Gallery to gallery, exhibit to exhibit, both St. Albert and Edmonton are now engaged in their own season of art walks. Should you choose, you can go from place to place and step inside to see the wonder and array of visual art offered by the local community.
As fun and important as these monthly events are to culture and artists, a growing Edmonton festival wants to take the concept of stepping out and looking back in one step further.
Doors Open Edmonton is a part of a growing international movement that wants people to recognize the aesthetic value of the buildings around us. We are where we live, according to the festival’s executive director.
“Our special buildings and spaces define us as individuals and communities,” Adriana Davies explained. “We must focus on Edmonton’s essence — its ‘Edmonton-ness’ that separates us from other cities — and celebrate that.”
Some of the 25 events that comprise the festival include a Philosophers’ Café, walking tours of the poetry trail at Louise McKinney Park and the setting of The Garneau Block, hosted by Edmonton author Todd Babiak and based on his book. One particularly interesting gathering will focus on the subject of psycho-geography, how getting lost in a city will open your eyes and mind to the effects of physical space on a person’s mindset. It’s also supposed to be a lot of fun.
By getting people outside to actively look at our houses, public structures, historic landmarks and even the boxy concrete Brutalist-style office buildings, we will be able to gain a greater appreciation of which ones are pleasing to the eye and which are less enjoyable to look at. All of these factors contribute to the psychology of the city and its citizens.
This is like turning the art walk concept into an everyday occurrence where each step is a footfall through the large architectural exhibit of your world. If you live in a slum, it’s tougher to feel happy and be productive. There’s no pride of place and a city will struggle to find its culture.
“If we believe in disposable architecture and buildings, we will leave no legacies for future generations,” Davies said.
Festival producer, Miki Andrejevic, who hails from Europe, stated, “The buildings we live in and the public space where we work and congregate shape our lives so we should preserve them.”
The Doors Open Edmonton will run the weekend of May 23 and 24 at various locations. It is one of several events scheduled in other cities across Alberta. Andrejevic said that St. Albert with its wealth of historical architecture would be a great venue for a future Doors Open festival.
For more information, call 780-424-6512 or visit www.doorsopenalberta.ca.
