New Routes: threads through space and time, a group show opening September 19 at the Mitchell Art Gallery, draws on the Jamaican ancestry of its four artists: the multidisciplinary Elsa Robinson; vivid figurative painter Garfield Morgan; Afrofuturist street and textile artist AJA Louden; and Raneece Buddan, winner of the 2025 Foote Prize for visual artists in Edmonton. To better understand the interconnection of their four practices — and the paths that brought them all to Edmonton in this moment — the artists worked under the guidance of Yaniya Lee, a historian of Black Canadian art based in Berlin. They met with Lee to better understand the threads that bound them to one another, to the Prairies and to their diasporic history. “The ultimate goal,” Robinson says, “was for (Lee) to reflect where each of us was in relation to one another.” It was a process Robinson says was unlike anything the group had experienced before.
As part of the exhibition programming, Lee will be giving a talk at MacEwan’s Roundhouse event space on September 19 from noon to 1 p.m.
New Routes is on display at the Mitchell Art Gallery from September 19 to December 6.
Mitchell Art Gallery
Downtown | 11110 104 Ave NW, Allard Hall Room 11-121Edmonton | mitchellartgallery.macewan.ca
On September 16, writer and academic Billy-Ray Belcourt will launch his first poetry collection in six years, The Idea of An Entire Life, at Magpie Books.
Since the 2017 release of his debut poetry collection, This Wound is a World, Belcourt has emerged as a defining voice of his generation, offering readers a thoughtful, introspective and unflinchingly honest look at many of the subjects that define contemporary life — grief, shame, anger, inheritance, love. His work spans literary genres, including the 2020 memoir A History of My Brief Body and Coexistence, the short story collection from 2024. Like his previous work, The Idea of An Entire Life is both a tender view of the present and a thoughtful consideration of personal and political possibility.
Belcourt will be in conversation with Governor General’s Literary Award-winning writer Jordan Abel.
Billy-Ray Belcourt’s book launch will take place at Magpie Books on September 16 at 7 p.m.
R.S.V.P. at Magpiebooks.ca to attend. The Idea of An Entire Life is available from your local bookseller.
Magpie Books
Ritchie | 9553 76 Ave NW, Edmonton | magpiebooks.ca
Led by Romani-Canadian singer Candace Lacina and keyboardist Mike Little, The Hello Darlins are a Calgary-based band whose sound forms a blend of folk, country, gospel and blues. After a whirlwind tour in 2023 that saw them perform nearly 200 shows across North America and Europe, the band released their sweeping double album The Alders & The Ashes in 2024.
On September 19, The Hello Darlins will bring their dynamic sound, heartfelt songwriting and captivating stage presence to the New Moon Folk Club, the entirely volunteer-led, not-for-profit organization that features established and emerging folk musicians.
And as an added bonus, Camrose-based musician Jessie Bird, who performed at the Edmonton Folk Fest in 2024 with the School of Song, will open the show.
The Hello Darlins will be performing at the New Moon Folk Club on September 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students.
New Moon Folk Club
Queen Alexandra | 10819 71 Ave NW, Edmonton | newmoonfolkclub.com
