With art exhibits all over Queen street, the annual Niagara Falls Night(s) of Art returns for the 10th time.

Everything from outdoor exhibits to live music, spoken word and acrobatics, Queen street plays host to the art festival until 9 p.m. on Sept. 26th.

Tucked away in the back of Third Space Cafe is an exhibit that is somewhat unique in nature, but only available for one night.

Egen Henderson, the curator of Niagara’s VR art gallery, is the artist behind it. A gallery experience that requires visitors to wear a headset and step into a virtual art gallery, designed by Henderson, displaying art curated by Henderson.

“What if we could create a way of seeing art outside of being in person? See it virtually, but still have that experience of being in person?”

“I really want to get some art,” Henderson said. He said the idea came from his longing to not only see people again, but to see art in person again, thus inspiring him to create the gallery experience.

Through the process of photogrammetry; compiling detailed photos into a virtual 3d model, Henderson used the video game engine Unity, to make the gallery, featuring photo scans of work from Niagara Falls artists.

The theme of his gallery: “Resilient innovation.”

He said his gallery focuses on the artist and their desire and ability to create, despite the turbulence of the world around them.

Henderson said his decision to showcase the work of Niagara artists was because he felt connected to them.

Raised in Niagara Falls, he said he had a personal connection with many of the artists he chose to feature and was looking for a way to “get their art outside of Niagara,” and could do so by making them part of his virtual online gallery for people around the world to see.

One visitor of Henderson’s gallery was Debra Jackson, who is also one of Henderson’s featured artists.

“I think he did great. I've never experienced a virtual reality gallery before,” Jackson said. “it's really cool to have a young curator doing something like this.”

She said the focus on the Niagara Falls art scene was especially valuable, as the artist community is in a building stage.

“I think it's really important, especially for The Night of Art, to represent the artists from Niagara Falls,” she said.

Jackson’s work, an encaustic painting called 'I read your obituary 1000 times,' was one of the works featured in Henderson’s gallery. The piece, she said, was inspired by the loss of a friend during the pandemic.

“We've all lost something during COVID. Some people have lost more than others,” Jackson said. “It’s been a tough 18 months.”