St. Albert in the early 1980s was a city rich with creative possibility. Back then its fascinating multicultural history served as the backdrop for it to be stationed as the province's oldest non-fortified community and one of Alberta's most promising gems. In the next few decades, its population would grow by tens of thousands, its borders would expand to the northwest and it would become revered for its prosperity as much as its personality.
But in those days, there wasn't a gallery to showcase the works of the multitude of artists who made the city and its area their home. St. Albert needed guidance and that's where Carol Watamaniuk stepped in. At the time, the now-outgoing city councillor held the office of recreation superintendent, a position that oversaw cultural activities as much as it did sports fields. Understanding the difference between managing those two arenas of human endeavour, she made it her mission to get the ball rolling. In the end, all it really took was a conversation with the right person.
"After probably a few months I went to the city manager and said, 'we desperately need a cultural department in St. Albert. This system isn't the best.' He thought it was a good idea and took it to council. They agreed and I was then made the director of cultural services," Watamaniuk said.
That achievement was momentous, not just because it finally made the distinction between baseball and pottery but also because it was the first such office across the country.
"Years and years later I saw [Tom McKay, the city manager] and he said, 'Carol, I had no idea that there was no other municipal cultural department in Canada. You sounded so confident that this was the thing to do that it made sense to me so we did it.'"
Playing leapfrog
That success, however, was just a stepping-stone. While there was much community interest in a gallery, there wasn't any room. St. Albert Place opened in 1984, dedicated as a people place with a library, a museum, the Arden Theatre and visual arts studios, but no gallery. Watamaniuk noticed there was vacant office space on the second floor and so the first incarnation of Profiles Public Art Gallery was born the very next year. Monica Tap, the city's visual arts co-ordinator, was its first director, working under guidance from the St. Albert Arts and Crafts Council and the Laubental Society. Tap is now an internationally recognized artist based out of Toronto and an associate professor in the School of Fine Art and Music at the University of Guelph.
This location, with its many windows overlooking the Sturgeon River Valley, served the fledgling gallery well until the city's administration had expanded so much that it needed the space. Seven must have been its lucky number because Profiles moved to Grandin Park Plaza in 1992 where it stayed for another seven years, then moved briefly to the historic Juneau House until another culturally significant property became available in 2000. The gallery made its grand début in the stately brick Banque d'Hochelaga building in December of that year. It hasn't looked back since.
The mandate
There have now been hundreds of exhibitions featuring thousands of artists in the gallery's various spaces. Every month a new show rolls through, giving novice and experienced talents alike the chance to enrich the city with all manners of visual art. While that gets most of the public's attention, there are other ways the gallery reaches the masses.
Profiles' mandate is to 'provide enriching educational experiences that celebrate visual culture and artistic achievement through research, exhibition and interpretation.' That's why it offers a number of public programs that give hands-on opportunities for thousands of children, youth and adults throughout the year. Its studio program, operating out of the visual arts wing of St. Albert Place, has now been up and running for more than two decades and has seen annual attendance reach more than 20,000.
Heidi Alther, former gallery director and current visual arts co-ordinator with the city, called this one of its significant accomplishments.
"The gallery fostered creativity within St. Albert and reminded St. Albert of how creative it was in the visual arts."
She added that in addition to gaining recognition within the broader gallery community as it brought in exhibiting artists from across the region, the country and even internationally, it enriches people's lives right here.
"It brought people to themselves through art."
Upcoming events
After the current show, Fun House, comes down in two weeks, Your Thoughts, Like Stars will be installed. It will feature the works of former gallery education curator Edward van Vliet, now the director and curator at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre. That will be followed by a special two-month group show called Vessels starting Dec. 2.
The gallery will put on Flappers & Fine Art, the title of its upcoming annual art auction, March 5. It's one of the city's premier gala affairs.
Beyond the Frame, an original and three-dimensional exhibit designed by Wendy Passmore-Godfrey and created by Byron McBride, was unveiled at this year's children's festival. It made such an impression that it became the gallery's first travelling exhibit, wowing audiences at last month's Kaleido Festival in Edmonton before showing up at StArts Fest the very next weekend. It will return once again to the children's festival running May 31 to June 4 next year.
With lots ongoing and on the go, Profiles has hit a high stride at 25 and doesn't look to slow down soon. Director Frances Gagnon hinted the gallery isn't resting on its laurels, saying there are big things coming down the pipeline. Only time will tell.
"We're a contemporary gallery so our way of life has to be contemporary," she said. "Who knows what the future holds? The possibilities are endless."
