![]() True North Gallery in Waterdown | |
Established | 2016 |
---|---|
Location | 23 Griffin Street Waterdown, Ontario, Canada |
Coordinates | 43°20′01″N 79°53′28″W / 43.333495°N 79.891177°W |
Type | Art gallery |
President | Geoff & Brooke Kulawick |
Website | truenorth |
True North Gallery (also known as The Music Gallery of Fine Art), founded in 2016 by Geoff and Brooke Kulawick,[1] is an art museum and gallery in downtown Waterdown, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to showcasing visual art by professional musicians, it claims to be the only art gallery of its kind.[2] It is located at the head office of True North Records and Linus Entertainment. The gallery is privately owned and offers free admission.[3]
In 2015—seven years after purchasing True North Records from its original owner, Bernie Finkelstein—Geoff Kulawick moved the label's head office from Burlington to Waterdown, Ontario. Kulawick credits his wife Mabruka (Brooke), a visual artist, with the idea to use the new space as a place to display artwork by professional musicians. Brooke noted that some True North Records signees including Buffy Sainte-Marie and Murray McLauchlan were visual artists. Of the concept, Kulawick claimed, "The more research I did, the more it sounded like something brilliant that nobody else is doing."[4]
The gallery has hosted open house events featuring musicians/artists, including Buffy Sainte-Marie and Murray McLauchlan (at the grand opening in March 2016), Greg Smith and Jon Langford (May 2016),[5] Louie Pérez (January 2017),[6] and Joe Crookston (January 2018).[7]
While pieces such as limited-edition prints by John Lennon and a charcoal self-portrait by David Bowie remain part of the Kulawicks' private collection, many originals are on consignment from the artists.[8]