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MOUNT FOREST – A local business is trying to make Mount Forest more "artsy;" starting with a downtown art gallery.
Tucked away on the second floor of the Hybrid Hair Salon and Detox Spa on Main Street, the HHDS art gallery is a "project of the heart" for business owners and local artists Chris and Erin Kiers who felt "it was time for a gallery in Mount Forest" when they moved their salon to the area and saw the opportunity to create a gallery space upstairs.
"We're not a huge gallery, we're just a little guy and a lot of people don't even realize we're here," said Erin. "But it's so special and I'm glad we can bring this to our town."
While Mount Forest "hasn't always been super artsy," the couple said they wanted to "fill the gap" they saw in town by creating a space where they could support local artists, spread their love of art throughout the community and attract like-minded people into the area.
The space is designed to be "a stepping off point" for both seasoned and novice artists and currently has several different pieces and artists from across Ontario on display, which are swapped out every three months- if they don't sell first.
However, the couple said it's been challenging to get the word out and they're hoping to attract new artists and visitors to the gallery this year.
"We're trying to break that fear of people bringing things in," said Chris, who can often be found painting in the gallery after hours. "We talk to a lot of people who have a lot of art at home but they hesitate to bring it in (because they don't think it's good enough)."
Opening its doors between lockdowns in 2021, the gallery has hosted 14 exhibitions featuring everything from photography to acrylic landscapes, in addition to several paint nights and is free to visit for residents and passersby.
A key memory for the couple, the gallery also hosted an exhibition for Wellington Heights High School students last year and said it was rewarding to watch how excited the teenagers were to show off their work in a real gallery.
"It's hard not to get emotional whenever someone sells their piece for the first time and I get to watch them have that moment where they feel like a real artist for the first time," said Erin. "It's so important for people to understand that art isn't just about throwing paint on a canvas, it's a real evolution of emotion and regulating fears and it's so nice to be a part of that."
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
