The pick of the pics

When the Musée Héritage Museum challenges you to a photo contest, the only thing you can do is take your best shot, and get all your friends to do it, too.

Now, the annual Take Your Best Shot exhibit is here to prove your photographic prowess for all to see. According to museum director Shari Strachan, there’s a lot of talent there in the eyes and lenses of the beholders.

“Oh, absolutely! You can see the ones that are perfecting and learning,” she exclaimed, adding that there are even a few contributing artists who have been making submissions for each of the four years of the show. “They’re being mentored or getting suggestions from others. They’re learning at school. They’re excellent.”

The youth digital photo contest-slash-exhibit is open to schoolchildren in three age groups: grades three to six, grades seven to nine and grades 10 to 12. A special category for entrants in grades two and under was also made available this year. Their submissions will be put on display in the Discovery Room.

Apart from being a unique way of showcasing local youth talent, it has also been a successful method of building interest in the museum itself. Strachan indicated that the calls of interest start coming in almost as soon as the last Take Your Best Shot exhibit gets packed up.

“We get a lot of it at the end of the previous year. A lot of people say, ‘I didn’t know that existed.’ The other thing I’ve been getting in the last couple of weeks is ‘Is it up yet?’ People are anxious. They get excited. Being in an exhibit is really neat.”

And for good reason too. Some of the works here – all based on the theme of shapes – are pretty remarkable, especially considering the young age of some of the participants. “The pictures are amazing!” Strachan remarked, adding that the number of entrants has grown steadily from year to year too.

Each image is accompanied by the artist’s own “word-for-word” statement about the work, just to further demonstrate that this youthful show is still pure, unadulterated art. Staff from the museum and the Art Gallery of St. Albert also professionally curated the exhibit.

The works often make reappearances as well, showing up on postcards for sale in the gift shop, on the website and on the cover of the museum’s annual catalogue.

Next year’s theme will be Nature. Some people have already started planning, practising and photographing in preparation for the 2015 exhibit, according to the director.

This year, the show is timed a little bit differently. While it’s always up just in time for the Snowflake Festival night, the confluence of having that party at the same time as the opening reception at the museum has presented some major logistics challenges.

“Parking is so hard on Snowflake Festival night. It’s a very, very busy night above and beyond the exhibit. This year, we decided what we really needed to do was have a separate night. That way their families and extended families can come.”

The opening reception itself isn’t until Dec. 4.