UAlberta alumni and staff working it at The Works, Edmonton’s international visual arts festival
Erin Valentine
Feature image: Detail of Kirsty Templeton-Davidge’s Every Second Sunday
UAlberta stage management grad, Erin Valentine (‘14 BFA) is the Marketing – Churchill Square Supervisor at The Works Art & Design Festival, June 19 through July 1, 2015. After two years as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Works, her role now involves vendor relations, social media, media communications, and daily logistics on the festival site.
Many of the Works festival staff are current U of A students or recent alumni, including Dalaine Wall (design assistant), Kasie Campbell (production coordinator), Fren Mah (marketing assistant), Agata Garbowska (curatorial assistant), and Matthew Carr (production assistant).
In this guest post, Erin highlights some of the creative work by UAlberta Arts alumni and current staff featured at this year’s Works Festival.
Susanna Barlow (’14 BFA) is planting potatoes on Churchill Square! Barlow’s installation recalls the common practice in 1950s to 70s Edmonton of creating nutrient rich soil by planting potatoes before grass in the front lawn of a new home. Viewing Churchill Square as the front lawn of Edmonton, the installation reminds us that 2015 is a period of significant growth for the city, and asks us if we are making space for those who need it most. The Potato Project will also be celebrated at a featured reception on Wednesday, July 1st in a coming together of the community to nurture the continued growth of the plants and share in a potato-based snack. Susanna is also exhibiting a series of prints and video called Elementum at the World Trade Centre.
ECC – Susanna Barlow – I Give Thee My Troth. Courtesy The Works Festival of Art and Design.
Sky Hoffos (’15 BFA) represents himself and his relationship to nature in Into the Forest, Into My Soul on Churchill Square He has created an immersive, sculptural installation that the viewer must enter to experience, and presents it as a refuge; a pocket of wilderness in an outdoor concrete space.
Churchill Square – Skyler Hoffos. Into the Forest Into My Soul (detail). Courtesy the Works Festival of Art and Design.
Kirsty Templeton-Davidge (’15 BFA) has transformed potentially forgotten moments into concrete memories in Anamnesis: Recollections & Perception (Site 10, Scotia Place). From blurred landscapes barely captured during summer road trips to lingering observances of loved ones, these ethereal moments coalesce to reveal common human narratives.
Scotia Place – Kirsty Templeton-Davidge – Every Second Sunday. Courtesy the Works Festival of Art and Design.
Some of the 2015 Bachelor of Design graduates have come together to create for the love of design (Site 5, Stanley Milner Library), an exploration and exhibition of what designers offer and how they affect the community. Projects include graphic design, product design, instruction design, and pop-up books!
Milner – For the Love of Design -Bianca Ho, _Little Home Makers- Classic Edition_, Popup Book. Courtesy the Works Festival of Art and Design.
In addition, University of Alberta instructor Royden Mills’ exhibit The Most Dangerous Job in the World: An Exhibition on Two Sites (EPCOR Tower and dc3 Art Projects) showing his recent large scale sculptural works, as well as a curated group of works by former students.
Right on the U of A campus, the FAB Gallery is a Works Festival venue, showcasing a couple of exceptional MFA student shows.
Aaron Veldstra, MFA Drawing & Intermedia candidate, presents Our Anaerobic Future. Aaron’s work is timely in its artistic critique of the oil industry and explorations into remediation and sustainability. His intricate large-scale works touch on the performative as he uses map data to create large-scale ink works that he then clears away using a combination of water and baking soda.
Aaron Veldstra’s work in progress (2014). Photo by Richard Siemens.
Amanda Forrest-Chan, MFA Printmaking candidate, presents Felt Breathless All Day. Forrest-Chan’s work explores mortality and memory in conjunction with the parallels of decay between land and body. The inspiration for her work was drawn from personal experiences of loss and recent travels to Scotland and Trout Lake, Northwest Territories. In addition to the lush prints Amanda has on display, her show also involves daily performances from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
FAB Gallery – Amanda Forrest-Chan – Felt Breathless All Day. Courtesy the Works Festival of Art and Design.
About The Works Art & Design Festival
The Works International Visual Arts Society produces The Works Art & Design Festival which attracts artists and patrons from around the world, boosting the energy and imagination of Downtown Edmonton at the start of every summer. The Works is a free event that draws an audience representing all ages and interests, offering over 200 exciting exhibits and special events to the public.
Download the 2015 Festival Guide (PDF)
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