It’s a rural art gallery with the charm of a converted horse stable in the setting of the Saanich woods.
Retired couple Gabriel Taschereau and Jacqui Austin, a pair of lifelong artists, recently opened their new gallery, Art in the Barn, on their five-acre woodland property in West Saanich, along Interurban Road.
The gallery hosts plenty of guest works from locals. Right now they’re featuring woodcarver Merlayna Snyder, artist Lenaya Chrystall, potter Joy Finlay, as well as their own pieces. Taschereau turned his side-career as a photographer to a pure art focus, while Austin has been painting since she was selected in an art show as an eight-year-old in England, her original country of origin.
There is 235 linear feet of wall space within the barn to hang art
Until recently, the couple were a horse family and kept the horses in the now renovated barn. The couple had already converted another out building on the property into a rustic studio.
“We opened in the fall and it’s been going very well, lots of viewers and lots of sales,” Taschereau said. “We often have days where we are far outnumbered by the visitors. We have traffic each day [we’re open].”
Before transitioning to this, Taschereau worked in the car industry and Austin in architectural drafting. In that time, they would sometimes book a gallery two years in advance to show their art work.
“We would work all year for that show, and it would only be two weeks long,” Austin said. “This made more sense.”
The new Art in the Barn gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday to Sunday at 4578 Hughes Rd., off Interurban (appointments available by calling 778-977-2895).