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SARAH HAMILTON
EDMONTON CITY COUNCILLOR
AJA LOUDEN
DIRECTOR AND LEAD ARTIST, AJA LOUDEN STUDIOS
AGE 38
Growing up in small-town ‘Berta, AJA Louden’s early interactions with art were modest. “I have strong mem- ories of ripping the perforat-
ed edge off this piece of paper my parents handed me and then sitting down to get ready to draw,” he recalls.
Although Louden initially pursued a de- gree in biological sciences (with an interest in botany), he found his calling in design and eventually, public art. “The sciences are actually such a big part of my practice as an artist today,” he notes, highlighting how his understanding of temperature and pressure with spray paint has refined his technique.
Edmonton became the landscape that fueled Louden’s transition from a small- town sketcher to a full-fledged artist. “Moving from a small town, I was inspired by the different food here. Food is one of my favourite things, and it sparks my creativity,” he says. “And seeing graffiti on freight trains was like having a moving art gallery come through town.”
Louden’s work extends beyond personal achievements. Through his Aerosol Academy, he’s taught workshops and mentored emerging artists like Matthew Cardinal. Their collaboration on a mural
in Beaver Hills House Park named “mâmawinitowin,” was created because as Louden says, “We wanted to do something that celebrated syllabics and the languages that have been spoken here so long, and also combine that with our love of street art.”
That’s what is so special about Louden — his art tells a story, amplifies voices, and celebrates the complexities of the human experience.
— HIBA ZAIDI
AGE 39
Political careers start in all kinds of ways, but not many start over a disgusting insult.
council. She admits the last year has been tough for her and her council compatriots, and she’s not immune to criticisms. But every day she’s inspired by the citizens she serves.
“I don’t know if Edmontonians would necessarily say that they’re big risk takers, but when you have tens of thousands of people coming here to make this city their home, they’re taking risks just to get here. I think we kind of get down on our- selves so much that we don’t realize what we have to offer the world.”
That her 2016 comment prompt- ed such an absurdly awful reaction showed Hamilton that her fear was unfounded, because “there’s no risk small enough to avoid something like that.” And when she realized “that you can’t make yourself small,” it became liberating to take up space.
“I also consider it a personal victory that I did not stab him with the stem of my wine glass.”
— CORY SCHACHTEL
In 2016, Sarah Hamilton spoke — despite her dislike of public speaking — at the Progressive Conservative party’s special general meeting in Red Deer. There as
a volunteer interested in policy, Hamilton stood up, said her piece, and sat down feeling good.
“And then this guy came up to me and called me a cunt.”
Right before that meeting, some- one told Hamilton she should think about running for council, “and I was like, ‘Absolutely not.’” But her post- speech encounter “struck me like a match — to quote a classic piece of Canadian literature,” Hamilton says, referencing Canadian writer Timothy Findley’s The Piano Man’s Daughter.
Standing up felt like a risk for the soft-spoken Hamilton, now in her second term on Edmonton’s city
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