Miriam Körner is currently showcasing her artwork from her book Fox and Bear. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

opportunity

Café offering gallery space for community artists

Feb 6, 2024 | 4:11 PM

An art gallery located in La Ronge’s Marker 47 Café is providing artists with a venue to have their work seen.

When owner Abby Besharah opened her business in December 2021, she did so with a goal of creating a café that also acts as a community space. The first exhibit was displayed in November 2022 and since that time there have been 14 showcased in the restaurant.

“It brings people in. It brings in people who may not come here for coffee, just to see the show,” Besharah said.

“Miriam’s exhibit right now has brought in a couple of people who have just been wanting to see her great little dioramas. It’s just having something fun and interesting on the walls to either give something for people to look at while they are hanging out here, because people will come here and work on school work or work on remote work from here.”

The space is curated by members of local Pixels@20Paces art collective, which includes members Annalisa Heppner and Greg Lobb. The gallery was minimal at first with a rudimentary hanging system, but through fundraising, the space now includes infrastructure just like the gallery run by the La Ronge Arts Council at Mistasinihk Place.

Made in Saskatchewan

Find My Plus One: The Canadian App for Getting Out and Living Your Best Life

Mar 09, 2026

Riderville

Ask Not for Whom the Ed Hervey Tampering Window Opens!

Feb 02, 2026

Seniors Scene

New Year - New Habits

Feb 02, 2026

“The business itself takes a lot of my time and energy, so to be able to have incredible shows curated every month with minimal effort by myself, I am really happy to be able to provide the space for this,” Besharah said.

“It offers opportunity for people who are non-traditional artists or shows that may not be something that a typical gallery setting would have. There’s an upcoming show that’s actually a non-profit group, an activist group, so there’s a show being curated for that in March. It just allows something different.”

The gallery is also a space where artists are permitted to sell their work and could be suited to those who want to have their work seen, but perhaps don’t have a large enough collection to exhibit at Mistasinihk Place.

“It’s been a journey, that’s for sure,” Lobb said.

“There’s definitely good public exposure here. A lot of people don’t know that stuff is going up at Mistasinihk Place and I don’t think a lot of people know this is happening as well. They are happening simultaneously. We are doing our best to expose the artist and bring people in and help Abby out by bringing people in to see the shows that are up.”

Those interested in having their artwork displayed at Marker 47 Café should contact Heppner through Pixels@20Paces.

–

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com