OFF THE WALL at Propeller Art Gallery

Exhibition view of OFF THE WALL at Propeller Art Gallery. Courtesy of Propeller Art Gallery

OFF THE WALL at Propeller Art Gallery / December 14, 7pm

Propeller Art Gallery is an artist-run center just off Queen Street in the West Queen West area of Toronto. Their annual event, the OFF THE WALL fundraiser, was streamed live at 7pm this past Wednesday, December 14th, with over 80+ attendees participating in the raffle for 133 artworks. Though previously done in-gallery (it was still an exhibition in the gallery that people could visit), Propeller’s OFF THE WALL has been made into an online event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing with these safety measures, the event now takes place via Zoom, reaching artists and participants all across Canada. These pieces were created in varying styles of artists including those of Propeller Art Gallery’s members. The proceeds from the online event gives young artists of the gallery a free membership and allows enough funds to create a sponsored members exhibition in January of the following year.

Screenshot of slideshow prepared of all 133 artworks for OFF THE WALL and the rules of the raffle. Featured work above is “This is a Landscape too” by Lisa Litowitz, #64

All participants were sent a Zoom link for 6:45pm to watch the slideshow prepared by the gallery staff, showcasing all the artworks up for grabs in the raffle. Sharon Dembo, facilitator of the OFF THE WALL exhibition and featured artist, advised to keep the gallery’s pre-made BINGO cards with all the artwork numbers and the catalogs for the exhibition close at hand, as 7 o’clock approached.

Screenshot taken of the start of the Zoom OFF THE WALL raffle with artists and ticket holders

Tickets for the event went for $140 each, enabling all ticket holders to choose one artwork from the gallery or to act as a sub for another ticket holder, should they not be able to attend. The MC’s of this year’s event were Joseph Muscat and Doris Purchase, both of whom were featured artists in OFF THE WALL and are Propeller Art Gallery chair members. Susan Ruptash, Karlene Ouellette and Andres Vosu, all working board members and/or artist members of Propeller as well, kept track of artworks chosen on the gallery’s BINGO card as tickets were drawn by Joseph and Doris. Ticket holders were given 30 seconds to choose an artwork once their names were drawn. However, if audio or cameras were non-responsive for the ticket holders, they could call Propeller Art Gallery where Tom Taylor, the administrative director, was on stand-by to assist with the decision-making process.

Screenshot of the BINGO OFF THE WALL card used to keep track of artworks, a screenshot (left) and one of the selected artworks, “Untitled” by Sarah Fabrizi, #22, courtesy of Propeller Art Gallery (right)

Jacqueline Treloar, “Archival ledgers in the state archives, Palermo, Sicily”, selected artwork, #124. Courtesy of Propeller Art Gallery

Once the raffle had ended, an after sale took place with all remaining artworks being sold in a two-round bid for $100+HST per work. These pieces could be paid for after the event on Propeller Art Gallery’s website under the OFF THE WALL exhibition tab.

Propeller Art Gallery put on yet another successful event that is worth the year long wait. And I think I speak for all when I say we can’t wait for next year’s chance to partake in OFF THE WALL.

Lex Barrie