Our Mission
Spare Room is a safe and inclusive studio space for artists in Barrie and Simcoe County to gather and foster artistic collaboration within the local art community. Our gallery welcomes all genders, abilities, cultures and sexualities to participate in workshops, exhibits, and events.
Organizers
Katie Green
Katie is a local Barrie artist with a passion for community and bringing art into all areas of life. This includes making beautiful useful objects like t-shirts or handkerchiefs, public art like murals, co-running a shared artist studio space and teaching workshops. Her art practice is centred around placemaking, both in the community/physical geography as well as in ourselves. She operates from the idea that art is an experience that can positively impact people’s everyday lives. She works in many mediums including pen and ink, watercolour, printmaking and textiles. Katie pushes the boundaries between one medium and another offering useful design and decorative or conceptual art. Her work is playful with a sense of whimsy and often features hot pink.
Mar Lewis
Local artist Marlisha Lewis resides in Barrie with her husband and 3 kids. She has spent time studying as a printmaker & implementing thesis work that explored art expression for Alzheimer’s. An interest in past-story, details in nature, light and focus are some of the inspirational themes that appear throughout her creative process. She has a passion for collecting, photographing, painting, printmaking and digital drawing. In the last few years, Mar has discovered a love for making ink and natural dyes with foraged materials. She currently co-runs a shared artist studio/gallery space called Spare Room. You might find Mar here, working alongside other local artists and makers, in her backyard or in the forest where she is most inspired, immersed in the natural world around her.