Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

Take a free, self-directed tour and discover the vibrant arts community of the Sunshine Coast!
The Art Crawl returns this year with 186 venues spanning from Gambier Island to Earls Cove and Egmont, showcasing an incredible range of artists, studios, galleries and other unique locations.
Over three days, meet the artists, explore their creative spaces, and experience the unique spirit of the Coast through painting, pottery, glass, woodwork, textiles, photography, jewelry, and much more.
Whether you’re a seasoned collector or simply curious, the Crawl offers something for everyone. Come explore, connect, and discover the creativity that makes the Sunshine Coast so special!

GPAG: Lori Thicke, Dreamer’s Daughter Book Launch

Lori Thicke, cousin of the late Alan Thicke, will be interviewed by Michael Gurney and read from her national bestselling debut memoir, “Dreamer’s Daughter: Surviving My Childhood and Raising My Father.” In a mining town where hope is as tapped-out as the gold, a mother abandons her two children. Dreamer’s Daughter is a memoir of what happens next as Lori, 10, and Brad, 5, end up in the custody of their free-spirited father. Colourful and larger-than-life, Dacker is a dreamer who fails spectacularly at everything — except at being a loving parent.

GPAG: New Stories with Annie Frazier Henry

She’s is an award-winning Indigenous writer, filmmaker and musician. She and her company, Full Regalia, have produced over 30 dramatic, documentary and experimental films, which have screened Internationally. A recipient of the “Trailblazer” award, “her films have has served as a springboards & inspiration for countless other projects”. She works as creative and production consultant, and produced student films. She was the first aboriginal person to sit on the jury at Sundance Film Festival & several of her films have had US premiers there.

She currently has several projects in development. Her short films have had a renaissance of screenings, to include the acclaimed “Ladies of the Inlet.”

She’s had over 15 short stories published. She is honoured to have her ‘Henry Miller’ short story “don’tcha know” published in NEXUS the International Henry Miller Anthology, about her time with him.

GPAG: AI is Here, Are We Ready: A Panel Discussion

AI Awareness for Bloggers, Artists, Authors & Others
with panelists: Doris Good, CPA and Author, Hilary Moses, Artist, Educator, and Animator, Ruth Rodgers, Artist and Author, Stephen Murphy, Artist, Author, and Bookbinder, and Stephen Smith, Blogger, and AI programmer.

GPAG: Interviews with Artist and Author Teams with Jan DeGrass

Jan DeGrass, Author, interviews Artist and Author teams from the Art & Words Festival, including:
Tracy Hall & Janice Rafael
Karen Taylor & Lianne Kirilenko
Rizz Fischer & Bruce Edwards
Leslie MacFarlane & Karis Gauthier
Richard Feehan & Roger Handling
Pammila Ruth & Lorena Ruth
Kathaleen Quinn & Matt Thomson
Rachel Amina & Denise Olson
Doris Good & Ellen Heale
Atma Frans & Michael Healey

GPAG: Arts & Words Festival 2026

Join us with the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society for the 2026 Arts and Words Festival, a three day literary festival in which writers collaborate with visual artists!

Every year, artists and writers on the Sunshine Coast are randomly paired together. Working together they reflect on each other’s stories, artistic practices, styles, and bodies of work to create a literary work and a visual work that resonate with and echo each other; often resulting in long-term friendship and collaboration across artistic disciplines. We invite all to join us during this festival to view the huge breadth of art and words on display, as well as for workshops, keynote speakers, interviews, and more. Immerse yourself in the Sunshine Coast’s literary and visual arts scene.

Find the full schedule of events, as well as our opening hours during the festival, online!

Far From Home – Book Launch with Ruth Rodgers

Join author and artist, Ruth Rodgers, for the launch of her latest historical fiction novel at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery as she presents this latest story about the thousands of ‘home children’ sent out from England to Canada to fulfill agricultural and domestic service roles in the 1870s to the 1930s. Joseph and Lucy, orphans from London, experience very different fates in their new homes, typical of the stories of many of those caught up in this ill-considered scheme designed to solve Canada’s labour shortage while getting children off the streets of England’s growing cities.

Saturday, August 22, 2026, 11 AM – 12:30 PM
Gibsons Public Art Gallery
Free

Intro to Glosa Poetry with Bonnie Quan Symons

Explore how to write a glosa, a courtly form that steals a quatrain from another poet’s work to structure a poem of your own, in the course of which you create a glosa – or gloss on that poet’s work. Tangling with your chosen poet may allow her or his subtle influence to inform your tone and expand your expressive range.

THE GLOSA OR GLOSE is a form requiring:
a) A cabeza (or motto) – the quatrain borrowed from another poet, whose authorship must be acknowledged
b) Four 10-line stanzas, each endingwith one of the lines in sequence from the cabeza
c) A rhyme-scheme requirement that lines 6 and 9 rhyme with the final word of line 10.
Saturday, Aug. 22nd, 2026, 10:30 am – Noon
Gibsons Public Art Gallery, Joe’s Lounge
431 Marine Drive, Gibsons, BC
$25 – includes a chapbook of glosas and handouts
Register at sunshinecoastwirtersandeditors@gmail.com

GPAG: Poetry & Memoir Reading – Catherine McNeil & Daniela Elza

Sunshine Coast poet and musician, Catherine McNeil (Cat Mac) will be reading from her award-winning poetry book, “Emily & Elspeth.” Joining her is Vancouver author, Daniela Elza, author of scar/city, poetry, and Is This an Illness or an Accident, her memoir. Both of Elza’s books are finalists for awards in this years Book Awards for BC Authors contest.

GPAG: Why Do We Write: A Conversation with Elizabeth Rains & Jessica Raya

Is it nature or nurture, the promise of fame and fortune, or just a pathological compulsion to see our names in print? Could it be the hope to leave the legacy of our life’s story for our grandchildren? Maybe it’s a struggle we can’t abandon, or maybe we’re doing it for fun. Join author Elizabeth Rains and her author daughter, Jessica Raya, in exploring what draws us to the page and propels us through the writing journey. This audience-participation session aims to ramp up your writing energies no matter how or why they arise.

GPAG: Marion Crook Interviews Artists and Authors at Art & Words Festival

Marion Crook, Award-winning Author, interviews Artist and Author teams at the 5th Annual Art & Words Festival at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, including:
Andrea Coates, Author & Ann-Marie Brown, Artist
Isabella Mori, Author & Hilary Moses, Artist
Emily Jew, Artist & Jean Stewart, Author
Rosa Reid, Author & Erika Mastig, Artist
Joyce Gwilliam, Author & Hana Rose, Artist
Felicia Mareels, Author & Manon Staiger, Artist

GPAG: Michael Gurney Interviews Authors & Artists

Michael Gurney interviews Author and Artist teams from the 5th Annual Art & Words Festival, at Gibsons Public Art Gallery, including:
Karen Webb, Artist & Paula Shadel
Marion Crook, Author & Michelle Nielsen, Artist
Margot Hallman, Artist & Peter Toews, Author
Serena J. Trinder, Artist & Rose Clarke, Artist & Author
M.J. Milne, Author & Doris Biddle, Artist
Catherine McNeil, Author and Musician & Stephen Murphy, Artist

GPAG: Karen Webb Interviews Artists & Authors at Art & Words Festival

Karen Webb, Author, Artist, Actor, and Educator interviews Artist and Author teams of the 5th Annual Art & Words Festival at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, including:
Elaine Seepish & Michael Healey
Robin Lamarche & Paddy Meade
David Kipling & Landyn Funk
Lynda Manson & Kathleen Vance
Joan Fletcher & Lorraine Gallant
Del Lobo & Sheri Peters
Jo Forrest & Michael Gurney