Transit stations across Edmonton got revamped due to a new iteration of a public art project formerly known as #YEGCanvas. Forty-one posters featuring the work of artists from the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts are on display at LRT stations across the city.
The project is a partnership between Edmonton Arts Council, the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts and Pattison Outdoor Advertising.
“We wanted to capture the variety of art that is made at the Nina, because we have painting, drying, ceramics, textiles, printmaking and more,” says Janice Easton, director of communications and artistic outreach at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts. “And for a lot of the artists included, it’s their first time exhibiting their work publicly. We wanted to have a representative sample of the different stages of people’s careers and the different mediums.”
The Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts suffered during the pandemic and went from over 230 artists to 150. The centre supports a collective of artists with developmental disabilities, offers workshops and classes and hosts exhibitions.
Brittany Leitheiser is an artist at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts and has a piece of artwork in the transit installation. Her painting of a wolf dressed in a fancy jacket and hat took eight months to create and is on display at Coliseum station. She’s thankful for the opportunity to showcase her work in a public space.
“For people with disabilities, it’s kind of hard to fit in,” says Leitheiser. “But at the Nina, you’re just an artist and you’re appreciated. Anyone can do art if you put your mind to it and you have the will to do it.”
Transit-goers can view the 41 art posters across the LRT station network until the end of the year.
