295 - Visiting An art exhibit

So, today I went to a local art exhibit called carnets de voyage, where 82 different artists and grouped art associations exhibited their art, all with the topic of travel diaries, but also some photography and collected objects.


Last night, I was fatigued from running errands, and a lot of anxiety about this outing today, to my very first carnets de voyages. I expected a lot of people, which I feared would overwhelm me ; and knew there would be children, which I feared would be noisy and running everywhere. 

I was even more tired this morning, after a shortened and divided night. I decided not to follow the initial urge to cancel, and glad that I went. I'm actually quite proud of myself, as I had anxiety only at the beginning when I was searching for a paper in my pocket and dropped everything out of my wallet. 
Later on, when we were talking with two friends we met there, and laughed at a joke one of them said, I was shooshed by a woman who was trying to listen to a low-talker artist ; I apologised and moved away, but didn't experience any additional anxiety, that my previous-self would have, in such a situation where I had accidentally drawn attention to myself.

There were some moments where I had to walk fast around triggering photos and taxidermy pieces (I really don't know why the local museum of natural art was present, as it has nothing to do with travel diaries!) and some of the art wasn't all that moving or aesthetically pleasing to my eyes, but some were really exquisite. 

I liked that the artists were from different nationalities and their travel diaries were from many varied countries, and hope that they were indeed collected at location, and not just imagined. This doubt is brought on by the fact that some of them were doing art during the exhibit, drawing or painting things that weren't in this venue. 

I also liked that through diversity of styles and destination, there was no guiding uniformity nor a theme. Each artist was unique, and even in some cases where I didn't like something, I could appreciate the talents most of them showed. 

We didn't buy anything from the boutiques, which were selling the artists books and other assorted items ; we only got coffee. To avoid copyright issues, I didn't even bring my camera to take photos, but you can easily imagine all the various formats and items presented there. 

Overall, I enjoyed this outing and proud that I saw it through, despite anxiety. It ended less crowded and less noisy that I anticipated. 

The carnets de voyage are biennale, so I expect to check 2019's edition next. This same venue also has other events, such as a geek convention, for which I don't feel quite ready as it's far busier than this art, almost museum type of exhibit, but maybe by the spring I'll feel more confident about it.... If not, I'll probably go in 2019's edition.