Music and dance are a major part of life in Cape Breton and artists reflect the beauty and impact of them through their work. BGSU can now get a taste of that influence as the Arts Village is currently hosting the “Hands Dancing” exhibition that consists of artwork from the Cape Breton area.

Cape Breton is located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, and is known for its “mixture of different cultures” and surrounding landscape, which is different from the Midwest, said Stephanie Rozene, assistant professor in the Fine Arts Center. The exhibition was recently in the Upper Arlington, Ohio and was then brought here to the Midwest area.

There are around 20 pieces of artwork on display in this exhibition.

“It’s a compilation collection, so it’s art from a variety of different artists,” said Christine Drennen, acting director in the Canadian Studies Center.

Even though the exhibition contains about 20 percent of the work from the “original exhibition,” it still reflects the beauty and art seen in Cape Breton, Rozene said.

“There’s a lot of mountains and seascape. It’s really picturesque with pine trees and little fishing villages,” Rozene said.

Doug Fraser, a native from Inverness, Cape Breton and one of the artists participating in the exhibition, spoke to an audience at the University on Nov. 1 as the visiting artist.

“Doug Fraser had no schooling and is self-taught,” Rozene said. “I thought it was nice for the students and faculty to listen to someone who has clearly excelled and perfected his craft.”

Rozene described Fraser’s only piece of work in the “Hands Dancing” exhibition as a “really beautiful painting that actually, sort of, travels with you as you walk around the room.” The painting is of a dark road going into space, Rozene said, and “if you stand in front of it for a while, you see that there’s actually a lot of color in it.”

“It keeps drawing you down this road, and if you walk around the room and keep looking back, and keep looking down this road, it’s really quite beautiful the way that it draws you in,” she added.

Drennen said she was happy to have Fraser as the visiting artist as well because of the passion he has for his art. And since he is a native of Cape Breton, he was able to “bring that flavor to our area of the country,” she said.

“He is a product of his surroundings and he provides insides to us about Nova Scotia,” Drennen said.

Cape Breton and Nova Scotia are places that are influenced by Celtic music and dance, Drennen explained. “The influence of Celtic rhythm, which involves a lot of dancing, and painting is another representation of that philosophy or perspective on the world.”

She added, “Music and dance is very much a part of life in that part of the world and it also influences art.”

This is also the reasoning behind the exhibition name “Hands Dancing.”

Both Drennen and Rozene said both artists and non-artists can enjoy this exhibition because of the beauty of the artwork and representation of the Cape Breton area.

“It’s always nice to see what artists are making in other places,” Rozene said. “Whether or not it’s the same mediums or imagery that we use here in Ohio, there’s still something to be learned from that in terms of exposure.”

“Hands Dancing” is open to the public from 2:30- 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, or by special request until Nov. 17 and is located in the Arts Village. For more information call: 419-372-2457 or go to www.cba.bgsu.edu/castw