Tanya Cunnington – Artistic Community

What’s it like being an artist in Orillia in terms of the artistic environment, as a community? Do you find it’s a supportive community for the Arts?

Definitely, and again I wasn’t expecting that. The art community here has been fantastic.

I knew that I wanted to open a contemporary art gallery when I came back and I knew it was going to be a different format than a lot of galleries because it is hard to make money when you’re running a gallery.

I think it might be a little bit shocking at times for people to come in and see so much white wall space. And I knew that, but yet people – the community has been amazing, so supportive.

I’ve met so many friends here. There’s incredible talent here in Orillia. And they always support you during opening – they come out. If you ever need to talk about art they’re there to talk about art, so it’s been fantastic.