CHEK Upside: Island artist giving away paintings with scavenger hunt

CHEK
WatchJulie Bréhéret was looking for a way to showcase some of her artwork, so she created a city wide scavenger hunt for several small paintings.

It might not look like it, but Julie Bréhéret is about to kick start a scavenger hunt.

“You’ll see it’s going to be fun spreading some art and joy to people,” says Bréhéret.

It’s all part of an initiative called International Art and Found Day, created by Toronto-based artist Courtney Senior.

“The idea behind that is just to leave some art in our neighbourhood for local people to find,” says Bréhéret.

Bréhéret leaves her art in a public space with a note and then gives out the location via social media.

For those who find the pieces, it’s a pleasant surprise.

“You know when you go to work or take a walk by the beach and randomly find a package and it’s actually art, I think it just brightens people’s day,” says Bréhéret.

On the day that we were filming Julie left her art in Saanich’s Rutledge Park. While a few people did take notice, nobody claimed the art until we left. That’s when Jenn Booth’s mom saw the package.

“My mom put it on the table and she was like ‘I found this in the park’ and I was like ‘What do you mean you found it in the park?’ says Booth.

“She said that she thought I would really love it, so she brought it over for our family,” says Booth.

The small paintings have brought a lot of smiles to both Julie and their recipients in a time when people are searching for a pandemic pick me up.

“Obviously with the pandemic and just so many things going on that people need something good, they need something to smile about,” says Booth.

“It’s been a hard year so things like this can really make someone happy,” adds Booth.

“Making art just gave me a purpose and to share it with people, it’s a nice feeling too,” says Bréhéret.

While Bréhéret has curtailed her scavenger hunts due to the latest round of COVID restrictions, her art is still available for sale. To view her work, visit her Facebook page.

A person walks by a bench with artwork left on it by Julie Bréhéret. (CHEK News)

The artwork, shown above, was eventually examined and brought home. (CHEK News)

csorenson@cheknews.ca

 

 

Cole Sorenson

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