He has an engaging smile and a deprecatory attitude that seems to say, "I'm not important, I only work here."

Born in Vancouver to parents who had no interest in the Arts he was sent to Shawnigan Lake School to receive the type of education that would turn him into a successful businessman or lawyer - certainly not an Art Gallery Curator!

However, during his school years he met teachers who inspired him to look around and search for beauty. After graduating from university with a degree in Fine Arts, he began to collect pieces of art that he found by chance- one lovely piece was picked up at a yard sale! With his small but growing Art collection he opened a little gallery in Victoria.

He loved art and wanted to encourage young artists, but claims he was never a businessman. If he sold a piece he felt guilty taking a commission so inevitably paid the artist more than he should have.

To keep himself in funds he waited on tables, which was work that he truly enjoyed. He says, "I liked meeting people. I was always surprised but pleased when they came back to the restaurant and wanted to sit in my section. It was a good way to supplement my Gallery and allow me to pick up art I fancied along the way."

But he wanted to explore his province too, so in 1995 he took a gamble and bought a house in Wells, 'for a song' which he dreamed of turning into a Retreat for artists and musicians. He felt the neighborliness of the area would help him achieve his goal.

In 2004 he was hired as Curator for the feisty little Grand Forks Gallery. He greatly enjoyed the Gallery, the artists, and the community. It was a wrench when he was invited to come to Penticton, but he feels it had been four years well spent.

His arrival heralded a new era for the Art Gallery. Here was someone with a passion to create a space where the whole community would feel welcome. He devised ways to get more people through the doors by offering events featuring music or theatre. He believed that once people were inside they would linger and look at the exhibits.

His biggest project was bringing in the Tibetan Monks - he had to fight hard for that. He was told that people would not come out, as the event was 'too religious'. Why would anyone be interested in Buddhist Monks? Well, the event was an amazing success and brought the community together in an unexpected way. The monks, in spite of the language barrier, were so approachable. Little children ran to them instinctively to be picked up. One woman said, "I saw one monk walking with a child on each arm, and all were beaming."

Crowds of people from all generations turned out. They were fascinated by the creation of the Mandela, using the brightly coloured sand. The opening and closing ceremonies were packed to overflowing!

After the Mandela was completed it was reverently demolished and packets of the sand were distributed to the crowd. Then the Monks made their ceremonial march through the grounds, over the little bridge, to the Japanese Garden. There the last of the sand was poured into the water, to join the lake and the river and finally the sea. Its mission was to spread peace and harmony throughout the world - the Monks had completed their task. It had been an amazing week with the creation of the Mandela, meditation talks, lectures on healing, demonstrations of sacred music and dance - all seemed to leave participants with a true sense of peace. The crowds of people were full of harmony.

Paul Crawford is justly proud of his coup of bringing the Tibetan Monks, now long into their exile, to Penticton. It was their only stop in Canada. Now what other innovative ideas can we look forward to?

September 2007, Dodi Morrison