Fifty years on the wall: Gallery 78 celebrates a family milestone
Gallery 78 has welcomed visitors since 1976, and this year the Fredericton gallery is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
To mark the milestone, it launched a new collection featuring 50 artists on Oct. 16. The show is mostly contemporary work, but it also honours historical artists from the gallery’s early years, including some who have died.
Family legacy continues
James and Inge Pataki founded the gallery in 1976 after arriving in Fredericton from Europe.
Inge still provides counsel. Her daughter, Germaine Pataki-Thériault, and granddaughters Nikki and Sophie Thériault continue to promote the artwork.
Sophie Thériault, manager of sales and communications, started working there three years ago, but she has early memories of being around the family business.
She said Gallery 78 is the oldest private art gallery in New Brunswick and the second-oldest in Atlantic Canada, behind a gallery in Halifax.
One of its biggest achievements, she said, has been building relationships with artists and collectors. Helping artists reach their goals, whether through public collections or sales, has been a priority.
Another reward is watching visitors with little interest in art leave with their first piece.
“It just makes me and my colleague, Germaine, who’s also my mom, very happy to have those moments,” Thériault said.
Making art accessible has been key to the gallery’s success. It has offered payment plans, delivered artwork across Fredericton and displayed pieces in downtown stores and the convention centre.
“We obviously feel very passionately about art,” Thériault said. “We grew up with art around us all the time, so it seems very second nature for us to see the value in it.”
A night celebrating five decades of art
The gallery held an evening celebration with drinks, food and guest speakers on Friday, Oct. 16. Lt.-Gov. Louise Imbeault and former Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers spoke.
“We were really lucky to have them speak and share some wonderful words, to have a lot of artists who were able to come as well to celebrate with community, clients and collectors,” Thériault said.
The artwork was arranged by space, subject matter and colour so the display “makes sense physically,” she said.
Looking ahead, Thériault hopes to see how the next generation’s curatorial vision develops. Helping artists across Atlantic Canada make a living remains the gallery’s “north star,” she said.
“It’s kind of fun to see what new people are coming up with, what wonderful new approaches they’re taking and where that takes us in the future,” she added.
Comments