Art Tourism Visitors at Prestoungrange

Karl Schutz and Doris Bucklin, from Chemainus, BC. Canada and 29 Palms, California USA, are two of the founding members of the Global 'Art Tourism' Movement. They visit Prestoungrange for a series of discussions and presenations in mid September.

Art Tourism was founded some 15 years ago on Vancouver Island, Bristish Columbia, Canada when Macmillan Blodel closed their paper mill in the town of Chemainus. It was the town's only major employer and everyone wrote it off. But Karl and seven others said 'No Way'.

They resolved to tell the town's story in gigantic murals on the exterior walls of the town and to make them into a tourist attraction. The rest is history ... but how they did it, and who tried to stop them and why, is the tale they will be telling to interested parties at Prestoungrange.

Whether or not Art Tourism has anything to offer at Prestoungrange is yet to be seen, but it is a story well worth hearing and it is bound to trigger lateral thoughts if not straight line actions. How did we hear about their work? Simple really. The Barons' family live in Canada and when arranging the Millennial Ski Holiday for the family at Whistler, Dolphinstoun was simply passsing by. One look and he was a believer, and he is no mean artist himself. One of his best acclaimed works was a dust jacket he designed at 18 years of age ... and that was a while ago .... for Prestoungrange's title Creating Wealth Through Management Development.