Spotlight on the CBS Community Gallery

Walk into a handful of businesses in Conception Bay South these days and you might notice something new hanging on the wall: an original piece of local artwork, complete with a small card sharing the artist's name, the title of the piece and how to buy it. That's the CBS Community Gallery in action — a grassroots initiative that's turning everyday storefronts into rotating art exhibitions, month by month.

The program is the brainchild of visual artist David Coates, who brought together a group of CBS-area artists in 2025 to form the CBS Visual Artist Collective, an online community that has since grown to 90 members working across painting, photography, metal sculpture, felt art and fabric art (with about 10 additional artists who aren't on Facebook kept in the loop by email). The collective, guided by a small leadership group that includes Lisa Locke, Dianne Hussey, Morgan Lee, Glenda Bartlett and Michelle Dooley Kirby, alongside Coates, gives artists a place to trade advice, share opportunities and showcase their work to one another.

This piece by Melissa Metcalfe is on display at Rhonda Nugent, Co-operators in the Town of Conception Bay South for the month of September.

“CBS has a wealth of talented visual artists, and this program was designed to give artists additional exposure in their community while helping to beautify public spaces within our business community. A win – win,” Coates says.

In December 2024, Coates drafted a proposal for what he called the CBS Community Gallery and brought it to the Town of CBS. Conversations with town staff and councillors led to an introduction to the Downtown CBS Association (DTCBS) as a key partner, and after a series of meetings through the summer and fall of 2025, the DTCBS Board approved the program. It officially launched in April 2026.

Artist: Jennifer Noseworthy

The concept is simple, but the co-ordination behind it takes real care. About a week before each new month begins, Coates assigns participating artists to businesses on a rotating basis, connecting them via email. Artists share a photo of the piece they intend to display so the business can sign off, and each artist arrives with a signed waiver. Coates installs a CBS Community Gallery sign and a picture hook at each location ahead of time, and artists hang their work alongside an art card listing the piece's title, price and contact information. At the end of the month, artists collect their work and the rotation begins again.

“Support of the arts is important as it helps shape and define our rich Newfoundland history and the support of our local business community is helping to foster the growth of arts though their participation in the program,” Coates says.

Artist: David Coates

Since launch, the program has grown to include 37 participating artists and 20 businesses, with more businesses signing on every month. Coates is already looking ahead to expanding the gallery beyond Downtown CBS to other parts of the community.

It's a partnership that pays off for everyone involved: businesses get a rotating, no-cost display of local culture on their walls, foot traffic gets a reason to slow down and look, and artists get a steady stream of new eyes on their work, with a real chance to make a sale.

And it’s a perfect example of what can be achieved when business and arts work together for the benefit of all. 

Chelsea Allen’s piece "Sunrise On The Line" was on display at Shoppers Drug Mart for the month of August as part of the CBS Community Gallery initiative.

Follow the collective's public page, CBS Visual Artist Collective, on Facebook to see the gallery's latest rotation: https://www.facebook.com/CBSVisualArtistCollective