Reason #67 of '101 Reasons Why I Heart Edmonton'

The Artists

By Emil Tiedemann

“Driving to work listening to CBC, you get the sense that people here [in Edmonton] seem to have a larger, more established appreciation for the arts,” saxophonist Ian Smith told the Calgary Herald a few years back. The Calgary-born musician moved to Edmonton shortly before he made his observation, which seems to be a similar experience for many newbie Edmontonians. 
 
Award-winning photograph of Fort McMurray scene, by Edmonton artist Paul Swanson.


There is a profusion of innovative and thought-provoking artists of all capacities throughout Edmonton, pouring their hearts and souls out into paintings on the cafe walls, sculptures in the parks and plazas, or murals on the sides of historic buildings. Anything is a canvas here and there’s no shortage of talented maestros ready to transform whatever it is you got, from electrical boxes to back alleys. 

Some of Canada’s most praised and applauded painters, photographers, sculptors, illustrators, and designers hail from Edmonton, where there’s an abundance of year-round festivals (Nextfest, Art Walk), world class galleries (Art Gallery of Alberta, Latitude 53), and community support (Edmonton Arts Council, artsScene) that expose these artists, and allow them to thrive even in a city with a fraction of the population of some of the most art-savvy metros in the world. 

We’re certainly no Paris or New York, but we embrace our vibrant arts scene like we are! #yegart

One of the many stunning paintings by #yeg artist Jason Carter.

If you’re still not convinced that Edmonton is brimming with talented, progressive, and daring artists, then you should go ahead and Google some of our locally-born, raised, and/or based creators, such as: Tiffany Adair (sculptor), Darlene Adams (painter), Leo Arcand (sculptor), Nicole Ashley (photographer), Annette Ayre (painter), Laura Bachynski (painter), Robert Bailey (illustrator), Lawrence Beaulieu (painter), Jay Bigam (painter), Jason Blower (illustrator), Sandra Bromley (sculptor), Catherine Burgess (sculptor), Isla Burns (sculptor), Kasie Campbell (sculptor), Nicole Campre (fashion designer), Peter Carroll (photographer), Stanley Carroll (fashion designer), Jason Carter (painter, sculptor), Jeff Collins (painter), Jerry Cordeiro (photographer), Patrick Cox (fashion designer), Lorna Dancey (photographer), Jen Danger (painter, tattooist), Giselle Denis (painter), Crystal Driedger (sculptor, painter), Gene Dub (architect), Clay Ellis (sculptor, painter), Darcy Evans (photographer), Roger Garcia (illustrator), Elaine Green (photographer), Brion Gysin (painter), Peter Hemingway (architect), Peter Hide (sculptor), Liz Ingram (installation artist), Chris Iwaniuk (tattooist), Derek Jagodinsky (fashion designer), Todd Janes (performance artist), Zillur Rahman John (mime), Lorna F. Kemp (painter), Wallis Kendal (sculptor), Roy Leadbeater (sculptor), Amy Loewan (painter), AJA Louden (street artist), Attila Richard Lukacs (painter), Colin MacIntyre (cartoonist), James Mackay (muralist), Ken Macklin (sculptor), Meghan MacMillan (painter), Kathy Meaney (painter), Michelle Murray (painter), Tim Okamura (painter), Aaron Paquette (painter, illustrator), Barbara Paterson (sculptor), Pierre Roland Renoir (painter), Leslie Alan Reynolds (sculptor), Alicia Schick (fashion designer), Amanda Schutz (illustrator, graphic designer), Robert Sinclair (painter), Justina Smith (painter), Jill Stanton (illustrator), Paul Swanson (photographer), thinkITEM (street artist), Kathleen Todoruk (fashion designer), Elise Truong (fashion designer), Keith Turnbull (sculptor), Malorie Urbanovitch (fashion designer), Jeff Wallace (photographer), Robert Byron Willms (sculptor), John Yardley-Jones (cartoonist), and of course, Dancing Dan (free spirit). #yegartist

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Reason #52 of '101 Reasons Why I Heart Edmonton'

The Ultimate Edmonton Donair Guide

Pink Shirt Promises