The Hands Dancing exhibit is a show composed of member based artwork that was started in the 1980’s, where the first venue to host the exhibit was at the Inverness Legion, in later years moving to the Inverness Post Office. When Inverness County Centre for the Arts was built in 2003, the exhibit found its current home, where it has been well received for many years.

Oil on gessoed paper

Emily Falencki

2023

Coloured Pencil on Drafting Film

Laura Cormier

2023

Oil on Mylar

Annie MacDonald

2023

Featuring paintings created with his fingers in lieu of brushes and using a palette of red, white, green, blue and black paint procured from a dollar store, AuCoin’s work often references images from the local newspaper. Remarkable sunsets, however, are so ubiquitous on Cape Breton Island that AuCoin paints them from memory.
An avid harness racing devotee (a form of horse racing in which horses pull a two-wheeled cart), AuCoin never misses a race during the season and the racing slips later make an appearance as the lettering for his poems and text. Using layers of found cardboard to create the structure of his artwork, AuCoin also constructs masterful hanging apparatus for the back, adding both sculptural and practical aspects to his work. Signing his art AJ/AJ, AuCoin explains that the first AJ represents the Id which creates, while the second AJ represents the Ego which achieves.

“Dare to be Different” also be exhibited works from members of the Colour Blind Collective, a local artist group who gathered weekly throughout the winter months over several years. Please find names of members of the Colour Blind Collective below:
Virginia McCoy
A.J. AuCoin
Tom Ryan
Terry MacDonald
Dave MacGregor
Colonel MacLellan

Acrylic on Cardboard

Dated: Unknown