Clement Kwan & Maria Miranda Lawrence at the Martin Bachelor Gallery
Collaborative Projects
The following is an overview of projects Maria Miranda Lawrence was involved in. A fan of the arts: visual and performing arts, her artwork is inspired by the creative talent she encounters.
On the theme of Dance; Clement Kwan(painter), Maria Miranda Lawrence(painter), Herman Surkis (photographer), and Bill Zuk (Artist, Print maker, Professor Emeritus), each photographed professional dancers to create their art for exhibition together. The exhibitions were held in three locations, each with new works: first at the Victoria Art Connection, second at the Martin Bachelor Gallery and third at the Maltwood Gallery, University of Victoria.
Bill Zuk wrote the following article for The Canadian Art teacher magazine regarding this exhibition:
Article "The Art of Wonder & the Magnificence of dance" https://id2.ca/BILLZUK/img-writings/articles-the-magnificence-of-dance.pdf
The Island Illustrators Society a vibrant professional art group, kept her interest for three decades. She served in various committees and participated in numerous group exhibitions. Maria Miranda Lawrence was the Society President from 1995-1998.
You will find a list of themed Island Illustrators exhibitions on her CV, A few of her illustrated works are included under Gallery - Illustrative works.
Night of Artists initiated by a couple of artists from Alberta merges arts and entertainment. Mural Mosaics were also their pet project, both continue to be successful. The team created opportunities in Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver and Ottawa. Invited to participate, she contributed to their first four mosaic murals and was offered an opportunity with the group to travel to these places to exhibit her work and participate in their gala events.
"Seeing It Through Your Eyes 2". This project was made in collaboration with Connecting Cultures, the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria. Maria was invited as an artist to be a representative of the Portuguese community and contribute to this project, Following events offered by and in each cultural community which included traditional food and entertainment,the artists were asked to create something from their experiences with each culture. For her part of the exhibition, Maria chose to paint children in their cultural dance costumes: Portuguese, Italian, Ukrainian, Filipino and Metis. They can be viewed here - Connecting Cultures.
"A Janela - The Poetic Soul" Maria designed the painting series for exhibition and publication following several visits to her birthplace in the Azores and the mainland Portugal where she met with popular singers, musicians and poets. She was awarded the top scholarship funding for the year which she applied to taking the series of paintings to the Azores for its first exhibition. (Book) À Janela.
Besides interacting with the local art scene, Maria ran life drawing sessions for her peers, and has offered art instruction to emerging young artists for over two decades and. Her art related memberships included: The Island Illustrators Society, The Vancouver Island Arts and Cultural Accord, The Vancouver Island Sculptures Guild, Canadian Federation of Artists, Victoria Arts Council, ArtseaCommunity Arts Council and the Canadian Institute of Portrait Art.