2023. People have visited from all over B.C. and Canada, the United States, England, Germany, Scotland and Australia.
One positive online review said the art warehouse is “Absolutely phenomenal. One of the coolest places in the Interior, do not skip past the Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse. I was blown away with the scale, and attention to detail of every piece that Cardiff and Miller have created. This space is a treasure for the Okanagan, and I cannot wait to see what they create next.”
Up next, Cardiff Miller has created a once-a-month event for members and the public, called the Arts and Letters Club. At the inaugural event on Saturday, May 11 from 4 to 7:30 p.m., two poets from Vancouver will be reading from their new books of poetry: Kevin Spenst with A Bouquet Brought Back From Space, and Rob Taylor with Weather, followed by a discussion led by Janet Cardiff. Members can attend for free, otherwise the event is by donation.
The two acclaimed poets have nine books of poetry between them, and will help inaugurate the new Arts and Letters Club at 5:15 p.m. as part of their B.C. poetry tour.
“Art and literature can support each other in many cool ways,” Spenst said. “All of my book covers have featured work by B.C. artists. My newest book has a portion of a painting by Shannon Pawliw, who runs this gallery in Vancouver, and I ran a reading series out of her gallery in 2022. Actually, it was the artist who made the cover for my second book who put me in touch with Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller at the Art Warehouse. Much like the poetry world, the art world is quite small.”
“Kevin and I both love creating spaces in which art lovers, writers and readers can connect, so it’s a thrill for us to help launch the Arts and Letters Club,” added Taylor.
Taylor and Spenst both teach poetry at Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio and organize poetry events in the Lower Mainland, with Spenst running Vancouver’s Dead Poets Reading Series and Taylor coordinating Abbotsford’s Fraser Valley Writers Festival. Both are excited to share what they’ve learned about the many forms and formulations that poetry can take.
After their event in Enderby, Spenst and Taylor will continue on to Nelson on May 14 (Notably, A Book Lover’s Emporium, 7 p.m.), Rossland on May 15 (Gold Rush Bookstore, 6:30 p.m.) and Kelowna May 16 (Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, 6:30 p.m.) All events are free and open for anyone to attend.
The Royal BC Museum is also coming to the Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse Thursday, May 9, from 4-7:30 p.m. The event is free for the public but you must register for the livestream virtual tour at https://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/events/calendar/event/enderby-bc. Then join in the Community Conversation at 6 p.m., which includes entry to experience the artworks at 5 p.m. https://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/events/calendar/event/community-conversation-enderby.
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