October in Tiny: Art, Conservation, and the Return of the Georgian Bay Studio Tour

October in Tiny has a rhythm all its own. The cooler winds off Georgian Bay turn our thoughts from long beach days to gatherings indoors—around tables, in studios, and inside galleries. Autumn is when the arts scene here really blossoms, and this year it is shaped by both tradition and urgent conversations about the future of our most precious resource: water.

Before the beloved Georgian Bay Studio Tour opens its doors again, back in May, Tiny already hosted an extraordinary visit from the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA). Founded in 1872, the OSA is Canada’s longest continuing art society, and from its earliest days it has been linked to the cause of conservation. As OSA organizer Janet Hendershot explained, “Since 1872, the Ontario Society of Artists has been intertwined with the spirit of conservation. This year, a group of our artists gathered at French’s Hill to create works inspired by the Alliston Aquifer—celebrated as the purest water known to science.”

Here in Tiny, we know that aquifer well—it’s part of our story and our responsibility. For residents of TinyTRA, it’s almost common knowledge that our Township is home to the scientifically discovered purest water on earth. And if you didn’t know, you could be forgiven for missing the headlines, but the truth is: the aquifer runs beneath our feet and connects us all to something rare and irreplaceable.

In association with Save Our Water Tiny, the OSA came to draw inspiration from this aquifer, using the water itself as their muse. Themes of purity, preservation, and fragility surfaced again and again in their work—whether in paintings that capture the translucent stillness of marsh water, photographs that explore the earth-water connection, or drawings that reflect on how nature holds and safeguards this irreplaceable gift. Hendershot emphasized that “Though gravel extraction in the region may follow existing laws, those laws fall far short of safeguarding something as rare and precious as this aquifer.”

The resulting exhibition will travel, bringing Tiny’s story to a wider audience:

• Latitude 44 Gallery, Toronto (2900 Dundas St. West): October 1–25, with an opening evening October 3, 6–8pm

• Quest Art School and Gallery, Midland: October 3–31, with an opening evening October 9, 7–9pm

• Canadian Museum of Water (online): Throughout the fall

For many in Tiny, the OSA’s project feels like a natural continuation of conversations that have been happening in the community for years. The aquifer is more than geology—it is heritage, sustenance, and identity. Hendershot acknowledged the collaboration that shaped the project, thanking Indigenous Water Keeper Beth Olsen as well as local advocates.

With that momentum, the season now moves toward the Georgian Bay Studio Tour (October 5–6, 2024), where artists across Tiny open their studios to welcome visitors. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the return indoors—wandering from studio to studio, meeting artists in their creative spaces, and discovering the ways our landscape continues to inspire art.

October, then, becomes a month of both reflection and celebration: reflection on the responsibility to protect the natural treasures that sustain us, and celebration of the creativity those same treasures inspire. From French’s Hill to the Georgian Bay shoreline, art in Tiny this season reminds us that culture and conservation are deeply connected, and that both flourish when a community chooses to care.