Community Art Hub Events
This is a full list of our upcoming events and workshop series, as well as an archive of our past events.
If you have a workshop offering you would like to put on, please email us at alterartssociety@gmail.com to arrange an art workshop in our makerspace.
You can also follow us on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtHubYYJ
Or our Instagram: @alterarts
Upcoming Weekly Activities & Events
Join us during our open Drop In Hours, or join us at a community event.
Entry fees help to cover the cost of supplies, payments for instructors, overhead, and insurance for the organization.
If you love what we do, please consider becoming a Patron of the Arts with
a recurring donation to the Community Art Hub
Spring Break!
Monday March 18th to Thursday March 28th
Spring Break for School District 61 is coming up next week and we have a whole set of art activities planned!
The Community Art Hub is a communal art resource centre. We charge a suggested donation of $5 for adults and $2 for kids to access all of our art supplies and tools!
We are not a child minding facility and all kids 12 and under need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian/sibling that is 12 or older.
The Art Hub will be open for day time drop in from 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday from March 18th to March 28th.
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We will also be hosting the following activities every day:
1) Mon Mar 18 (1-3pm) : Intro to Leatherworking
Taylor will be showing us the basics of leather working on scraps of leather from his small business. Accessible to all ages. We will be making a snap closure bracelet with a stamped image on the front.
2) Tues March 19th (10am to 12pm): Paper Bowl JellyFish
Make a jelly fish out of a paper bowl or craft paper, we will embellished them with paint, add eyes, and colourful tendrils hanging from the underside made out of yarn or curled paper. These can hang from a string for kids to take home.
3) Wed March 20th (1-3pm): Pottery by Hand
Experience the tactile joy of pottery as you embark on a journey to create one-of-a-kind pieces using your hands. Delve into the world of shaping clay, where your creativity knows no bounds. This hands-on session promises a unique and fulfilling artistic adventure.
4) Thurs March 21 (5-7pm) - Rainbow Fish Collage
We'll each draw a big fish and create colorful scales by gluing on shredded pieces of multicolored scrap paper.
We will also learn to sing 'There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea'.
5) Fri March 22 (10am to 12pm) - Paper Flowers with the Cricut
We are going to follow Jennifer Marker`s tutorial to use the Cricut digital cutter to make paper flowers. We will cut out spirals to make roses, carnations, and peonies. Bigger kids and adults can learn to use the Cricut, and smaller kids can help roll the spirals into their flower shape. We use a big of hot glue to close the spiral and then use a Quilling tool to curl the petals to make realistic flowers
6) Mon Mar 25 (1-3pm) - Decoupage and Patina Techniques
Unleash your imagination in a captivating exploration of decoupage and patina techniques. This workshop invites you to transform ordinary objects into extraordinary pieces of art, blending creativity with craftsmanship. Dive into the world of detailing and decorative , elevating your artistic skills in a delightful and hands-on experience.
7) Tues Mar 26 (1pm to 3pm): Learn to Make Mysterious Coast Salish Shapes
How about: Learn about Mysterious Coast Salish Shapes, come make your own critters using the traditional drawing techniques of first nation artists.
8 ) Wed Mar 27 (1pm to 3pm): Friendship Bracelets
Using embroidery floss and a clip board/safety pin, we will braid the embroidery floss using various patterns to make friendship bracelets for our friends and family.
9) Thurs Mar 28 (1pm to 3pm): Paint a Pic of your pet!
We will print a picture of our pets and then recreate the image using painting techniques! We can also print pictures of our favorite animals. Printer on site. Bonus points if you bring in a printed image in black and white.
Sewing Drop in Series
Every other Tuesday: Apr 2, Apr 16, Apr 30
from 5-8pm
Got a sewing project you've started and now you're stuck? Need some inspiration to pick up that old project? This is the space for you. We have the privilege of hosting expert sewing volunteers available to lend a helping hand with all your sewing project questions.
Please join us every other Tuesday for our Drop In Sewing Meetup from 5 to 8pm. Suggested donation of $5 for access to the space, sewing supplies and volunteer's expert advice.
Please BYO sewing machine and notions if you are able. We have one Brother Sewing machine and one 4 Thread Serger available for use but the more machines the better. There is also a Brother NQ1700E embroidery machine, some notions, an ironing board and an iron available for use.
This series is not a set of classes. These drop ins are opportunities for folks to get together with a project you are working on and to get help when you're stuck. It is welcome to more experienced sewers seeking some community while working on a project, or if you want to volunteer to contribute your well earned experience to guiding others. This is a community event, so we want to foster an environment of community support for fibre arts.
Burner Brunch
Saturday March 30th 10am to 1pm
We are hosting a Burner Brunch social on Saturday March 30th! Please join us anywhere between 10am to 1pm at 901 Kings St, entrance at the back of the building.
At the time of this event, Otherworld will be 9 weeks away! That means its time to get serious about making plans to building your art, getting your crew together to paint on our paint covered floor, to get info on how to make custom patches, to check out the 3D printer to make custom gizmo gifts, and more! We have the solutions to your artistic needs! Don't spend more money than you have to! Check out of communal resources at the Community Art Hub and start dreaming up how to use our art supplies and tools for your Burner Art Project.
Burner Brunch: We will be hosting a pancake bar (reg & gf) please bring a topping to add to the table! (syrup, whip cream, fruit, chocolate chips, etc)
If you are inclined please bring a breakfast potluck item to share, or some baked goods, or fresh fruit. Mimosas, anyone? We will supply tea and coffee and all the creamers. Kids welcome, there is a playground right outside. We will have some chill bangers going and some inappropriate coloring pages to play with, what more could you need?
Invite your friends, see you soon! )'(
Watercolour Wednesday Paint Nights
Every Wednesday from 3-5pm starting March 13th
Watercolor Jam Paint Nights every Wednesday in the Spring of 2024 at the Community Art Hub! 901 Kings St, $5 suggested donation for our drop-in painting night happening wednesday afternoons from 3 to 5pm.
Come play and explore with watercolors in a relaxed and supportive environment. No experience necessary and no formal instruction provided, however skill sharing is highly encouraged as we can all learn together! Bring your watercolor paints and pencils if you have them or we havepaint supplies and water colour paper at the hub.
The event will be hosted weekly by our volunteer Tama! We will have the opportunity to use the projector on site and we can follow some tutorials or we can just drink some tea and paint to our hearts content.
Multimedia Collage on Canvas with Selena
Sunday April 7 from 1pm to 4pm
Please join us Sunday April 7th for our Multimedia collage on canvas class with Selena from 1 to 4pm! This class will be creatively open and participants will use a variety of materials including driftwood, beads, sea glass you've collected at home, ribbon, paint, pens, embellishments, and any other fun trinkets we can find in the hub. We will follow Selena's instruction to create a multimedia collage on canvas, using many of the same items as above with instruction on composition.
We will provide small canvases, acrylic paint, ribbon, old magazines, coloured/patterned paper, embellishments, paint brushes, containers for water, scissors, utility knives, and a straight edge. If you have any found treasures and arts materials you would like to add to the art piece, please bring it along!
We are asking for $20 per participant to attend the workshop and take home a unique multimedia art canvas. There is enough space for a maximum of 15 participants. If you would like to secure a spot in advance you can e-transfer us at alterartssociety@gmail.com. Otherwise payment can be processed at the door via cash, debit or credit transaction.
For information on accessibility of the space, parking, and child care resources; check out our website: https://www.alterarts.ca/accessibility
If you have any questions please email us at alterartssociety@gmail.com
Past Events
Bad Art Night #6: Leap Year Edition
Thursday February 29th from 5 to 8pm.
Its a leap year! What a fantastic in between kind of day to make some equally absurd and unique art.
This event is for those of us who think we can't make good art. This will be an expert free zone.
Come on down and join us for our sixth edition of our Thursday Bad Art Nights because making bad art is better than making no art.
Suggested donation of $5 per adult and $2 per kid (5-12yrs)
We will have paper craft stations set up for making cards or collages. We will have a polymer clay station set up and a convection oven on site to bake your clay pieces or you can take 'em and bake 'em at home. Lastly we will have a painting station set up with watercolours for play and experimentation.
3D Printer Look & Learn
Friday February 23rd from 5 to 8pm
Ever wanted to learn more about 3D Printer technology? Well then this is the demo for you!
Please join us on Friday February 23rd from 5 to 8pm for a Look and Learn demo where our instructor Cameron will show us how to use the digital software and how to set up the machine for projects. Entry is $15 and goes towards paying our instructor for their time and expertise, and goes towards the ongoing operation of our community art resource center.
The 3D printer takes a long time to print simple objects so this will be a learning opportunity so that patrons can come back to the art hub and create their art pieces during our drop in hours.
Bring a paper and a pen and we will sit together and listen as Cameron teaches us a beginner level intro course to 3D printing. We will be working on the Snapmaker Original 3D Printer. Cameron will explain how to change filament and send files, and give out a few pointers on where people can find premade files that are suitable for printing and really the basics of modeling your own stuff. If you are interested in the making your own models part, it would be best to bring a laptop or iPad to learn the software to come back to the Hub to use the printer during our drop in hours.
Heart Mapping: A Self Love Drawing Workshop
Saturday February 10th from 1pm to 4pm
Love is such an important part of human existence, and it starts with the path to loving oneself.
The heart is one of the wisest organs. Your heart actually contains neurons, similar to those in your brain, and your heart and brain are closely connected, creating a symbiotic whole. Listening to your heart is an old saying but can bring you much happiness.
This exercise is about listening to and healing one's own heart.
Please join us on Saturday February 10th from 1 to 4pm as our workshop leader Abbey guides us through this self reflexive practice on tending to our own hearts while we learn to draw about our feelings.
Pens, paper, markers and glue will all be provided. We are asking for a suggested donation of $5 to the Community Art Hub to keep our communal art resources flowing.
No advanced registration necessary, tea will be provided.
<3
Paper Marbling For Holiday Gifts
Thursday December 14th from 5 to 8pm
Water marbling is the technique of pouring paint and a medium into clear water to make beautiful swirls, and then coating paper products in the paint to reveal a beautiful swirled marble effect.
Ever seen water marbling projects online and wanted to give it a go? This is your opportunity to make a mess with us instead of making a mess in your kitchen!
We will be using acrylic paint and liquid starch to marble paper for the coming holiday season. We will be marbling large sheets of paper to make custom wrapping paper, we will marble some greeting cards, as well as paper gift bags.
$20 per person to learn the skill, to make a watery mess at our place (gloves and aprons provided), and to take home your paper creations! Payment can be sent in advance to alterartssociety@gmail.com or with cash in person.
Bad Art Night: Ugly Christmas Sweaters!
Thursday December 7th from 3-8pm
Please join us for our next round of Thursday Night Drop in hours from 3 to 8pm for a night of making bad art, just for the heck of it.
For the Ugly Holiday sweater workshop we will have access to the sewing machines, the felting supplies and all the hot glue your lil fingertips can handle. Please bring a sweater to work on, we will only have 3 or 4 available to give out.
This event is for those of us who think we can't make good art. Come on down and join us because making bad art is better than no art!
Suggested donation of $5 per adult and $2 per kid (5-12yrs)
Got a project you are already badly working on? Wanna learn a new craft and make a messy first attempt?
This is your moment.
Tent Heater Building Workshop
Wednesday December 6th from 5 to 8pm
Learn how to make safe copper coil alcohol heaters for people living outside.
Building a Tent-Safe Copper Coil Alcohol Heater is a safe and accessible tool to create warmth for those living on the margins and facing the cold every night.
Isopropyl Alcohol fumes or vapors from the liquid fuel in the jar collect in the copper pipe and when the pipe is heated, the fumes expand and are forced out a tiny hole at the bottom of the copper loop (the fume or jet hole). These fumes combust as soon as they exit and hit the open flame which then heats the top of the copper loop. It’s creates a constant cycle of vaporized fumes being forced out of the hole and then combusting.
The alcohol fumes will burn until the flow is interrupted by tipping the burner sideways or blowing it out like a candle. This adds extra safety as they will go out automatically if they tip over. The jar is sealed, making them spill proof, as well.
Please join us at the Community Art Hub for a night of community care while we pool our resources to create heating for those in need.
$20 covers the cost of all materials needed to make the heaters, Goose the workshop instructor will then distribute the heaters to those living in tents in the downtown Victoria and Rockbay Area.
Embroidery Machine Demo - Look & Learn
Sunday December 3rd from 3-5pm
Holiday crafting time is here! Want to monogram some gifts or make some funky patches for your community? We are so excited to offer an Embroidery Machine demo with Jane Low!
Please join us on the afternoon of Sunday December 3rd to get an in depth introduction to the Brother NQ1700E Embroidery Machine.
This is the machine we will be learning: https://www.brother.ca/en/p/NQ1700E
We will learn how to thread the machine, how to set up our chosen designs, and how to use stabilizers with our materials to get the best results.
Participants do not need to bring any materials and will not go home with any materials, this is a demo presentation and a learning opportunity. The intention is to set ourselves up with the knowledge to come back to the Art Hub to make our pieces. The Art Hub offers drop in hours every day of the week for patrons to use the embroidery machine and sewing supplies.
Patrons can use the embroidery machine to upcycle items and to re-imagine old garments into something custom and unique. Use it for custom patches, customized tea towels and funny sweatshirts. It can be used to monogram baby clothes, or a kid's backpack, or anything special for the loved ones in your life. The possibilities are endless and the cost per use is fractional when we use communal resources.
Reduce, reuse and reimagine at the Community Art Hub!
Community Art Hub Open House and Info Session
Saturday December 2nd from 12-4pm
We will be hosting an open house from 12 to 4pm on Saturday December 2nd for patrons to swing by and check out all the art resources we have on hand and to get some ideas brewing on what you could create here in the future!
At 1pm we will be hosting a presentation on volunteering with the Art Hub. The community art hub is only partly about the art, the heart and soul of the project is the community and without our dedicated network of volunteers we would not be able to provide this valuable resource.
Come by to learn about the educational resources we will be providing to volunteers and the mutual benefit of accessing our art supplies and tools for free!
Burner Social and Art Hub Info Session
Thursday November 30th, 6:30 to 9:30pm
Hey Otherworldians!
- Need to make patches for your theme camp? We have a fancy embroidery machine!
- Need to work on your jelly fish for your lounge? We have glue guns galore and all the stapling/sewing supplies you could need.
- Need a soldering iron and tools to convert your lamp? We got you!
- Need some space to gather your crew to paint your art project? Come make a mess on our paint splattered floor instead of annoying your landlord!
We will be hosting a Burner community social event for our local burner community to gather together and to check out all the tools we have available for use.
We will be providing some light refreshments but please also bring something delicious to share. We will have tea and hot chocolate on the go.The space is welcome to all ages, and is not exclusive to Burners. Bring a friend! Bring someone who is art-curious.
We want to make the space feel like the Burning Man community's living room so please join us for our open house and check out all these tools we got waiting just for you!
Bad Art Night
Thursday November 16th, 2023 from 3-8pm
This event is for those of us who think we can't make good art. This will be an expert free zone.
Come on down and join us for our Thursday night drop in hours because making bad art is better than making no art.
Suggested donation of $5 per adult and $2 per kid (5-12yrs)
We will be working on collages to create hilariously horrendous works of art just for the love and joy of it. Got a project you are already badly working on? Wanna learn a new craft and make a messy first attempt? This is your moment.
Alter Arts Society is a registered non-profit organization and community initiative by and for artists located on the traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən people.
Those of us who are uninvited visitors to these territories, respectfully seek opportunities to unlearn oppressive, colonial practices that we have benefited from, and to follow the lead of the Indigenous stewards of these lands. We are committed to questioning existing power structures, supporting the decolonization of our society and institutions, and supporting Indigenous self-determination.
Brought to you by Alter Arts Society.
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© 2022