It has been six months since the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) has been open to the public and there is new art for your eyes to take in.
Four new exhibits, as well as one previous Picasso exhibit that was installed in December, promise to excite your curiosity. There’s lots of local love to go around as The Scene showcases the work of 13 local artists and explores Edmonton’s dynamic visual arts scene. Black Every Day celebrates the 15th anniversary of 5 Artists 1 Love, an arts organization that features the works of African Canadian artists. The AGA has done an exhibition with 5 Artists 1 Love every February for Black History Month, but couldn’t this year because of the pandemic. Instead, the AGA and 5 Artists 1 Love opted to do one large exhibition — it celebrates 5 Artists 1 Love’s 15th anniversary and AGA’s 10-year anniversary of partnering with the organization.
“I’m excited that after all of these works of art that have been sitting in the dark for six months, somebody is going to actually have a chance to see them,” says Catherine Crowston, executive director at the AGA. “And I’m also really excited for the artists who’ve been waiting.”
As for the rest of the new exhibits? You’ll have to go discover them for yourself. While you’re there, don’t forget to taste test the new menu at the third floor terrace bistro. The AGA has partnered with Prairie Catering, an Edmonton-based food provider, to launch a French bistro-inspired, terrace menu.
The updated terrace will feature lots of greenery and bistro tables to make it feel like a Parisian sidewalk cafe. If you don’t think of food as art, you might soon. Prairie Catering is turning the AGA’s former restaurant space into a chef incubator space.
“They’re going to be having resident chefs come in for several months, and have pop-up events in this incubator space, so the food and the menus could change depending on the chef,” says Crowston. “And it’s really just a way for us to take the creativity and the innovation of the art world and apply it to the food world by having these chef residencies.”
The AGA reopens on June 19 for members only and on June 20 to the public. In celebration of June’s National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, the AGA is offering free admission on June 20. The AGA light column will also be lit orange to remember the 215 tragic deaths at the Kamloops residential school.
After the 20th, the AGA, located at 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square, is open Thursday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Visits must be pre-booked online.
