The iconic Wait for Me, Daddy photo is the inspiration for the inaugural exhibition in Anvil Centre’s community arts space.
The City of New Westminster has issued a call for proposals for two-dimensional works of art that reference themes and sentiments of the photo taken by Province newspaper photographer Claude P. Dettloff on Oct. 1, 1940. Wait for Me, Daddy shows young Warren “Whitey” Bernard rushing to say goodbye to his father as he marched down Eighth Street with a group of soldiers and his mother reaching out to the youngster.
“The theme behind it is looking at the themes of the photograph such as family, family separation, loss, war. We are looking for artists that reference that in their work,” said Biliana Velkova, the city’s arts coordinator. “So it’s not specific about the photograph – they can work with the photograph, but it’s wider than that. That’s the starting point.”
Submissions, which are open to emerging and established New Westminster artists, are due by Aug. 1.
The exhibition will complement the Wait for Me, Daddy sculpture in Hyack Square, which is being unveiled on Oct. 4. The city is planning a series of cultural activities leading up to the unveiling of the Wait for Me, Daddy sculpture.
The exhibition will take place in the community art space on the third floor of Anvil Centre, near the theatre, museums and new-media gallery.
“It’s quite big. It can take a large number of works,” Velkova said of the exhibit space. “It has a lot of visibility because of the traffic of people that are going to see the theatre, also the traffic of people going to see the museum and the gallery. And of course, you can see it from Columbia Street through the window.”
Submissions will be reviewed through a jury process. The exhibition will open on Sept. 14.
“We are really excited for a few reasons, mainly because it is the inaugural exhibit for the community arts space at Anvil Centre,” Velkova said. “We are really excited to be able to showcase the characteristics of the space with local talent. The mandate for this space is for New Westminster artists only. It’s needed. It’s really a place to celebrate local talent for sure.”
Anyone interested in making a submission can contact Velkova at [email protected].
