It was regrettable that our 2020 Annual Show at the Beach Drive campus of Glenyon-Norfolk School had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. However, we can be sure that the tradition of a long-standing relationship between the VSC and GLN will endure-- even though the life of our time-honoured gymnasium has come to its end!
During the life of the Island Arts and Crafts Society, there was no regular venue for the annual exhibitions which began in 1910. The Society was obliged to search for a suitable location annually and settle for the likes of the Alexandra Club, Union Bank Building, Pemberton Building, Belmont Building, Hudson’s Bay Company, Crystal Gardens, Board of Trade Building and Coast Hall.
Similarily after 1954, under the banner of the Victoria Sketch Club, scattered venues included the Dominion Bank, the Hudson's Bay Company, Eaton's, the Hudson’s Bay Company, Eaton’s, the Dominion Hotel, the Provincial Museum and Hillside Mall. But in 198
4, Victoria Sketch Club President, Liza Chesshire, a former Matron at Glenlyon Norfolk School, made an arrangement with an old colleague, school’s Headmaster Keith Walker, to hold our annual show in the school gymnasium. This reflected an earlier tie as IACS members Ina Uhthoff and Will Menelaws who, between them, had taught at the school for 21 years.
We still enjoy this close relationship between school and club, and have always been appreciative of the school’s co-operation and support.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their deal in 2009, Keith and Liza were re-united in a cake-cutting ceremony as part of our landmark Centennial event. Sadly, both passed away in 2017.
The significance of this relationship is that in 1984, the Club, for the first time, was given a permanent annual fixture at a place we have come to regard as “home,” and in recent years we have been happy to include the artwork of GLN pupils in our shows.
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