The only fully virtual art gallery in the province, located in Val Marie, will be jumping into the real world this weekend.

Grasslands Gallery Online is collaborating with Prairie Wind and Silver Sage, the village's museum, for an in-person exhibition. 

Laureen Marchand, owner and director of the art gallery, said the museum is in its 26th year of operating and welcomes upwards of 3,000 visitors during a season.

"Prairie Wind and Silver Sage, they've built up quite a reputation and they're known internationally as an eco-museum," she said. "And this being small-town Saskatchewan, I was chatting one day with the executive directors who live across the street from me, and we decided that this would be a good opportunity for them to host an exhibition that my gallery would sponsor that would highlight some of the artwork that comes out of this province, and give the opportunity for their audience and for my artists to connect in a way that's different from connecting online."

Thoughts of a Prairie Summer features the work of 10 artists from across the province, that reflects how they interpret Saskatchewan in the summertime.

While this won't be the first in-person exhibition Grasslands Gallery Online has done, it is the first one they've held in Val Marie. Marchand took part in the 2022 Art Now Fine Art Fair in Regina, which is put on by SaskGalleries.

"This is on a smaller scale but it's not less important," she said. "Because it does give artists' work a chance to be seen in person by a different audience than it normally would be."

Opening day for Thoughts of a Prairie Summer falls in line with Saskatchewan Art Gallery Day this Saturday.

Folks that head out to the museum can expect free lemonade and cookies in celebration from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

To learn more about Prairie Wind and Silver Sage, visit their website here.

For more information about Grasslands Gallery Online, check out their website here.