The Works Art & Design Festival features 50 exhibits by 300 artists in 28 different venues. That equals 700 pieces of art to expand your artistic horizons. There will also be concerts, exhibits and vendors. These are just 10 of the venues that will be jam-packed with art lovers as the festival takes over the city June 23 to July 5, 2016. [Image credit: iStock.com/mihailomilovanovic]
Harcourt House is home to two art displays. Connect the Dots, by various artists features new works by members of Harcourt House. In the Annex Building, the 24th Annual Naked Show, featuring various artists, will take place. It looks at the figurative works made in the centre’s drop in drawing and sculpture classes. Both are on display Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. (closed Canada Day and July 2).
In the Matrix Hospitality Suite, you’ll find the exhibit Blurred Lines by Keith Walker. It features sculptures that use hand-blown glass as a canvas. The exhibit is open to the public 24 hours a day, except Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Candied Landscapes, by Terry P. Daly, features technicolour landscapes. The artist cuts into the old paint on his palette to create new artworks. The series will be on display Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and daily from 5 p.m. till 10 p.m.
There’s plenty of fantastic art to check out here, with three exhibits taking place during the festival. In the Dream Big Plaza outside, there’s A Retrospective, featuring sculptures by Edmonton artist Susan Owen Kagan. On the lower level, artist Glenn Guillet’s work will be display. Finally, in the Partnership Gallery, there will be works of art by more than 50 Edmonton students. The pieces were selected from more than 1,000 submissions by students of all ages.
The centre will feature Owning It, a collection by the Alberta Artists with Brain Injury Society (AABIS). The society started at the Glenrose Hospital in 2003, as patients recovering from traumatic brain injuries found they liked art as a form of therapy so much that they wanted to continue after leaving the Glenrose. Catch the display Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m., Thursday from 4:30 p.m. till 8 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. (closed Canada Day).
Artist Lindsay Kirker presents Waking State, a series of large-scale paintings full of dream imagery. The artist explores realism and abstraction in her work, while looking at the institute of art itself. The exhibit is open Monday to Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays and Canada Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The beautiful Winspear Centre is home to Patrick Moore’s artistic triumph, Silver Portraits. The display features photos of an individual with the colour removed, printed, cut into pieces, and put onto a board in layers. His work is on display Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Canada Day).
The library's Milner Gallery is home to the show Core Spectres by Ashley Huot, seven days a week (closed Canada Day). Also, on June 27, at 7 p.m., the library will feature the BEAMS concert from the Boreal Electroacoustic Music Society. The show will include experimental sound and video from local artists, plus live guitars, vocals, clarinet, piano and bass.
The Alberta Craft Council’s feature gallery will showcase #ABCraft, by various artists. The exhibit will examine “the incorporation of digital technology into fine craft,” and the questions that arise from that integration. The exhibit will be open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. It will be closed Sunday and Canada Day. The ACC Discovery gallery will have the exhibition, Carrying On, by various artists. It includes bags, pouches and other “cultural containers” produced by Aboriginal artists in the province.
This historic hotel will be home to the exhibition Revive, by Larissa Blokhuis. Revive looks at the environment, new life forms and the future, through the medium of sculpture (primarily glass).