Arts & Culture

The Grand Prix of Art is returning to Steveston for the thirteenth time.

File photo by Chung Chow

13th Annual Grand Prix of Art

By Matthew Cheung

Published 12:11 PDT, Fri July 21, 2023

Last Updated: 2:54 PDT, Fri August 11, 2023

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The Grand Prix of Art will be returning for its 13th annual event July 22 to 23. Over 130 artists of different skill levels will be given one of 33 different locations to paint. Locations range across the Steveston waterfront, from London Landing to Garry Point Park. Participants will have exactly three hours to paint the scenery location that they have been given. The event will begin on July 22, at 10 a.m. where contestants will check-in prior to journeying to their spot. Once the race has been completed, paintings will be brought to the Britannia Heritage Shipyards National Historic Site. On July 23, all 130 paintings will be put on display for all to see between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Paintings can also be purchased.

In 2010, Mark Glavina partnered with the City of Richmond to host the inaugural Grand Prix of Art. With hopes to support the community, the event was also sponsored by Travelling Brush, a community first event.

“The event was designed to help, promote, and support working artists, particularly working in the genre of Plein-Air painting. Part of this support is to help artists develop important connections with other artist and the larger community as well as to advocate for alternative ways of supporting the creative community: celebrating these amazing individuals like we do other cultural celebrities. Each year the Grand Prix of Art puts $10 to $20 thousand directly into the pockets of artists,” said Mark Glavina, organizer of the Grand Prix of Art.

Mark grew up in Richmond and studied graphic design and illustration at Capilano University, in 1997 he opened the Phoenix Coastal Arts, and then Phoenix Art Workshop to offer art classes to the community. In 2005, Glavina took a few of his students to Cuba to visit the country for its arts and culture, since then the Travelling Brush has visited Cuba, Croatia, Italy, and Guatemala.

The Grand Prix of Art event was inspired by an iconic artist in Qualicum named Dan Gray who constantly painted every day of the year. Inspired by this practice, Mark Glavina, a painter himself decided to organize an event where artists could come together to paint in a race against time.

“Dan really started this wave of events with a similar event in Qualicum 30 plus years ago and encouraged me to do it here in Steveston. In Dan’s honour, we named the Masters Category Trophy the ‘Dan Gray Cup’, a coveted award,” said Glavina.

There will be three categories for artists to compete in; Youth, Open, and Masters. The community is also invited to visit the Grand Prix of Art on race day and enjoy a nice bike ride to the sites as artists compete. Included in the days’ activities at the Britannia Heritage Shipyards, there will also be food trucks, artists markets, and live music performances for people of all ages to partake in.

“Britannia is our host location where visitors can enjoy live music, a made by hand artist market, and demonstrations. There will also be colouring book stations and printmaking stations. Exhibition of completed paintings are opened to the public after the award ceremony from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and (will) continue onto Sunday, July 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” said Glavina.

The Richmond Bike Lock will also be on-site at the Britannia-Heritage Shipyards for individuals who will be travelling to the venue by bike. Similar to a coat-check, bikers can check in their bike and will be given a claim stub, once the event is over bikers can pick up their bike at the same location.

To learn more about the Phoenix Coastal Arts visit phoenixartworkshop.com

To learn more about the Grand Prix visit grandprixofart.ca