By Patricia Balcom
There’s a new gallery at 101 Murray Street, but it has a long history in the ByWard Market. I met with Edith Betkowski, founder/director of Alpha & Omega Art Gallery, and she explained its history. She and her then-partner established their first gallery, Alpha Gallery, at 25 Murray back in 2015. At first they dealt exclusively with the works of Dominik Sokolowski, but there was too much pressure on the artist to produce new works, and the public wanted “diversity and stimulation”.
When a space at 531 Sussex became available, with three storeys and 3,600 square feet, they moved. There they had space for exhibitions and storage, as well as a studio. When the partnership dissolved, Edith took the name “Alpha” because she had come up with the original concept, and moved to a spacious place with two storeys and a patio on 101 Murray.
They chose the ByWard Market in the first place because “It’s the heart of the city. It’s very close to the National Art Gallery, not too far from the NAC [and the] ByWard Market … and close to Parliament Hill.” She likened the Market to Old Montreal, where tourists and others can “do a loop” and “go from gallery to gallery and make it a day”.
While some of her business comes from walk-ins, Edith also organizes events to promote her artists. She wants her openings to be “entertaining”, so she always has wine and hors d’oeuvres. She likes to support local businesses such as La Bottega and La Maison. Edith has a slogan– “Art culture experience”—to describe the “lively experience” she wants people to have when they purchase art.
Edith currently represents six contemporary Canadian artists. So far there have been two exhibitions: the painter and sculptor Fuad Hamdi (August 21-September 7), whose “very strong” work is “inspired by Francis Bacon and Salvador Dali”, and Sylvain Cousineau’s “unique and very stimulating” works (September 9 to 23). A third exhibition, of Marc Gagné`s work, will take place from September 22 to October 12.
Works from the current exhibition dominate the gallery space, but works by Edith’s other artists are also on display. She is looking for more artists and noted: “It’s going to take time. In my previous gallery it took us eight years to collect over 40 artists.”
The Alpha & Omega Art Gallery is not just an art gallery; it’s a “maison de culture”, a place which integrates other arts, including music, poetry and literature. Edith has a “very beautiful baby grand Yamaha”, and once it is installed and the floors are finished, she will host jazz concerts on “most” Friday evenings. Music students from the University of Ottawa can use her piano or bring other instruments and hold performances.
She encourages them to charge admission, with the proceeds going to the students to support their studies. There are also plans to hold movie nights with discussions afterwards, as well as poetry and book readings by local writers, and wine- and tea-tastings. There will also be salsa and disco nights. She explained: “I like this kind of stuff because it is part of art. It expands the senses. It creates a sense of community but also I think it allows people to talk about different forms of art.”
All events will be posted on Facebook and on the Alpha & Omega Art Gallery website, as well as on Ottawa Tourism’s “Things to do in Ottawa”, and their booklet called “Where”.
If you want to be informed of these events, especially the exhibition openings, you can “Subscribe” on the gallery’s home page: www.alphaandomegagallery.com
But don’t wait for a notification of the next event; visit the Alpha & Omega Art Gallery (right beside Khao Thai), view the art hanging on its walls and meet its charming founder, Edith.
Hours are as follows:
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.