Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada’s 144th Birthday, and The Works will be throwing a birthday party just for the occasion! Come down to Churchill Square, and check out all the fantastic and fun events going on to celebrate this great day!

First of all, our Family Programs instructor will be guiding the creation of a mosaic, which will show the many different viewpoints that people have on this great country.

There will also be a performance of Kay Burns’ Perambulate today. Burns has performed Perambulate internationally, in locales such as Los Angeles, Reykjavik, and Amsterdam, and is now bringing it to Edmonton’s Louise McKinney Valley Taking place at Louise McKinney Park, this guided tour of the river valley is truly a spectacle– without giving too much away, it will have you really looking at not only the park and the river in a different way, but even walking.

We can’t forget about our Works’ Stage & Beverage Gardens. Pulling out all the stops for the tens-of-thousands that will be making their way through the Square today, our stage will be featuring the likes of Ben Sures, who has been busying himself as one of our artists in residence, Michael Rault, an up-and-coming retro rocker whose fame has just began, and Colleen Brown, who has been heralded as “a national treasure in the making.”

Come on out and partake in the Canada Day festivities– The Works’ Style!

See you on the Square!

Ian Johnston Artist Talk

Wow! Another beautiful couple of days at The Works Art & Design Festival! As I’m quite fond of saying, you may have noticed the massive installation in the centre of Churchill Square. If you’re like me, you have probably walked by it, and said something to the effect of “What is that supposed to be?” Well, if you were around the square Sunday, you would have gotten a chance to hear it from the artists’ own mouth.

© TWIVAS

The installation, entitled Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, was created by Nelson-based architect turned sculptor Ian Johnston. Johnston was featured in an artist talk yesterday on The Works’ stage, and took some time to talk about his career, as well as the installation itself.

According to Johnston, the piece came as a result of a conversation with a neighbour about what to do with an ancient cherry tree that was straddling their shared property line. When Johnston thought about how it could be possible to disassemble, store, and re-assemble a tree, the concept behind his installation was born.

“I thought about what to do with a tree if you wanted to store it, disassemble it, and then reassemble it,” said Johnston in his talk on the square.

If you’ve only seen the installation from the ground level, then you’re missing out– the piece is meant to also be viewed from the mezzanine above Tix on the Square, where it appears that the tree comes back together from the new perspective. Being one of the largest pieces on the square, it’s definitely worth a look.

 

When seen from above. © TWIVAS

As well, MADE had their furniture competition on the square yesterday, where amateur furniture designers turned random pieces of wood and materials into functioning furniture.

While creativity was the only resource not in short supply, there can only be one winner, and here it is!

The MADE winner! © TWIVAS

With the weather in Edmonton to be a balmy 32 degrees today, be sure to come to Churchill Square and see art, performances, and our awesome stage line-up!

The Works Aboriginal Artists

Wow! We are only 3 days into the festival, and it feels like we’ve only been going for a day! Time really flies when you are having fun! With (for the most part) great weather, fantastic exhibits, and amazing  fantastic artists who are up for being face to face and really speaking to the people who are curious about their exhibits.

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Yesterday was a busy day on Churchill Square, with a number of special events going on throughout the day. One of the highlights of the day was definitely the artist panel and receptions for The Works Canadian Aboriginal Artists Program. Sonny Assu, Leah Dorion, David Garneau, and Adrian Stimson all took to the stage and talked about not only their artwork, but aboriginal artwork in general, in its past, present, and future.

If you’ve seen the exhibits in the Aboriginal Artist Program, you may have noticed a number of common themes running through the majority of them– conflict, struggle, identity, and most pervasive, humour. The works of Adrian Stimson, David Garneau, and Sonny Assu all use humour or irony to touch on relatively touchy issues.

“Humour is the biggest part of my work, it’s a way of opening discussion without being confrontational,” said David Garneau. Garneau’s exhibit, Metis/Sage is on display at Manulife place, and is one of the aboriginal exhibits where a lighter look at serious issues is seen.  Garneau says the use of humour in these exhibits is really the only way to open up the door to allow dialogue between cultures.

Sonny Assu, another artist within the Aboriginal Program, agrees with this prospect. “I use (humour) as a tool to bring people into coversation,” said Assu. “There are a lot of really heavy issues with aboriginals, instead of being angry, I use humour to make people more comfortable and more willing to listen to these issues. If you’re angry, then the people you’re trying to reach will either get angry themselves, or just walk away.”

Assu’s untitled exhibit features totemic representations of not only aboriginal icons, but icons the consumer-based society which we now live, such as ipods. While presented in a lighthearted way, it brings to light a number of issues that Canada’s aboriginal people face, such as identity and colonisation.

On the other side of the political spectrum, there sits Leah Dorion. While the other exhibits in the Aboriginal Artist Program are based on a struggle for identity, and bringing to light issues of aboriginal people, Dorion’s work focuses more on the power and the role that females play in aboriginal society.

“That’s the men’s experience– I’m the balancing force. They open the wounds that need to be opened, and I come in, clean them out and close them up,” said Dorion on her works Power of the Natural World and Maskihkiy. Maskihky is one of the more interactive exhibits on the site, where those who see it are encouraged to write a wish down, and bang a ceremonial drum. It is this interactive, playful nature that gives Dorion`s work its appeal.

“I think play makes my work so much easier to relate to on an emotional level,” said Dorion.

While many of these artists have displayed their work in larger galleries, it is important to bring these pieces to less convetional areas, said Assu.

“Its important to bring the art to the people, bring the education to the people,” said Assu. “There are a lot of people who have walked in here and seen this artwork that wouldn’t normally walk into a gallery.

There are still 9 days left of festival! If you haven’t yet, come down to Churchill Square and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of The Works Art & Design Festival!

The Works Stage

Hello again my art-brained and right-minded friends!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend! I know I did trying to get as much R&R in before we get started… That’s right friends, we are a mere 3 sleeps way from this year’s festival! Soon enough, Churchill Square will be filled with love, laughter, and the luxurious sounds of artwork! However, that’s not the only sounds it’s going to be filled with this year… The Works is once again proud to host our multi-disciplinary Stage! This year, a collaboration between the Edmonton International Jazz Festival, along with The Works Art and Design Festival, has allowed for the creation of the “Works With Jazz” program, which is the equivalent of Darth Vader scheming with Lex Luthor to decide on an artist lineup for a festival stage… It’s going to be that diabolically delightful. Minus the diabolicalness. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.

If all you’re looking for is the typical folk music fare, then you are going to be sadly disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, we are still going to have plenty of folk-music artists, but they will be joined by other great artists and bands including:

• Lindsay Brandon
• Ben Sures
• BEAMS
• Robert MulderKy Babyn
• U22
• Bonnaventure James
• The Doll Sisters
• OKA
• Man your Horse
• Doug Hoyer
• UN
• Marc BeaudinRyan Beauvais
• Stolen Organ Family BandErin Ross
• Jeff Spec
• An HorseRoyal Canoe
• The Joe

I could go on for literally 40 more artists and bands, but I really don’t feel like typing that much out, and you’ve probably stopped going through the list and will just agree with me that we have a TON of artists and bands at this years street stage– the artists that I have listed are just from the first 2 days of the festival. For the full stage lineup, just check the link on the top of this page.

Our genres go from Jazz and electronica to performance art such as spoken-word poetry– there is literally something here for absolutely everyone.

Soon enough, Churchill Square will be bustling, the artwork will be shiny, and our production team will be in a well-deserved week long coma. Three more short days.

Until next time, keep that right brain sharp— soon you’re going to really need it!

S.

Our Works To Work Team!

Happy Friday, my art-minded friends!

I hope today has you in high spirits thus far– it is, after all, not only one day until the weekend, but also 6 days  until 2011′s The Works Art and Design Festival touches down on Churchill Square and transforms it from a daily haunt of office-tower lunch-goers, hot dog stands, and buskers of a somewhat dubious quality, to a magical, wondrous festival ground full of fun, excitement, energy, and most importantly, art & design.

However, The Works doesn’t just happen overnight. The minute the festival is over, our directors are back at it to get future festivals ready.

When you’re at the festival this year, take a look at some of the artwork. Notice the ways the paintings are hung? Do you see how the layout subtly guides your eyes across the paintings? Did you notice how every single piece of artwork is centered at 52 inches from the floor? If so, you have one keen eye for details, and have noticed the fine works that our Works to Work team have dedicated their summer to.

Anyone can hang a painting– all you need is a nail, some wire, and a hammer-like object. And, I suppose, a painting as well. However, it takes a lot of practice and know how to hang them properly, as well as do the hundreds of other tasks needed to get the festival up and running. Our Works to Work team is made up of individuals who have made it through the strenuous application and selection process, were hand-picked out of the hundreds of applications, and had to go through a rigorous training regiment in order to master the art of artwork and design production.

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As you’re walking around the various festival venues and are taking in the exhibits, stop and appreciate this; every single one of the Works produced exhibits were produced and set-up by our Works to Work team. Without them, there wouldn’t be a festival at all. Period. If the member of The Works staff in charge of blogging was to disappear, no-one would particularly notice– the festival would still go on, the artwork would still be up, and your twitter-feed would be a lot less crowded. However, if the Works to Work crowd wasn’t around, the artwork would spend the festival sitting wrapped up in our office during the festival. This fabulous team has been working tirelessly to make this festival happen, and without any hope of recognition or appreciation. So if you happen to see one of the production team checking in on the artwork, or straightening the paintings, make sure you go up and give them a big “thank-you.”

Until next time- S.

Strathcona Refineries / August 2010

Jonathan Martin-DeMoor has always found himself connected to nature– either as a child going camping with his family, in his career as a biologist, or in his hobby as a landscape photographer. It was his love of nature that inspired him to start photography.

“My family was pretty outdoorsy when I was a kid, so I grew up camping and being outdoors, so the photography just came as a way of capturing that, and trying to share it with other people,” said Matrin-DeMoor. “It definitely comes from my motivation of loving the landscape and, along with my biology work, trying to understand it and conversely share it through my photography– to express creatively what I love about the landscape and share that with other people.”

However, for his entry in The Works Art and Design Festival, Martin-DeMoor has radically departed from his usual nature landscape, and instead focused on the complex images of industry– more specifically, the refineries on Edmonton’s eastside.

“I live on the east end of town near the refineries and see them every time I go to the natural areas outside of Edmonton, and they always struck me as aesthetically pleasing, complex structures that just dominate the drive out of town,” said Martin-DeMoor. “I’ve photographed them before, but never had the right conditions– in regular daylight they are very high contrast and have an overwhelming amount of complexity. I’ve never been happy with the way they’ve turned out prior to last August…”

Martin-DeMoor finally got his chance to photograph these imposing structures during August of 2010, when the smoke from forest-fires in British Columbia created the perfect background to capture these images.

Jonathan Martin-DeMoor © image courtesy of TWIVAS

“The day I took the photos for the show, the lighting conditions from the forest fires in BC created this low contrast, thick haze. I was actually headed out of town to head to my normal, natural spots, but the refineries caught my eye, and those conditions that day were exactly what i needed to reduce the contrast and add a really unique visual aspect to the refineries.”

While the refineries represent a departure from his landscape photos, the reasoning behind them remains the same.

“They’re both fairly complex things, but I think for me, the similarity was the reason I was taking the photos is just showing what’s there, it’s easy to drive past the natural stuff without noticing, it’s also possible to drive past the refineries and not see what’s there. Taking these photographs is a way to make them interesting to look at, and to make people take a second look at these things that are just sitting at the edge of town.”

Martin-DeMoor’s exhibit Strathcona Refineries / August 2010 will be on display at the Edmonton City Hall, west room from June 15th to July 15th.

For more of Martin-DeMoor’s images, check out his website at http://www.borealisimages.ca/

To see his work on this specific project, see www.strathcona-refineries.com

Our Amazing Art Market!

Hello again my art-minded friends, and happy hump day!

With the festival now only a week away, things are getting busier by the day! While the production team is still working like a group of mad-women with a mad-man (there’s only one man on the production crew this year) trying to get all the installations set-up and ready to go, there is a whole other group that is also madly preparing artwork for the festival.

I’m talking, of course, about our art market vendors.

These guys and gals are the real deal. After all, they managed to make it it through the strenuous selection process, where masterminds behind The Works festival ensure that only the most skilled and truly unique artists are given tents. When I say unique, I really do mean it; all the goods sold in the arts market are HAND MADE. We’re talking about hand-made jewelery, paintings, glassware, clothing, iron-works, and other various arts and crafts. You won’t see anything labelled with MADE IN CHINA in our art market.

As well, be sure to thank our art market vendors– many of them have graciously donated their own arts and crafts toward allowing The Works Art and Design Festival to put together a number of truly awesome gift-baskets for the winners of our various contests, as well as daily give-aways!

A special shout-out goes to Melisa Taylor. Melisa has graciously donated a gorgeous  painting for give-away on the first day of the festival– to enter the draw, all you need to do is go to her tent and fill out a survey form!

Melisa Taylor © image courtesy of TWIVAS

So remember, seven more nights of sweet art filled dreams twisting through your head, and The Works Art and Design Festival will be here!