Life-giving water the focus of Susan McCollough’s Niagara Falls exhibit

Life-giving water the focus of Susan McCollough’s Niagara Falls exhibit

Local international artist, Susan N. McCollough, is one of 37 artists hand-picked from 18 countries around the world to showcase their art at the Niagara Falls History Museum and to have their say on what water means to us all. Called Water for Life, the exhibit was four years in the making and is designed to drive home the point that water is the essence of life and yet one in seven people across the world — more than a billion souls — don’t have access to clean, safe water. It’s the brainchild of internationally acclaimed Niagara Falls artist Antoine Gaber, who is artistic director of the exhibit, and cultural promoter Angelina Herrera who personally invited top drawer artists from countries including Canada, the United States, France, India, Greece, Venezuela, Turkey, Argentina, Australia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Mexico, Switzerland, Lebanon, Brazil, Sweden and Spain.
Clark Bernat, culture and museums manager for the city, said in an interview that hosting the museum’s first international art exhibition is a little outside of the box for his staff. But when Gaber approached Mayor Jim Diodati with the idea, he was confident he could pull it off.
“Bringing in artists from all around the world is wonderful to showcase the power of Niagara Falls to bring people together, but also to bring their ideas from around the world about what water means to a city like ours,” said Bernat.
“Every year, millions of visitors come to our city to marvel at the beauty of the falls,” he said. “They feel the mist, they feel the power and they can see the majesty of this location.
“The intent of this exhibition is to draw attention to our visitors from around the world and around the corner to understand that water is critical to our future. Where best to examine this but in the global icon of Niagara Falls?”
Diodati called the exhibit a “great creation” that reinforces the importance of the city supporting culture.
The museum is located at 5810 Ferry St. The exhibit runs until Sept. 9.
Below is a video of Antoine Gaber, Artistic Director’s Introduction of the rationale of the “Water For Life” First International Art Exhibition 2018, at the Niagara Falls History Museum. This event’s retrospective video includes the behind the scene setup of the artwork in Museum Gallery, the Private Opening for attending participating Artists, the Official Opening with all dignitaries, participating artists and the special invited guests. For more information about The Susan N. McCollough Gallery, call 251-967-7677 or email at susannmccolloughart@aol.com or visit susannmccolloughart.com.