TORONTO—As I write this, Prince Edward Island’s Cyclone roller coaster is deep into winter hibernation, and the hordes of Japanese tourists that flood the island in summer to see the birthplace of Anne have just finished lunch back on their own island. Cows Ice Cream in Charlottetown is one of the few summer-time hot spots to stay open in defiance of winter. The Confederation Centre for the Arts is another bastion of island culture open year-round. Lucky for Atlantic Canadian hipsters.

Tomorrow (February 29) the centre is hosting Cute As A…, a button exhibity and trading event featuring unique designs by fifty Canadian artists—all on one-inch pins. The show is curated by Siobhan Wiggins, the Centre’s education and outreach officer.

“I thought it would be a good event for getting people out of the house and interacting, says Wiggins. “And because we are on an island, and buttons are something people can share very easily, it will be interesting to see where these buttons go on the island. You could be out at a coffee shop and see someone wearing your design.�?

Wiggins got hooked on the idea of a button exhibition last year when visiting Vancouver. Gallery Gachet has been hosting Hot One Inch Action for the past three years. HOIA was conceived by Jim Hoehnle and Chris Bentzen in 2004, and a similar event called One Inch Punch was held in 2006 at Toronto’s Lennox Contemporary Gallery.

“It puts a challenge [on the artist] too, because you’re working basically on a small canvas which is only an inch and a quarter in size, so it’s an exercise you wouldn’t think of doing otherwise,�? said Wiggins.

Those attending the show receive the Cute As A… one-inch theme button designed by the Centre, and get to draw five buttons from an aquarium filled with more than 1000 of the reproduced artist buttons. All fifty designer buttons are on display in glass cases while gallery-goers haggle and sweet-talk each other to trade for the buttons they want.

The one-inch has long been a badge of the indie and punk scenes. Both bands and movements have built themselves on the backs (or, the lapels) of hip scenesters. Mary MacDonald, an emerging New Brunswick artist, is one of the Cute As A… designers excited to join the fun. “The whole tradition of one-inch buttons these days is pretty hilarious. When you think it’s an indie rock aesthetic that you’re bringing into a gallery it’s kind of great.�?

MacDonald went to school with Wiggins, and collaborated with her on an artist trading card event in Sackville, New Brunswick. A hotbed of indie rock culture, Sackville is also where MacDonald drew inspiration for her button design. She said she was at a friend’s farm last summer for the wrap party of the Sappy Records music festival, hanging out and trying her hand at archery when she snapped the photograph she used on her pin.

“It’s a picture of one of my friends’ children, and he has this bow and arrow and in the background you can see the Sackville radio towers off in the distance. So it’s very iconic, you know. And because it’s tied to that indie rock scene I thought it was kind of funny to put on a one-inch.”

Wiggins says the event will be a doorway into the Centre for people who otherwise wouldn’t think about going to a gallery. And since there isn’t an artist-run gallery on the island (which would normally hold these quirkier events), she says it’s the centre’s responsibility to fill that void.

“Some people are surprised that we are doing this, because they have this perception that a gallery should be traditional with paintings on the wall and such,” she said, “but a gallery should be a place where there’s dialogue, conversation, and excitement–where people are sharing ideas and thoughts.”

“Buttons are perceived as being a part of low culture. They’re not high culture. Which I think challenges what you would expect of a gallery. That’s one reason that got me thinking about buttons. Plus, they’re so accessible. Everyone gets a button, you know.”

Some of the event’s designer-button artists will be in attendance at the show. Many of the artists are graphic designers or fringe artists who normally wouldn’t show in a traditional gallery. There’s even a design by a two-and-a-half-year-old child.

PEI native Troy Little is one of the designers whose work you don’t often see in a gallery (although Wiggins did display some of his work recently). A comic artist, Little released the graphic novel Chiaroscuro last October. For his button he drew a picture of his Siamese cat thinking about fish.

“It’s just something stupid and fun to do. I thought, it’s going on a tiny button and the whole thing should be fun,�? says Little. “I was amazed how small it was when I got right down to it. I kept thinking, ‘Wow, this is getting smaller and smaller.’�?

With under a week before the show Wiggins was still busy trying to get things ready. If there’s anything more difficult than trying to get people to come to PEI in the middle of winter for buttons, it’s making the buttons.

“We’re making them by hand,” Wiggins says with a laugh, “and there’s over 1,200 buttons being made. We’re having a button bee tomorrow night, to hopefully reach our quota.�?

Cute As A… takes place at The Confederation Centre for the Arts Feb 29. There will be a preview in afternoon, and trading begins at 7:30pm local time. The buttons will be on display for a week thereafter.

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Posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 10:55 am. Follow comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comment or trackback.