Magazines - Tweed Magazine - Fall 2019

TWEED OAK BAY LIVING

FALL 2019

THE ARTS ISSUE

ART AFICIONADOS / CULTURE CITY / AMOS’ ART

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TWEED Fall 2019

Volume 7 | Issue 3

INSIDE 16 UPLANDS

OASIS

A family of four builds their dream home in Oak Bay.

DEPARTMENTS

10 12 15

Design

Fall in love with the season and fill your home with art of all sorts this autumn.

TELL TWEED!

16

AZTweed Magazine would love to hear from you!

Email story ideas to Susan Lundy lundys@shaw.ca

Oak Bay Insider

Guest columnist Cairine Green tells us about Oak Bay’s public art programs.

Tea with Tess

Editor Tess van Straaten talks with Caleb Marshall of the Canadian College of Performing Arts.

38 34

Travel

Olé! We explore Mexico City’s magnificent and eclectic arts scene.

Dogs on the Avenue

Photographer Don Denton captures cute and cuddly canines.

ON THE COVER: Anahita Ranjbar of Winchester Galleries models a sequined skirt and silk blouse from Bagheera Boutique.

Photo by Lia Crowe

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EDITOR'S LETTER

The Art of

C

DD

Autumn

risper mornings, changing colours and a chance for new beginnings — ah yes, fall is here! And with it, is our special Arts Issue of Tweed Magazine. From the talented painters, sculptors and artisans who live and work amongst us to the thriving performance arts scene, Oak Bay is an incredibly creative community.

There are wonderful galleries right on our doorstep filled with every genre of art imaginable and there’s inspiration all around us. Even at the beach or strolling down local streets there’s art, thanks to Oak Bay’s popular ArtsAlive initative.

Our community is also home to the Canadian College of Performing Arts, where gifted performers from all over the world come to hone their craft. In

this issue of Tweed, we introduce you to CCPA artistic director Caleb Marshall (Tea with Tess), as well as Oak Bay artist and advocate Marion Cumming (Historic Oak Bay), and prolific painter Robert Amos (Amos’ Art), who’s been drawing Victoria for decades.

Our travel story whisks us away to Mexico City, to visit its magnificent and eclectic art scene. You’ll also see that our design page is filled with the creations of local artists and artisans to help you fill your home — and heart — with all sorts of art this season and even our fashion feature is curated with artistic inspiration, as gallery powerhouses pose in some trend-setting looks.

A MASTERFUL

Growing up with an artistic mother who has had a five-decade-long career in commercial art, it’s only fitting that A the arts issue is my final one as editor.

A MASTERFUL DI Veteran Tweed editor Susan Lundy will be returning and I’ll continue to bring you Tea with Tess. I’ve loved working on this magazine and highA MASTERFUL DI lighting all the things that make Oak Bay so special. Thank you for reading and happy fall!

Tess van Straaten

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f you’re looking to be inspired, Oak Bay is the place to be in the autumn! From the perennially popular artists’ studio tours to a special fall art exhibit and pumpkin art on the Avenue, we’ve got you covered when it comes to fall fun.

1

HILLTOP HIKE

Make the most of crisp, fall days by exploring Anderson Hill in South Oak Bay. Overlooking McNeill Bay, this undeveloped Garry Oak ecosystem with rocky outcrops has native flora and fauna and panoramic views of Trial Islands and the Salish Sea. Perfect for a fall picnic!

2

FALL IN LOVE WITH ART

The Island Artisan Association is hosting an Art ‘Fall’ness Show & Exhibition at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. The three-day event, billed as a place to find one-of-a-kind, fantastical and unique pieces on display and for sale in a special gallery area in the atrium, runs from October 25th to October 27th. Tables will also be set up in the David Foster Theatre with artists in attendance. Go to www.islandartisans.ca for more information.

November 16th, 2019 - February 29th, 2020

Celebrate the life of a single salvaged maple tree, transformed by the hands of over 70 artists.

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3

CREATIVE CARVINGS

Oak Bay takes pumpkin carving to the next level with Pumpkin Art, an event that attracts people from all over Greater Victoria. Hundreds of intricately carved, themed pumpkins will be on display behind Oak Bay Municipal Hall the last week of October. They feature pop culture icons, cartoon characters, celebrities, local personalities and more. Admission’s by donation with the proceeds benefiting Oak Bay Kiwanis. Pumpkin Art is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the week leading up to Halloween and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on October 31st.

5

N U F 5 Things to do

in OAK BAY

4

The panoramic view from Anderson Hill

TOUR TIME

The 20th semi-annual Oak Bay Artists’ Studio Tour, put on by Oak Bay Parks, Recreation and Culture, will take place Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd from noon to 4:30 p.m. Established and emerging artists use their homes and studios as a backdrop to display original watercolours, acrylic, and oil paintings as well as photography, woodcuts, glass, and pottery creations. The juried, two-day special event is free to the public.

5

ICE, ICE, BABY!

Oak Bay Rec is hosting an Everyone Welcome Jersey Skate Weekend November 29th to December 1st. The event includes a family skate with Santa and on-ice games such as pass the parcel.

They’ll be prizes, face painting, a craft station and much more so grab your gloves and hit the ice!

Publisher and advertising inquiries Janet Gairdner publisher@oakbaynews.com 250-480-3251 Group Publisher Penny Sakamoto

Editor Tess van Straaten tweededitor@gmail.com Associate Editor Lia Crowe

Photo Supervisor Don Denton Distribution Laura Cross 250-480-3277

Creative Director Lily Chan

Advertising Creative Services Janet Gairdner Michelle Gjerde Jenny Boulet 250-480-3234 jenny.boulet@oakbaynews.com Crea Zhang

oakbaynews.com

207A-2187 Oak Bay Ave. Victoria, BC V8R 1G1 250-598-4123

TWEED magazine is published quarterly by Black Press. The points of view or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of Tweed. The contents of Tweed magazine are protected by copyright, including the designed advertising. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the publisher.

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OAK BAY DESIGN

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Love

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INSIDE OAK BAY INSIDER

Art is Alive in Oak Bay

A

By Cairine Green

merican artist Chris DeRubeis believes “all art should inspire and evoke emotion...art should be something you can actually feel.” So, when asking people on the streets of Oak Bay how they feel about the community’s popular public art programs, most give an enthusiastic thumbs up and don’t hesitate to share their opinions.

Who can forget ‘The Nose’ poking into Estevan Village, until it took a dive and blew over in a windstorm?

Upright or toppled, it created a stir and unleashed a flurry of armchair art critics. Some sniffed at its artistic merit while others loved it for its fun and whimsy. Love it or hate it, the piece engaged passers-by, inspired sidewalk conversations and illustrated that when public art is accessible, it brings people together.

Look no further than the bustling Bowker Creek Brush-Up, the popular fall and spring artists’ studio tours, and the colourfully painted public pianos that people of all ages crowd around in the summer to play and sing.

But how did it all begin? I asked art lovers and former Oak Bay mayors Diana Butler and Christopher Causton, who agree that the public art programs are rooted in a lot of history. A new public arts funding policy was adopted 30 years ago by the four core municipalities, representing a turning point for local communities and for regional public art programs.

It was the result of the work of an inter-municipal arts committee, chaired first by Butler and then by Causton.

Today, Oak Bay proudly contributes annually to a regional art fund.

Two local events are significant to Oak Bay’s public art history — a stained-glass window commissioned for the public library and outdoor student art at Monterey Middle School. Combined with tireless activism by Oak Bay’s talented artists and heavy lifting by local galleries, arts groups, art clubs, volunteers and businesses, support for public art has grown exponentially over the years.

But public art projects owe their continued success to working partnerships, something current Mayor Kevin Murdoch and Council are committed to.

Extensive Local Knowledge & Straight Forward Advice

“Innovative partnerships are the future of public art in our community,” Murdoch says. “Artistic creativity, shared stories and communal experiences contribute to a stronger Oak Bay.” Take ArtsAlive, launched in 2013 by the late Nils Jensen, who was passionate about making art accessible during his time as mayor. Jensen recruited Barbara Adams, a former Monterey art teacher, as Oak Bay’s first Arts Laureate. The program is not only innovative but it’s also Jensen’s community legacy.

Through partnerships with businesses and donors, public art is installed throughout the community — from the McNeill Bay waterfront to Oak Bay Village — and the public gets to vote on which installation to purchase and keep permanently. The rest are changed out each year, just as a gallery changes exhibits, and people come from all over to see them.

As Brazilan artist Romero Britto once famously said, “Art is too important not to share.” And sharing is exactly why Oak Bay’s public art programs make important social, educational and economic contributions to our community. The diversity and vibrancy of these programs prove Oak Bay is the perfect place for the arts to continue to grow, thrive and capture our imagination.

And what about ‘The Nose’, you ask?

It went south for a job, with the city of Palm Springs, California.

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TEA withTESS Caleb Marshall

CLAIM TO FAME IN OAK BAY Canadian College of Performing Arts Managing Director

Photo by Don Denton

Where were you born and who is your family?

I was born in northern New Brunswick and grew up in Fredericton. I come from a long line of artists and entertainers on my mother’s side. My great-grandparents met playing piano and violin for silent films and went on to run a number of movie theatres.

Generations grew up watching the family movie business, and a number of us were inspired to also pursue artistic lives. Two years ago, I married actress and musician Meredith Zwicker.

How long have you lived in Oak Bay?

We moved from Sudbury a little over a year ago when I started working at The Canadian College of Performing Arts in May 2018.

What do you love about Oak Bay?

When we moved here, our realtor asked if we were village people or sub-

urb people. We are very much village people and love the quiet, friendly ambiance of Oak Bay Village. Both being from the Maritimes, we are so happy to be on a coast again!

What do you love about the performing arts?

Everything! Pursuit of excellence, freedom of expression, the act of

community coming together to share in storytelling is as old as sitting around a fire. It’s ingrained in all of us to try and discover our shared humanity by telling each other’s stories. It’s part of our DNA.

Tell us about your hobbies?

I enjoy writing, photography, video editing and graphic design. I have always been drawn to history and the outdoors and enjoy researching family heritage, travelling to historic sites and gardening.

Who is your hero and why?

I don’t have a single hero but I love the bravery of artists — actors in particular. Working with emerging artists is especially inspiring. No matter how long I’ve been in this profession, their generosity of spirit never ceases to amaze me.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

As a young actor I had great mentors, whose advice stays with me to this day. They said: “If you ‘act’ in your regular life, your work will suffer because you won’t know what it means to be genuine.” This business of make-believe is actually about being honest and to live truthfully as an artist we must first live truthfully as human beings.

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OAK BAY HOME

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inding the perfect property, one that would grow with their active family, proved to be quite the challenge for a family new to Oak Bay. They moved to Victoria from Ontario for a career opportunity and had been warned Greater Victoria’s tight real estate market wouldn’t make it easy.

“We knew were looking to buy in an area where the inventory was lower and the home values higher than we were used to, so we had to get over a little bit of sticker shock,” laugh the homeowners, who asked not to be named. “When we really got down to it, and started looking at homes that

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would work for us, we realized in every single one we were making a concession of sort.” finally an opportunity some Two soon-to-be teenage to be able to have boys, a dog, the desire to be close to work, as well as the something that was family’s camping trailer that exactly what we wanted. they wanted to be able to keep on the property, were all factors in the difficulties they faced finding something suitable. Finally, after considering renovation costs, they decided to go the route of buying a property, demolishing the old bungalow on the back of the lot, and designing the home of their dreams from scratch.

“Over the years, we’ve moved probably four other times for work, also to places where the real estate options were a bit limited, and we didn’t get to choose a lot of the features in the homes,” they explain. “So, for us, this was finally an opportunity to be able to have something that was exactly what we wanted.”

The family chose a large corner lot in the Uplands, where they knew they’d be able to fit an in-ground pool — their favourite way to exercise — and parking for their travel trailer.

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the time, they were still living back east, trying to design their dream home from afar.

“Tim Rodier from Outline Home Design was amazing to work with through that process,” they explain. “We would look online at ideas we liked, and send him our rough sketches, and he would make them into real plans. He was just great to deal with in every way.”

By the fall of 2016, the family had moved to the Uplands and settled into a temporary home, while construction got underway.

“That was actually quite a fun time for us because during construction we were living just around the corner and we used to bike by every evening to see how it was coming along,” they laugh.

But as with many projects, there were some complications early on that weren’t expected.

“The biggest challenge on the site was excavating out for the basement with the water table being so high,” explains Jamie Gill of SEBA Construction, the general contractors for the project. “A layer of slurry concrete had to be poured first and the foundation had to be built on that. Pumps had to be installed and they need back-up gas generators on them in case of a power failure.”

“That happening at the beginning of the project was a bit of a shocker, because you start to realize the cost overruns and timeline changes that can occur when things don’t go as planned,” the homeowners add, noting it was a good crash course in the construction process and the unexpected

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The tile selection in the rest of house was also made with an active family, and timeless aesthetic, in mind. Other function-focused features include two dishwashers, two fridges, three sets of washers and dryers (two up, one down), ensuite bathrooms in the boys’ bedrooms, a butler’s kitchen, ample coat/shoe/hockey gear storage in the back entryway, and a custom dog wash station. The resort-style pool and hot tub by Bayside Pools with a specialized cover from Albixon Canada can be used year-round and is accessible through the

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I love the dynamic environment of the art gallery, from historical artworks to meeting new artists. Curating new exhibitions is always a challenge and requires the whole team to work together. Being involved as a part of the Winchester Galleries’ team is one of the best experiences in my professional life. Working with artists and art collectors builds my knowledge every day, and it helps me to represent the gallery and artists better. Lastly, being engaged in the world of art is what truly makes me feel alive and happy in life.

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FALL 2019 TWEED

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OAK BAY FEATURE

AMOS’ ART

Painting Victoria over the decades

By Joe Blake | Photos by Don Denton

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I

first met Oak Bay artist Robert Amos more than 40 years ago. He was painting pictures of buildings and sites that were vanishing from the landscape and he told me he was going to be the artist who painted Victoria.

Not long after that, Amos began making pictures of the city’s iconographic images — the Legislative precinct, the Empress Hotel, Chinatown. When he and his wife, artist Sarah Amos, moved to Fairfield to raise their two daughters, Amos began to paint Cook Street Village. Seven years ago, this creative couple moved to Oak Bay and built their current home-studio.

“The late mayor Nils Jensen met me on his bicycle tour one day and said, ‘I want to make Oak Bay the art capital of the Capital Region’,” Amos tells me.

We’re in his studio front room, where he stores his notebooks, diaries and sketchbook archives. There are shelves of them — personal chronicles of his career and development as an artist. There are also a handful of his published books, like last year’s critically acclaimed best-seller E.J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island.

In October, Amos celebrates the publication of his second We were crossing into volume of Hughes’ biography, and he’s already at work on volMalaysia at Langkawi ume three, the war years. and I had to declare “I just like the way his paintmy occupation, that ings look!” Amos exclaims, smilI was an artist. That ing like a Cheshire cat. “I wrote about him, met him, and got an was a big moment. invitation to spend the day with I am an artist! him.”

Amos then shows me a series of commissioned paintings of a house in Oak Bay documenting a half-century of life for the mother and daughter who live there. It’s another current project, in addition to lectures on Hughes and Emily Carr.

“A close look, of what it’s like to paint,” Amos says dramatically. “Ninety minutes of close observation. We’re going to do some video recording of the lectures, too.”

Born in Belleville, Ontario in 1950, Amos spent his school years in Toronto, followed by two years at Queens University taking English literature courses. Amos got a part-time

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I love painting landscapes, houses and gardens, cars, dogs — anything, but it’s still a struggle to sell a painting. The art business is still a struggle.”

job lifting crates at an art gallery and that’s when he saw his first art show.

“Heart of London!” he says.

“That was the title of the show. I thought...my life could be the subject matter, too — a framed experience, painting. I went to York to study fine art, art history and Japanese art and a professor bought some of my paintings. In my final year, I did nothing but studio work.”

Amos landed at Western Front in Vancouver and a waterfront studio on Carrall Street, near Gastown. He hung out with The Pier Group of artists that included Victoria designer J.C. Scott. Performance art, live co-op radio plays, live music, and dreams of going to Japan — Amos lived a bohemian life and continued it when he came to Victoria with fellow artist Andy Graffiti, setting up shop in Chinatown above Fan Tan Alley.

“The place looks amazing!” he recalls. “That view coming into town over Royal Oak? Beautiful!”

Amos got a job at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, where he stayed for five years. He says he saw a lot of Japanese art, Japanese wood block and German expressionism.

“Then I quit and went to Japan for a year of travel in Japan and Thailand,” Amos says. “I studied Japanese. I met Sarah. We got married. We travelled. We were crossing into Malaysia at Langkawi and I had to declare my occupation,

that I was an artist. That was a big moment. I am an artist!”

Amos is probably Victoria’s most public artist. Besides decades of writing about art in his Times Colonist column and Monday Magazine before that, and producing CBC Radio reports on Victoria’s art scene, Amos is at work in Greater Victoria’s neighbourhoods — literally painting the town.

He’s been artist in residence at The Empress and the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, where he also wrote drafts of his E.J. Hughes book during breaks from two months of summer painting in a sunny room across from the David Foster Theatre.

Amos is also a fixture at the annual Bowker Creek Brush Up and at local schools, since his early collaboration with Barb Adams at Monterey. He’s also a member of Oak Bay’s public art advisory committee.

“I think that’s the only organization I’ve ever joined,” Amos grimaces. “I don’t like meetings!”

Every Friday for the last 17 years, Amos has visited Mount St. Mary’s Hospital where he reads to the residents while they paint and draw.

“It’s probably the happiest times of my life,” he says, smiling. “I love painting landscapes, houses and gardens, cars, dogs — anything, but it’s still a struggle to sell a painting.

The art business is still a struggle.”

But despite that, and after decades of dedication to his craft, Amos has achieved what he set out to do: he’s painted Victoria. And the paintings and drawings of Oak Bay and other neighbourhoods are his lasting legacy.

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OAK BAY HISTORY

Artist & Advocate The compassionate spirit of heritage advocate Marion Cumming

By Ivan Watson

A

t a recent garden party at her hilltop Oak Bay home, Marion Cumming gathered her guests in a circle for an Indigenous land acknowledgment and welcome. As she spoke, everyone listened attentively to the wise words of a special woman who, with quiet dignity, respectful perseverance, and boundless optimism for a better future, has nurtured the rare ability to turn strangers into friends and friends into allies — dedicating her life to community advocacy, heritage preservation and First Nations reconciliation.

Born Marion Adams in 1936 in Toronto, Cumming moved to Brantford, Ontario as a teenager. Her father worked in insurance, managing branch offices of London Life. Her mother was an interior designer and volunteer, who served as president of the Widow’s Home and helped out at the nearby Chiefswood Mohawk estate. After high school, Cumming studied art history at Principia College on 34

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Marion Cumming shows off a painting

the banks of the Mississippi River.

“It was very obvious that it was in Indigenous territory and there’s a very famous petroglyph quite near the college,” she says. “I think I became more aware then of wanting to honour Indigenous history, culture and artistry.”

The college offered international exchanges and Cumming studied in Mexico one summer, returning to study art fulltime at the University of the Americas in Mexico City the following year. On weekends, she volunteered with impoverished children.

“I’d go to this place called a manicomio, which translates to insane asylum,” she explains. “I found that these little children were just so artistic and creative. After a couple of years, I was able to organize an exhibition of their art work.”

The show was a critical and popular success. “The art critics of Mexico City got quite excited about it and called the children little Picassos,” she says.

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Cumming’s hilltop South Oak Bay home

Her time in Mexico also gave her new perspectives on Canadian society.

“It struck me while living in Mexico, there were native people in Canada that I had no contact with,” she says. “It was an awakening that there were so many imbalances in the world that I’ve tried to bring practical and compassionate responses rather than just giving up.”

She returned to Canada to work at the Argentine embassy and later taught art at an Ottawa high school. After marring in 1969, she moved with her husband Bruce to New Brunswick in 1972, where the couple purchased a beautiful 280-acre farm on the banks of the Nashwaak River.

When developers in Fredericton revealed plans to demolish the historic city hall, courthouse and newspaper headquarters, Cumming helped organize opposition, and sought advice from Jane Jacobs — the famous urban activist.

I think I became “I found her in the Toronto more aware then of phone book,” she explains. wanting to honour “I don’t know how I had the Indigenous history, impertinence to pick up the phone and call her but we culture and artistry. became friends for many years.

She was just wonderful in advising me over one challenge after another, usually involving proposed demolitions of heritage houses and buildings.”

Cumming’s ability to organize got results. She helped rally public opinion, met with the developers in Toronto, and worked with people who cared about heritage.

“There was just this swell of outrage at the thought of destroying beautiful 19th century buildings,” she says. “I remember meeting with the investors who told me we’d created so much controversy that they decided to back out.”

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But Cumming is modest about her accomplishments, saying it was a team effort.

“Sometimes people will listen and modify their plans and other times, not,” she adds. “And of course, we lost a number of battles, too.”

On another occasion, Cumming heard about the impending demolition of a local church. Ever the pragmatist, she arranged for a loan to save it.

“I was able to purchase five acres and move it, so it was repurposed as an arts and craft shop, museum and library.”

With her husband Bruce nearing retirement as a professor of plant physiology at the University of New Brunswick, the couple decided to move across the country to Oak Bay after purchasing a property from Bruce’s aunt’s estate. Before leaving New Brunswick, they made a decision that would be a first in Canadian history.

As a form of land return, they decided to give back their New Brunswick farm with its beautiful hills and valleys, to its original inhabitants. The Indigenous charity called the Sacred Land Trust was chosen to stewIf we have a sense ard the land in perpetuity. of what ought to “After the Oka Crisis particuendure and what larly, Bruce and I just felt that our hearts and eyes were being ought to be protected, opened and we started looking we owe it to future into Indigenous history,” Cumgenerations to work ming explains. “It’s a nature together to preserve it. preserve now and it’s considered a centre for healing and cultural relations.”

Her Oak Bay heritage home was built in 1921, overlooking McNeill Bay. With lush, wild gardens, stone walls and layers of Indigenous history, the past, present and bright hopes for a better future intermingle on the property. Cumming plans to leave the property to the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.

“I’d like to think that this place will serve Indigenous peoples over the generations and that in the future there will be such an awareness of cultural respect for the land, it’s just mutual whether you’re Indigenous or settler society,” she says. “Maybe by then there will be such cohesion that people won’t make separations, and yet at the same time there will be values associated with the various cultures that are still

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acknowledged and simply shared together in a very meaningful way.”

The many visitors to her home, welcomed with a warm smile and a cup of tea, are immediately drawn to her collection of art — especially the beautiful carved panel that adorns the exterior that was created by artist Charles Elliot Temoseng.

“It’s a welcome panel,” she explains. “The eagle and raven are both stretching out their wings to welcome everyone to come here. The head at the centre represents all humanity and the hummingbirds represent healing and love, and the orca is the king of the sea with its connection to the rhythm of life.”

Such imagery and themes are close to her heart and she regularly explores them in the pieces she produces as a pen and ink artist, having exhibited her work in Canada, Mexico and England.

In addition to weekly art sessions, Cumming keeps busy as a member of the Oak Bay Heritage Committee and volunteers at the Christian Science Reading Room. With Indigenous partners, she helped co-create the heritage monuments around Oak Bay that highlight Indigenous history.

“Heritage and inheritance are related and when we think of an inheritance it’s not just something we live with, but something that we’d like to protect for future generations,” she says. ”If we have a sense of what ought to endure and what ought to be protected, we owe it to future generations to work together to preserve it.”

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OAK BAY TRAVEL

CULTURE CITY Mexico City’s Magnificent Art Scene

By Joseph Blake | Photos by Lynne Milnes

I

’ve been travelling to Mexico City for decades and with each visit, I fall deeper in love with the sprawling, culturally rich city. We’ve stayed with wealthy Mexican friends and in cheap dives and elegant, old hotels. I slept at the Quaker House with my kids when they were young and last holiday season, my wife and I discovered Chaya B&B — a modern, bargain-priced gem above Alameda Park in the historic central district.

Over the years, I’ve seen the mega-city grow to nine million, making it the most populous city in North America, with a 38

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A thought-provoking mural in Roma

growing middle class. I’ve witnessed a lot of changes, but one constant is the city’s cultural richness. I’d argue that Mexico City’s public art, its galleries and museums, thriving culinary scene from food trucks to fine dining, wide-ranging musical offerings, and critically-acclaimed cinema, is equal to cultural centres like Paris, New York, London, Berlin and Rome.

During our most recent visit, after a large breakfast at our third floor walk-up at Chaya, it was a short stroll through Alameda Park to Palacio de Bellas Artes to see a large show of Wassily Kandinsky’s modern masterpieces. Bellas Artes is a

beautiful building and an important cultural centre for painting, sculpture, photography, music, dance, theatre and opera performances. It’s also the site for guided, English-language walking tours of the historic district.

Every Sunday, one of Mexico City’s major avenues, Paseo de la Reforma is closed to traffic. Throngs of pedestrians, bicyclists, runners, skateboarders, and young families pushing baby carriages take over the broad avenue from the central district to Chapultepec Park. We spent an hour strolling past beautiful public art to the Museo de Arte Moderno, the Museo Rufino Tamayo, and the National Museum of Anthropology.

The National Museum of Anthropology is the largest and most visited museum in the country. The huge galleries showcase the history and culture of Mexico’s two dozen distinct regions. It’s a crash course in Indigenous Mexico, a four-square-kilometre treasure house that includes the Aztec Stone of the Sun, the Olmec civilization’s giant carved heads, and reconstructions of Mayan tombs. Don’t miss the Danza de los Voladores, or the Dance of the Flyers. It’s a costumed, Indigenous spectacle performed around a 30-metre pole just outside and museum’s entrance.

Nearby, at Museo Rufino Tamayo, the famous Mexican artist’s collection of 20th century art is housed. It’s a beautiful, award-winning piece of modern architecture with galleries exhibiting work by Tamayo and other great Mexican artists as well as Warhol, Dali, Miro, Picasso and other modern masters.

A short walk in the park toward the historic district, at the Museo de Arte Moderno (the Museum of Modern Art), we saw paintings by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Orozco, Siqueiros, Velasco and other modern Mexican painters.

There’s also a stunning sculpture garden outside and an excellent museum gift shop.

On another day, we crossed the street from our hotel to view the decorative art collection at Museo Franz Mayer and then walked across town to the affluent Polanco neighborhood and architect Fernando Romero’s striking 2011-built Museo Soumaya. It houses wealthy collector Carlos Slim’s huge display of Auguste Rodin sculptures — the largest collection outside of France — as well as Camille Claudel and other sculptor’s work on the top floor. Slim’s collection mixes lesser work with great art, but admission is free and worth a visit.

It was another short walk from Chaya to Museo de Arte Popular, a small, beautifully-designed, three-story collection of ancient and contemporary Mexican folk art. With its high ceilings and well-lit and thoughtfully displayed collection, the museum also includes historic videos of folk rituals, giant kites hanging from the ceiling, a VW Beetle covered in Huichol beadwork, and an array of alegrijes (brightlycoloured, carved mythological creatures) and árbol de la vida, the traditional Mexican tree of life, in a range of sizes, shapes and styles. Entrance is free on Sundays.

Over the years, we’ve returned to Frida Kahlo’s house museum in the Coyoacán area, but its post-Hollywood incarnation is pretty sterile after our early 1980s visits. Then, it was ghostly and dusty and we had the house to ourselves. After Salma Hayek’s film portrayal of Frida and Kahlo’s growing

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cult status, it was a let down for us but still worth a visit.

It’s more fun to visit Roma, the neighborhood celebrated in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 Oscar-winning film. We took a cab to Roma and wandered through the rapidly-gentrifying streets, taking in the Saturday antique market, lots of glorious graffiti art, the teeming Medellin Market, and dozens of funky de-

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TWEED FALL 2019

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An ornate Mexico City Cathedral and hand-built stone wall

sign, book and record stores before stopping for a late lunch at Maximo Bistrot, one of Mexico City’s acclaimed modern restaurants. We dined on Chef Eduardo Garcia’s lobster tostada salad, perfectly prepared sea bass, octopus ceviche, and duck tacos. For dessert, we walked to El Morro, a 1935-built Roma hangout for churros and hot chocolate before taking

a cab to Cineteca Nacional to see Roma in Spanish. If you go to the cinema, get a ‘medio y medio’ (half buttered popcorn, half popcorn sweetened with caramel).

Diego Rivera’s most famous mural is a short walk down the car-free Avenue Madero in the National Palace on the Zocalo, the city’s huge central square. Rivera’s epic historical murals from the early 1930s are a must-see, as is the nearby Folk art archaeological zone’s Museo del Templo Mayor.

Mexico City was once a city of Venice-like canals before Cortes drained them to defeat the Aztecs. A cab ride out to the Floating Gardens in the borough of Xochimilco is a romantic reminder of Mexico’s once-powerful system of lakes and canals. The boat rides are touristy but fun with musicians playing from passing vessels.

While you’re there, be sure to stop at the Museo Dolores Olmedo. A great friend and patron of Rivera and Kahlo, she has a huge collection of their best work, a large collection of pre-Columbian art, and lovely gardens complete with a pack of Xolo — Mexico’s famous hairless dogs. But you may need more than one visit to this bustling cultural city. You could probably spend your life visiting Mexico City and never see all of its wonders. But I intend to try.

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BI-WEEKLY

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41

DOGS ON THE AVENUE

LOVE MY DOG! Photos by Don Denton

Dogs [dawgs, dogs] 1. The best friend of men, women and children, bred in many sizes and shapes.

The Avenue [thuh av-uh-nyoo, -noo] 1. A popular destination for those seeking funky eateries, awesome art galleries and trendy stores in Oak Bay.

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TWEED FALL 2019

We provide Free Services to Those in Need Delivered by Caring Volunteers

• • • • •

Reassurance Phone Calls Income Tax Preparation Minor Household Repair Driving Services Companionship

(250) 595-1034

info@oakbayvolunteers.org www.oakbayvolunteers.org

Contact us if you or your loved ones need support.

Be a part of our community.

Come volunteer with us!

A Pet Care Centre

with the best spa in town

TELL

TWEED!

Some say that Oak Bay loves dogs so much, that canines are actually considered honorary citizens.

If you agree, tell Tweed!

Send photographs of your “Dogs on the Avenue” to: ddenton@vicnews.com

Top left: Snowy is a one-year-old standard poodle, Atlas is a seven-year-old Australian shepherd, Wilson is a seven-year-old terrier and Sydney is a three-year-old miniature labradoodle.

Above: Teddy is a three-year-old shepherd-cross.

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and BC Ferries Terminal

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“BARK” PARTY & HUMANE SOCIETY FUNDRAISER

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The fine art of water’s edge dining.

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TWEED FALL 2019

Parting Shot:

FALL FEATHERS

T

his tawny, brown bird is a Killdeer and like other members of the plover family, this species is often found at the water’s edge. Rick Little took this stunning shot at Cattle Point, where this mama bird was keenly watching her young chick forage for food.

Parting Shot welcomes photo submissions of places and things in Oak Bay. Want to give us your best shot? Send high-resolution images to lundys@shaw.ca and be sure to include a little bit about the photo, including when and where you took it.

2019-09-06_scream_Tweed Magazine Ad_7.25 x 4.75"_X1a.pdf

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2019-09-06

2:52 PM

Photo by Rick Little

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Proudly Serving the Oak Bay Community for 40 Years

Newport Realty has been chosen by Christie’s International Real Estate to be their Exclusive Western Canada Representative Christie’s International Real Estate has affiliate offices in 46 countries with a combined annual sales volume of over $115 billion. It is a unique international perspective on the worlds of art and luxury. They are the leading global authority in the marketing of distinctive properties.

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WE ARE ENGEL & VÖLKERS. WE ARE ENGEL & VÖLKERS. At Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island, our real estate advisors provide an exclusive experience tailored to each of our client's are known for their unmatched level of provide local neighborhood with extensive At unique Engel &needs.

VölkersThey Vancouver Island, our real estate advisors an exclusiveknowledge experiencepaired tailored to each of ourglobal client's resources and personal Weunmatched dedicate our time, expertise and passion to help you follow your dream,global home. unique needs.

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Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island Victoria . Oak Bay . Westshore Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island 2249 Oak Bay Avenue . Victoria BC . V8W 1RG . +1 778 433 8885 Victoria . Oak Bay . Westshore Learn more at victoria.evrealestate.com 2249 Oak Bay Avenue . Victoria BC . V8W 1RG . +1 778 433 8885 Learn more at victoria.evrealestate.com

©2019 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act. ©2019 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.