Trains, fictional mining town characters at Williams Lake Station House Gallery

Trains, fictional mining town characters at Williams Lake Station House Gallery Published 4:55 pm Saturday, July 11, 2026 Trains and folk horror book characters from a fictional mining town — there are two new exhibitions at the Williams Lake House Gallery...

Trains, fictional mining town characters at Williams Lake Station House Gallery Published 4:55 pm Saturday, July 11, 2026 Trains and folk horror book characters from a fictional mining town — there are two new exhibitions at the Williams Lake House Gallery to enjoy this summer. On Thursday, July 9, opening reception was held for All Aboard, Everything Trains and The Winze Files: Unearthed. Station House Gallery executive Davana Stafford called the lower gallery exhibition featuring works of all mediums by artists from across B.C involving trains as extremely fitting.

The society has been sharing the 1919 heritage building that was once a train station since forming in 1981 to preserve it as a community space for arts and culture, and to support local artists. On Wednesday, July 8 as preparations were underway Stafford added the Rocky Mountaineer went by with all of their passengers waving. “Everyone’s experience with trains, their memories and their connections are different and it’s really incredible to see such diverse works and works of a variety of mediums,” Stafford said, noting every summer a specific themed exhibition is chosen by the Station House Gallery Board of Directors and staff.

Artists participating in “All Aboard, Everything Trains” include: Yuri Akihara, Alice Bottrill, Sharayiah-Jo Lacey, Billie Sheridan, Cassidy Greenberg, Lacey Hamlin, Lynn Capling, Marat HV, Nedeen Boon, Trudy Costa, Val Valdez, Victoria Lynn, Sarah Annaliese, Terry Jeffries, Ellie Capling Smith, Rachel Folland and the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin. In the upper gallery Caroline Anders of Wells presents her original artwork, reduction linocut prints, illustrated maps, character studies and visual artifacts from her folk horror book series set in the fictional mining town of Winzeford. Anders said recently in Wells there has been a kick up of industrial activity, specifically mining, that has brought many changes in the community.

“There has been a lot of pressure and it has really inspired me to create a lot of work, and the Winze Files is kind of that, ” Anders added. “It’s also an ode to small towns and the personalities and the experiences that some of us have — the connections to places that we continue to think about even after long periods and how we work together as a community, how we overcome things as a community and even how we grieve as a community.” Anderson, who was born in Ontario, noted she also grew up watching a lot of TVO, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps.

Both exhibitions are on display until Saturday, August 29. Sponsors are the Carol Toop Grosso Memorial Fund with Stafford describing Toop as an incredible woman who had worked at the Station House Gallery for many years with her sister, Diane Toop who previously served as executive director for more than 20 years.