Autumn is rolling its way across the prairies and in what seems like an instant our river valley and parklands have been cloaked in gold, orange and red. It’s hard to not stop and stare, as if the entire city were now an enormous, open-air art gallery.
It won’t be long, though, before this natural exhibit gives way to bare branches and snowier scenes (not until October, please!). But fear not. If all this fall foliage has you in the artsy mood, Edmonton’s glut of galleries has you covered even after the city’s canopy canvas disappears.
Here are four of the city’s art galleries guaranteed to satiate even the shrewdest art junkie’s tastes.
Harcourt House has long been a staple in Edmonton’s arts community. The gallery specializes in contemporary visual and new media art and design and is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary. Throughout those decades, it’s fostered Edmonton’s burgeoning artists by providing affordable studio space and education facilities.
In honour of the milestone, Harcourt House is hosting two exciting exhibits this fall. The first a collaboration between Canadian artist Brad Necyk and Edmonton-based sound designer Gary James Joynes titled And All of Everything. The second exhibit is by artist and nurse Mary Whale titled Between Lines – Merging Portraits and Stories of Older Adults.
Both exhibits run from September 22 to October 1, 2023.
Not every gallery can double as a scavenger hunt, but this one does. The Free Little Street Art Gallery is a decentralized gallery project started by Edmonton artist Olena Ingerova and Arts on the Ave.
You know those “tiny libraries” you can find all over the city? The ones with the take-one-leave-one policy on books? Think that, but for art. Inspired by U.S. artist Stacy Milrany’s project of the same name, Ingerova said Edmonton’s rendition has been well received by the public.
“There’s a variety of things that come through — watercolours, pencil drawings, jewellery,” Ingerova says. “Especially from the neighbourhood children. They’re very excited.”
The “tiny galleries” can be found throughout Alberta Avenue, Eastwood, Spruce Avenue, Westwood, Parkdale/Cromdale, Delton and Elmwood Park.
One of the city’s more avant-garde galleries, SNAP (short for the Society of Northern Alberta Print Artists) is an artist-run gallery in Edmonton’s Oliver neighbourhood.
Focusing on the medium of print-making, the gallery offers classes for aspiring artists, exhibits and an important space for the local arts community to gather.
Presently, two exhibits are open to the public including SNAP Emerging Artist in Residence Callum McKenzie’s How Could I Know If No One Ever Told Me and Vancouver-based Ceilidh Munroe’s Fruition. SNAP executive director Caitlin Bodewitz said the upcoming exhibits can spark dialogue from the audience.
“These exhibitions have a really powerful ability to engage in quite profound conversations, but through a path of compassion,” Bodewitz says.
Both exhibits run until October 7, 2023.
Located near the city’s French quarter is the Centre d’arts visuels de l’Alberta. The gallery is run by the Francophone Society of Visual Arts of Alberta, a non-profit whose goal is to raise awareness of the importance of visual arts and to support French-speaking artists.
Fabienne Mamane-Virani, director, says the gallery doubles as a support network for emerging artists.
“It’s more than an art gallery. It’s really a space where [artists] can find help,” she says. “It’s a friendly gallery in the way that we’re here to support the career of the artist.”
The gallery will host its latest exhibit Faire Face from September 15 to October 17, 2023. The exhibit features ceramic works from Bonnie Gilmour and Charley Farrero in the Gallery’s Exploration Space and works from Denise Lauzon Dempsey, Rachel Barthélemy and Camille Paris in the Member Space.
