Walt Humphries鈥� Life鈥檚 Like That exhibit is coming off museum walls next week, but not without a proper goodbye. 

The Prince of Wales 黑料吃瓜网 Heritage Centre (PWNHC) is hosting a 鈥渇lashlight farewell,鈥� to bid a proper adieu to Humphries鈥� 11-month gallery run. 

Participants can sign up for the Nov. 26 event in groups of four, to take a 30-minute tour of the exhibit guided by co-curators Sarah Swan and Bill Braden, as well as Humphries himself and his wife Diane Baldwin. 

Each will be stationed at a different point of the exhibit to share their own anecdotes and points of interest in the work. Humphries will delve into the inception of his works, while Braden puts historical elements into context, adding bits of legend and folklore. Swan outlines what makes Humphries鈥� paintings successful from an artistic perspective.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 like speed dating the art,鈥� Swan said, outlining the 10 minutes each group will have to ask questions, hear stories, and explore each station of the darkened exhibit by flashlight. 

The flashlight tour is a concept gaining popularity in southern galleries as a way of drawing participants to galleries in small groups during the pandemic. 

鈥淲ith the flashlight, the power is with you to investigate what you鈥檙e interested in,鈥� Swan said. 鈥淲e thought it would be really well suited to Walt鈥檚 work because his work is incredibly detailed. Every time I look at his paintings I see something I haven鈥檛 noticed before.鈥�

The tours will run next Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Interested participants can book their timeslots through the PWNHC page. By Wednesday afternoon, only hours after becoming available, half the spots had already been filled.

When Life鈥檚 Like That' was first unveiled on gallery walls, there was no fanfare. After an extension six months past the exhibit's initial closure date, however, 鈥渋t would have been sad to just take it off the walls without ceremony,鈥� Swan said. 

Swan said her and Braden had pushed for Humphries to showcase his art in the museum because they see him 鈥渘ot just as a local quirky columnist for the paper,鈥� but as 鈥渁 world-class artist.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 incredibly brilliant,鈥� Swan said. 

Accompanying the flashlight farewell, the mobile art gallery will also be parked in the museum鈥檚 parking lot to display some of Humphries鈥� never-before-seen drawings from the '70s and '80s.

The pen and inks are 鈥渉ave a lot of character and whimsy and no one in town has ever seen these before,鈥� Swan said. 

Many of the pieces on display are a part of people鈥檚 private collections they鈥檝e donated for the exhibit. Swan encourages Yellowknifers to come out to the free event as 鈥渋t may be a very long time before people have the chance to see these again.鈥�

Next at the PWNHC, Covered Ground features Yellowknife artist Tracey Bryant and Alberta-based artist Rhonda Harder Epp. The exhibit will display encaustic paintings and paper sculptures representing 黑料吃瓜网 landscapes with a particular focus on lichen. 

Covered Ground will launch on Dec. 9 for a six-month run.