If art and culture in St. Albert were embodied in a flower, it would look like a wild rose with five perfect petals.
That symbol is the same one that can be found in the logo for the four-day ArtiCulture festival designed by St. Albert's Carrie Mattern. It is also on the tile that Lt.-Gov. Donald S. Ethell painted on the Arden stage during a media event Monday morning.
After he and Mayor Nolan Crouse finished the last two tiles, they were inserted in a larger mosaic mural created by the masterminds at Mural Mosaic. Dubbed Alberta Bouquet, the image remains thematically consistent by featuring a prominent wild rose with five petals right at its centre.
The work, comprised of more than 200 tiles, is the result of a collaboration between the Mural Mosaic team and about 120 artists from across the province. That list includes locals Karen Blanchet, Carol Brown, Laura Watmough, Maria Buehl, Cheryl Moskaluk, Doris Charest, Julie Kaldenhoven, Pearl Der, Heather Howard, Judy Schafers, Shirley Rogozinsky, Diane Way and Memory Roth.
Before the unveiling, Ethell remarked about his previously limited experience in the world of art.
"It's not an area I focused on during my military career."
Expertise aside, his small but significant addition was the final touch on months of work and planning.
"When you look at the mural, there's a lot of volunteer time, a lot of talent gone in there."
He added that he was pleased his tile was modestly tucked in amongst the works of so many others.
Co-ordinator Phil Alain is no stranger to this type of work but it always impresses him.
"We had everyone from established artists to amateurs," he began. "It really creates this unbelievable sense of pride with everybody, which is a great way to bring a community together."
Mural designer Lewis Lavoie was also thrilled with the final result, adding this piece has a special meaning to him. Creating a flower mural with each tile also containing flowers is no easy feat, one that could have gone awry at any stage.
"I've been wanting to do something like this but I was a little apprehensive. An organic shape doesn't translate as well. I consider the whole process organic. In organic [art] we always look for faces in objects. I think that's why people see Jesus in taco shells. To see a flower in a flower is almost a contradiction. I feel overall it really turned out great."
"It's a stunning piece," Crouse said.
ArtiCulture activities
The focus of the festival is the gala ceremony on Saturday when Robert Kroetsch and Jane Ash Poitras will receive their Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards.
There is plenty going on to keep the public occupied and enriched. Just like the five petals of that wild rose, there are five facets to the festivities, including literary arts, music, heritage and visual arts. For opening night tomorrow, the focus will be on film.
Prairie Tales 12 is an anthology of short films by 15 Alberta filmmakers. The free event at the Arden Theatre is hosted by award-winning Edmonton director Trevor Anderson. He will introduce the shorts and follow them all up with a question and answer session along with a screening of his five-minute piece entitled Punchlines.
Apart from the Metro Cinema and the Freshworks program at Edmonton's Film and Video Arts Society, there aren't a lot of venues for fledgling and even accomplished filmmakers to show off their skills.
"My short films play locally," he said. Now in his fifth year with the Prairie Tales series, he got a good taste of international exposure over the last few months. His recent work, The High Level Bridge, has been on a recent festival circuit, which included the Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest and others.
Despite those travels and his work with his band The Wet Secrets, he has more films in the works. The next one shoots this summer.
Visit www.stalbertarticulture.ca for more information and a schedule of events.
