Ria Links' main aim is
to_Connect_Connect_Connect_
We are an all-volunteer organization based on reciprocal learning. Our events are free and open to anyone interested in art. Ria Links will not ask for donations, nor do we pay fees to presenters.
Ria Links is driven by the urgent need for Systems Change in order to slow down Climate Change.
The organization developed from RIA Research in Art, a program of exhibitions and Salons that local artists Petra Halkes and Rene Price organized in their home from 2006 to 2019. It was the climate crisis that impelled RIA to focus on Systems Change, and it was the pandemic that forced the organization into the clouds for virtual Salons.
Ria Links aims to discover and connect local artists who are driven by Climate Change, so we can learn from one another, study together and collaborate on projects. We believe that as artists we need to use our imagination, skills and talents, by creating emotional awareness and personal connections to the world’s overwhelming problems, to protest injustice, greed, and willful ignorance, and to build resilience and find solutions. We have organized an ongoing series of Salons during the pandemic, as well as film screenings and real-life meetups at specific local exhibitions, following Covid 19 protocols.
Although Ria Links has 350 names on their subscribers’ list, our membership is aging. We aim to be more inclusive and connect with younger artists. If you are interested in Systems Change, Climate Change, and art, we are interested in you! Please send an email to researchinart.ria@gmail.com
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Through Salons in the Cloud, we aim to make new contacts so small groups can emerge on specific, intersecting topics of art and socio-political issues. Small groups could meet in person. We encourage anyone to take the initiative!
Where Art Comes Home – The Story of RIA Research in Art is a compilation of RIA essays and images and a few contemplative texts about RIA events over the years. It was put together with the help of a City of Ottawa grant and posted online in the summer of 2020. Read it HERE
This website and the Salons are currently organized by Petra Halkes, retired painter, curator, and art writer, with help from Dawn Dale and cj fleury. Thanks to both for their ongoing gifts of time, ideas and support.
My thanks go as well to G101 and Laura Margita for their enthusiastic collaboration.
To subscribe to Ria Links email list, contact researchinart.ria@gmail.com
Ria was my sister, who died in 2006. I like to hear her name.
- Petra Halkes
