PRESTON ART COLLECTIVE’S ART LINK FEATURES LOCAL BOTANICAL ART

Cambridge Art Link is a new initiative by the Preston Arts Collective to help people discover artists and businesses in the Cambridge area. The Preston Arts Collective is a grassroots art organization based in Cambridge, Ontario.  

The project is a collaboration between members of the collective and local businesses. Art Link started last year with three businesses but has now grown. This year’s theme is botanicals, and there are 17 artists involved whose work is exhibited at ten businesses throughout the city.  

“There’s some beautiful work. Quite a bit of it’s actually available for sale as well. Each location has one or two of these items framed and on the wall to browse, so check it out, enjoy and certainly continue along the journey with the other locations,” Diane McBride, a member of the Preston Arts Collective, said.   

“We started around just after [COVID-19], where a group of artists and myself decided to bring our community together through art,” Jessica Penney, founder, curator and artist for the Preston Arts Collective, said.   

“The Preston Arts Collective is actually a volunteer organization, so we use our skill sets in various ways to facilitate our activities,” McBride said. “[Our goal is to] just get out and connect with people when we have these events.”  

The collective’s first project was an annual lantern walk through Central Park in Preston, which began in 2023. It included free workshops on lantern-making as well.    

“[The] idea was every year we would add more and do more workshops and add more, so it’s growing and growing,”  Penney said.   

This year, the event had a passport system, where attendees could collect stamps from the locations listed on the included map. Upon collecting all stamps, attendees would be added to a draw for a prize basket with giveaways from the businesses involved.  

The Preston Arts Collective can also be seen at Cambridge Celebrates the Arts on June 19 and 20 at Cambridge City Hall.   

“Our main goal is to build the arts community in Cambridge, and a lot of artists felt isolated and unable to connect, and they do better when they’re collaborating, they inspire each other, and then more art comes out as a result,” Penney said.  

Cambridge-based artists can reach out to the Collective to have their website featured in the Collective’s directory.   

More information about the Preston Arts Collective and Art Link can be found on the Preston Arts Collective’s website.