点评:Ah, the Chown River Gallery! Open since 2012, this compact gallery is located along Tow Hill Road, approximately 9 kilometers northeast of Masset, and just along the outskirts of Naikoon Provincial Park. If you’re driving along and not paying attention it’s easy to miss, but – contradictorily – is also easy to spot due to its unique blue-ish/purple colouring. If you’re able to get inside, the collection is quite good for such a small space: Haida jewellery, polished agates, yew wood cutting boards, spruce weaving, prints, Haida carving, clothing, books and other attractive goods all await. In short, the selection represents a fine and fair cross-section of Haida Gwaii.
Of course, you’ll notice I said “If you’re able to get inside.” And that’s where Chown River Gallery loses brownie points with me: To put the matter bluntly, they don’t adhere to their own posted business hours. Just one example should suffice: Their official website says that, after the 9th of June, they will be open “Thursday to Sundays 10-5pm or by appointment.” We showed up on two occasions during their “open” days and – surprise – the door was locked. We also tried calling for an appointment, but got voicemail and no callback.
Anyway, we eventually managed to catch them “open” and spied some lovely items. Unfortunately, the whole thing was a bit of a crapshoot. As such, I’d recommend patronizing any of the other art galleries around Haida Gwaii . . . at least they’re open when they say they are.
翻译:啊,乔恩河画廊!这家小巧的画廊自2012年开业以来,一直位于托山路(Tow Hill Road)沿线,距离马塞特(Masset)东北方向约9公里,紧邻奈昆省立公园(Naikoon Provincial Park)。如果您开车路过,稍不留神就很容易错过它,但矛盾的是,它独特的蓝紫色外观也让它格外引人注目。如果您能进去参观,就会发现,在如此狭小的空间里,藏品相当丰富:海达族珠宝、抛光玛瑙、紫杉木砧板、云杉编织品、版画、海达族雕刻、服饰、书籍以及其他精美商品琳琅满目。简而言之,这里的藏品代表了海达瓜依群岛(Haida Gwaii)丰富多彩的缩影。
当然,您会注意到我说的是“如果您能进去参观”。而这正是乔恩河画廊在我心中失分的地方:坦白地说,他们并不遵守自己公布的营业时间。举个例子就足以说明问题了:他们的官网上说,6月9日之后,他们的营业时间为“周四至周日,上午10点至下午5点,或可预约”。我们两次在他们“营业”的日子里去了,结果不出所料,门都锁着。我们也尝试打电话预约,但只听到语音留言,没有回电。
不过,我们最终还是碰巧赶上了他们“营业”的日子,看到了一些很不错的艺术品。可惜的是,整个过程就像碰运气一样。因此,我建议大家去海达瓜依岛附近的其他艺术画廊逛逛……至少他们营业时间是按时开放的。