I Heart Edmonton

Art Gallery of Alberta By Emil Tiedemann Shortly before the brand new Art Gallery of Alberta opened to the public on January 31, 2010, myself and a group of fellow bloggers were treated to a private tour of the unconventional structure designed by late architect Randall Stout .  We climbed the incurved stairway - aligned with a blue flare and winding steel walls - to the second floor, where we had a better look at the ceiling that fraternized with a surging landscape of precisely-squared windows. On the outside of the glass, snow had collected, an intentional portrait that, like other aspects of the design, can alter how we see the gallery at various states of the day and of the seasons.  We made our way to the third floor and outside terrace before the group convened in the gallery’s basement, though you couldn’t tell that it was a basement by its sleek walls made up of domestic Douglas-fir, floors of maple wood, and classrooms set up to teach aspiring artists th...

Talus Dome by emil tiedemann T HE nearly 1,000 shiny silver balls of the bizarre Talus Dome (by Los Angeles-based Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues ) have sort of become Edmonton’s own version of Alberta natives Nickelback . Locals love to hate them, although they don’t entirely know why...it’s just the thing to do.    The Talus Dome art installation near Fort Edmonton Park. They were installed as a Public Art Collection in 2011 just off the Quesnell Bridge along the Whitemud freeway at Fox Drive, a partnership between the City and the Edmonton Arts Council . Although most Edmontonians seemed to consider the polished spheres an eyesore, it was the price tag that ignited an uproar of sorts. The Dome cost taxpayers a “staggering” $600,000, as the City’s most expensive art installation up until that point.  It’s been long enough, however, that the haters have simply gotten used to the Dome. But to be completely honest, I’ve never been one of those haters. I alwa...

Art fanatics, foodies, families and night owls alike are all encouraged to ignore their bedtimes to take in one of the coolest nights in Edmonton! by emil tiedemann R EMEMBER when you were a kid and staying up all night was the greatest thing in the world! Let's be real, it's still exciting even now for some reason, but most of us are more than happy to crawl into bed as the credits of Fallon or Kimmel scroll across our TV screens. The weekends are another thing altogether though, an excuse for us to stay up past our bedtimes and try to invite some excitement into our workaday lives. Well, the mother of excuses is almost upon us, so stock up on Red Bull and mark your calendars! Nuit Blanche , a mesmerizing contemporary art celebration, will take over our downtown core for the first time on Saturday, September 26th from seven in the evening until four in the morning! And there will be something for everyone, so bring the whole family, and come as early or stay ...