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Story by Brian Cant Photos Courtesy the Robert Bateman Centre
The Robert Bateman Centre has enjoyed a successful and busy first year, welcoming visitors to come to the historic Steamship Terminal along Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
To see works from one artist spanning seven decades is extremely rare, incredibly fascinating, and enables visitors to truly walk through the lifetime of a nature enthusiast, environmental activist and gifted artist. The omnipresent wildlife and nature in Robert Bateman’s paintings speaks to the magic of Nature, while illustrating the intense need for environmental, habitat and species conservation.
Beyond the beauty of the paintings, the Centre offers a multi-media experience with leading edge technology including motion-sensor activated birdsongs, an app providing a video recording of Bateman on each of the paintings, and digital interactive technology enabling visitors to curate a gallery themselves.
With 20 pieces recently added in celebration of the Centre’s one-year anniversary, the already diverse and impressive exhibit of 100 works by Robert Bateman continues to grow. Major exhibit themes include Africa, social commentary, British Columbia wilderness, snow and sculpture, portraits, birds, early years and major works.
Created to support the two-part mandate of the Bateman Foundation – a national public charity – the Robert Bateman Centre challenges leaders to a new dialogue about our relationship with nature, and guarantees that the intellectual property, collections and archives of Robert Bateman and other artists of nature have their stories and pieces available to the public for education and inspiration.
The Centre hasn’t just become the hub for the Robert Bateman Foundation; it is an ever-growing hub for the Victoria community. Events held over the past year include The Bateman Talks, a series of lectures featuring nature and environmental studies experts, including Bateman; the Wreath-Cycled Collection, a Christmas display of wreaths made from upcycled materials; Winter Wednesdays, which featured live music and performances with entrance by donation; and Saturday Sketch, where budding artists had the opportunity to sit in the galleries and sketch with local artists.
With a family pass (admission for four) costing only $25 Cdn, and general admission at $12.50 Cdn for adults, $8.50 Cdn for seniors and $6 Cdn for kids, the centre is a cost effective, educational and fun way to spend an afternoon.