The Works Art & Design Festival Celebrates 25 Years
June 25 – July 7, 2010
Since 1986, The Works Art & Design Festival has been transforming Downtown Edmonton into an epicentre of creativity, bringing art into the public realm and making it everyone’s business. For 13 days art spreads through as many as 30 exhibit sites in downtown malls, banks, restaurants and hotels, while Churchill Square hosts an eclectic array of artists, music, performance, demonstrations, workshops and lectures that reflect exciting changes and arising issues in art and design. With the 25th anniversary of The Works Festival in 2010, organizers are getting ready to celebrate!
Since 2008, Directors Amber Rooke and Dawn Saunders Dahl have been working towards the 25th anniversary with a series of themed core exhibits. Staying current with concerns of the time, the overarching topic for three years has been Sustainability and Environmentalism. The focus isn’t only on recycling and being green, though this is one of The Festival’s values. Sustainability extends from ecological issues through to societal issues – sustainable design through to designing a sustainable future. As a visual arts festival, each year’s theme has been an element that relates to both art and sustainability: Water in 2008, Heat in 2009, and Earth in 2010.
2008 addressed Water as an element to be celebrated and protected. The Works South Gateway, one of the two massive arches that greet visitors at the main Festival site, was transformed into a rainbow that sprayed cool mist on the crowds, showing the beauty of light through water. On the other side of Churchill Square, the Artist in Residence, Richard Watts, transformed collected wooden boats into a series of sculptures talking about waterways, water usage, energy, and transportation.
In 2009 the Heat theme was expressed through a range of topics: as process in making artwork, as pressure in complex or unjust societal structures, and as a factor in the health of our ecosystem. One of the most talked about exhibits was Future Imperfect, a collection of digital artworks by artists in the film, game, and entertainment industry. Curator Adrien Cho conceived the exhibit as samples of a possible future where nothing had been done to stop global climate change. Cho also wanted to challenge preconceptions about the legitimacy of digital work, having each piece professionally printed on canvas and stretched to clearly present the images as works of art.
2009 also launched The Works Canadian Aboriginal Artist Program with support from the Canada Council for the Arts. Aboriginal artists and curators were brought in to exhibit, to demonstrate art making processes, and to discuss issues of Aboriginal Art in Canada. One of the headlining exhibits was Transforming Motion, curated by Terrance Houle. Featuring video and photographic works from artists in Canada and the US, the exhibit saw curator Houle (Calgary), and artists Nadya Kwandibens (Toronto) and Larry Blackhorse Lowe (USA), join Works Artist in Residence Roger Crait (Winnipeg) in Edmonton for an artists panel on National Aboriginal Day. Moderated by Gail Duiker, the panel touched on sustainability and connections to the land, reservation culture, and what it means to be a Contemporary Aboriginal Artist. These important discussions will continue in upcoming festivals, as the program will be featured for two more years.
The upcoming Silver Anniversary promises to be just as exciting and diverse! The Earth theme will see a holistic approach to the visual arts, considering art creation, spectacle, criticism, and activism. The Works Canadian Aboriginal Artists Program will continue, and there will be many opportunities to creatively participate in The Festival. These opportunities run from favourites, such as the Smaller Than a Breadbox Exhibit, in which artists show works smaller than 3x3x6 inches and the Annual Chalk Art Contest, to special exhibits, such as that honouring the late Edmonton arts reporter Gilbert Bouchard. For this, artists are invited to make a piece “For Gilbert” to be exhibited on Sir Winston Churchill Square during the festival.
With these projects, programs, exhibits, and installations, The Works Art & Design Festival is a forum unlike any other in North America for spectators and participants to experience the visual arts. Don’t miss out: June 25 – July 7, 2010!
For more information about participating in exhibits, projects, markets, or to volunteer, see www.theworks.ab.ca.
The Annual Chalk Art Contest honouring the late Edmonton arts reporter Gilbert Bouchard.
For this, artists are invited to make a piece “For Gilbert” to be exhibited on Sir Winston Churchill Square during the festival.