AFA News

The AFA is supporting a two-year research project conducted by Stone-Olafson on current engagement of arts audiences in Alberta. We are pleased to share the third set of results ("Wave 3").

This work was developed for the arts sector exclusively and is designed to provide specific, relevant, and reliable facts to support the leaders in the arts sector as they seek to understand their audiences and grow attendance.

Key topic areas for Wave 3 include:

• Assess interest and engagement with arts related education opportunities
• Understand spending habits and how they’ve altered
• Identify current barriers to last minute engagement
• Understand ad hoc decision variables

Results

Watch the video of the results on YouTube.

Watch the team from Stone-Olafson report on the findings from the second wave of research in the Spotlight on Arts Audiences project.

Download the reports:

• Alberta Report
• Calgary Report
• Edmonton Report
• Regional Alberta Report

About the project

The AFA has partnered with the Rozsa Foundation (www.rozsafoundation.com), Calgary Arts Development(calgaryartsdevelopment.com), Calgary Foundation (calgaryfoundation.org), Edmonton Arts Council (www.edmontonarts.ca), and Edmonton Community Foundation(www.ecfoundation.org), to support the Spotlight on Arts Audiences research project. The work will survey arts-inclined audiences in Calgary, Edmonton, and across the province to provide data that is useful and timely for arts leaders and organizations three times per year over the next two years.

Hundreds of nominations poured in for the 25 Influential Alberta Artists. Here's the full list of all who were nominated.

On September 29, 2022, we marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection. As part of the celebrations, we are sharing snippets from the history of the collection. Learn more about the celebrations! 

By Erin McDonald (former Manager of the AFA Art Collection) and Gail Lint

50 years ago, the Government of Alberta set aside $50,000 to fund annual art acquisition – a relatively small pebble dropped into the pond of Alberta’s finances. But the ripples from that pebble continue today through the AFA Art Collection, one of the strongest, most active provincial Art collections in Canada.

Beginning in 1972, the Alberta Art Foundation (AAF) Collection was proposed as an opportunity to support and encourage Alberta artists by purchasing original works, as well as creating a legacy collection for the people of Alberta. (The AAF was the first of three government arts foundations that were eventually amalgamated to form the AFA in 1991. Learn more about the creation of the AFA.)

To commemorate the creation of the collection, Minister Horst A. Schmid was the first donor of original artwork to the collection: Portrait of Don Getty, a print featuring former Alberta Premier Don Getty’s Edmonton Elks (formerly "Eskimos") player card. The artwork received the inaugural accession number, 1972.001.001.

Portrait of Don Getty, Unknown Artist

The collection began to grow after that initial donation, through the generosity of a number of donors, including artists Janet Mitchell and James and Marion Nicoll. The Nicolls were enthusiastic supporters of the collection for many years, including a 1981 donation of 421 artworks by both themselves and others represented in their permanent collection, including a landscape painting, by their peer Ted Faiers.

Untitled, Ted Faiers, 1947, oil on panel

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the art collection grew through the support of donors, and the art acquisition by submission program – which remains a cornerstone of our overall collecting program, the Art Acquisition by Application program. Another avenue for collecting was the Curatorial Acquisition Program. Notably, 1981 featured the purchased acquisition of The Alaska Highway Series by artists Evelyn McBryan and Eupehemia McNaught of Grande Prairie and Beaverlodge, Alberta. The series includes 34 sketches, coloured drawings and paintings documenting the construction of the Alaska Highway during World War II. The artists were granted permission by Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, to access the area. The artworks have been displayed in numerous exhibitions including the AFA Travelling Exhibition program (TREX).

Suspension Bridge, Peace River, (Alaska Highway Series), Euphemia McNaught, n.d., ink and pencil crayon on paper

Several programs were implemented to provide access to the collection, including the launch of the Travelling Exhibition (TREX) program in 1981, supporting publications with images from the holdings, and participating in major exhibitions. For example, the 1986 blockbuster effort Spaces and Places: Eight Decades of Landscape Painting in Alberta, which travelled across Canada and included new acquisitions such as this work by Dulcie Foo Fat.

Red Rock Canyon, Dulcie Foo Fat, 1978, oil on canvas

Of course, the creation of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts in 1991 resulted in renewed interest and passion for the collection. A curatorial purchase program, supported by annual allocations to the AFA, increased the holdings and continued to support artists directly and indirectly. By 1994, the AFA was in a position to take advantage of our status as a Category ‘A’ institution, and artworks were submitted for Cultural Property Certification through the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board. Some of these became seminal works in our public art placement program, such as a 1995 estate donation of a welded steel sculpture by Peter Hide which stands today at the Misericordia Hospital grounds.

Squashed Freemason, Peter Hide, 1983-1986, welded steel  

In 2001, in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the AFA Art Collection, Alberta curator Mary-Beth Laviolette wrote a celebratory piece for Alberta Views magazine. The article is a testament to the importance of “the legacy of the collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA).”

From somewhat humble beginnings, through the ups and downs of the economy, the AFA Art Collection has continued to grow, and support Alberta artists. With more than 9,223 artworks in 2021, cared for by a team of dedicated professionals in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Edmonton, the AFA Art Collection today is the premier repository of original artwork created by more than 1,700 Alberta artists. The value of this collection for exhibition and research far exceeds its current insurance valuation of $17.4 million.

Through both a focused vision and the ability to seize opportunity, the collection tells a unique story of the visual art development and activity in the Alberta visual arts scene throughout the past 50 years. Any attempt to create a collection of this calibre and legacy could not be realized today.

Front of Yorath House, Edmonton

Nestled in Edmonton’s river valley is an architectural gem of modernist style. Known as the Yorath House, this city-owned building was built in 1949 as a private residence for the Yorath family. It was designed by Rule, Wynn and Rule, which is the architectural firm responsible for the design of the Petroleum Club and the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton. The Yorath family lived in the home until 1992 when it was sold to the City of Edmonton.

The house underwent an extensive renovation, which kept the modernist design but brought the house up to current-day safety and accessibility codes. But it needed something to make Yorath House feel more like a home—it needed art!

Gail Lint, Art Collections Consultant, was involved in the project at the early stages to consult and curate a selection of artworks from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts collection, through the AFA’s Extended Art Loan Program, to display throughout Yorath House.

Left: Stanford Perrott, Untitled, charcoal on paper, 1954. Centre: Stanford Perrott, Seated Male, charcoal on paper, 1954. Right: Thelma Manarey, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1960. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

George Wood, Study Jug, acrylic on masonite, 1969. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

When it came to selecting art for the house, Gail based her selection on the architectural style of the period the house was built – 1949. In keeping with the tradition of the renovation to preserve the modernist style of the home, and retaining the architectural details of the original fireplace, stairwell, bannister and front door, the artworks were selected to compliment the modernist style and reflect this period of the art scene in Alberta.

John Snow, Suzanne, woodcut on paper, 1950. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Visitors are greeted by two works by Marion Nicoll. Left: Untitled, clay print on paper. n.d. Right: Untitled, clay print on paper, n.d. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

The mediums include serigraphy, drawing, and painting and seven key artists from the period are showcased: K. Esler, Marion Nicoll, EJ Ferguson, Thelma Manarey, Stanford Perrott, Kenneth Samuelson, and John Snow. The earliest artwork dates from 1950, and the 1960s and early 1970s are also featured.  

Rear view of Yorath House facing the North Saskatchewan River.

The Yorath House has been designated as a municipal historic resource and is now open to public bookings. More details can be found on the City of Edmonton website. 

On September 29, 2022, we marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection. As part of the celebrations, we are sharing snippets from the history of the collection. 
Learn more about the celebrations! 

By Larissa Hauck, former Art Collections Officer, and Kristin Stoesz, Art Collections Registrar

How often do you imagine AFA staff will discover an unknown collection of Alberta art while out on assignment? Well, it’s happened at least once!

The AFA's Art Placement Program began in 1976 as a way to ensure Albertans have the opportunity to enjoy the collection and enhance public spaces in government offices and buildings, and nonprofit organizations. The AFA currently has more than 100 Art Placement Program loans throughout Alberta.

The discovery

In July 2015, AFA Art Placement staff travelled to the downtown Edmonton office of the Government of Alberta's former Public Affairs Bureau to remove all of the artwork on loan in preparation for their move to the Edmonton Federal Building (now officially known as the Queen Elizabeth II Building).

As staff removed artwork from the walls and wrapped the works to prepare for shipping, they discovered a unique collection of 25 artworks that were not part of the AFA Art Collection, nor any of Alberta's other 14 provincial art collections.

Carole Bondaroff, Rosebud, 1985, etching on paper

It was almost too good to be true! With early artworks by prominent Albertan artists such as Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert and Carol Bondaroff, it seemed like a lost cultural treasure had been discovered. 

As AFA staff pondered over these new discoveries a few questions came to mind like:

• where did this art come from?
• why was it created?
• how did it end up in the Public Affairs Bureau?

Each of the artworks had envelopes secured to the back that held a fragment of information about the artist and artwork. It was apparent that the research into this collection had only just begun...

The mystery unravels...

It turned out that these artworks were owned by the Public Affairs Bureau, which originally commissioned them for the Alberta Pavilion at the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication in Vancouver. Upon completion of the event, the artworks were relocated to Edmonton.

Expo 86 Scan

AFA staff suggested the possibility of a transfer of these artworks to the AFA Art Collection. The works were well-suited for both art placement and exhibition programming, and they reflected the history of the Government of Alberta’s involvement in Expo 1986.

Both parties agreed that the artworks would benefit from being transferred to the AFA as it would:

• increase public access to the works 
• promote Alberta artists
• ensure proper care through the AFA’s maintenance and conservation programs.

The transfer was completed in March 2016. The artworks are a valuable addition to the AFA collection as they address gaps in representation of artwork from sections of the Alberta visual arts community.

The artists

In addition to Cardinal-Schubert and Bondaroff, the 25 artworks included work by Albertan artists Ken Christopher, Amy Loewan, Helen Mackie, Irene McCaugherty, Stan Phelps and Jim Stokes.

Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert

Among the artworks, AFA staff discovered six oil pastel on paper drawings by Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert.

Cardinal-Schubert was a highly regarded member of the visual arts community, not only as an artist working in variety of visual mediums, but also as a poet, lecturer, activist, and advocate for First Nations People. In 1994, she was awarded the Commemorative Medal of Canada for contribution to the Arts in Canada. In 2003, Cardinal-Schubert was granted an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Law, from the University of Calgary.

The six artworks were completed from 1980-1985, and are strong examples of the artist’s work from this period.

Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert, This is the Earth, 1985, oil pastel on paper

Helen Mackie

Also discovered were five works by Helen Mackie, who who was active in Alberta’s visual arts community for several decades.

Mackie was a member of the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Alberta Society of Artists, and the Alberta Printmaker’s Society. Her work resides in local, national, and international collections, including the Glenbow Museum and Nickle Galleries in Calgary, MacEwan University in Edmonton, the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa, and the Windsor Castle Library in England.

Mackie’s artworks continue to be popular in the AFA's Art Placement and TREX programs. Cows Near Night was included in the 2016 TREX Region 2 (programmed by the Art Gallery of Alberta) exhibition entitled Cattle Call. The below etching and woodblock print on paper is a strong example of Mackie’s work that highlights Alberta’s prairie landscapes and cattle culture.

Helen Mackie, Cows Near Night, n.d., etching and woodblock on paper

The AFA Art Collection continues to grow through acquisition methods including the Art Acquisition by Application Program, Curatorial Acquisition Program and through generous donations by individuals and organizations.

A Message from AFA Board Chair Mary Rozsa de Coquet

For fifty years, the AFA Art Collection has been collecting, preserving and sharing artworks by Alberta artists.

Our collection is the largest, most active, and one of the oldest of 16 provincially owned art collections. It is a visual history of the development and evolution of the Alberta arts community and our culture and heritage. It is our story… as told by individual artists through a variety of mediums.

On September 29, we acknowledge and kick off the celebrations for this momentous milestone! We are celebrating our past by developing a documentary video series about the history of the AFA Art Collection, and we are investing in our future by supporting Alberta artists with a one-time micro-grant program.

Watch a teaser trailer for the video series below:

We look forward to sharing the first episode of this series later this fall. In the meantime, individual artists are encouraged to apply for $2,500 Micro-Grants to support arts projects that engage in dialogue on visual culture in our province. The deadline to apply is December 1, and you can apply even if you already have an open grant application with the AFA. Review the guidelines.

We are thrilled that our AFA Travelling Exhibition (TREX) partners have curated special art exhibitions in honour of the anniversary, which will tour across Alberta until 2025. Annually, more than 600,000 visitors enjoy TREX exhibitions in more than 150 venues, so this is a wonderful way for Albertans to view Alberta art in person, and learn more about the collection. 

The AFA Art Collection actually pre-dates the AFA itself, as the collection was first established in 1972 by the Government of Alberta as the “Alberta Art Collection.” After the AFA was created in 1991, our foundation was charged with the ongoing management, care and growth of the collection as part of our core mandate to support the development of the arts in Alberta. In addition to the video series, we will be sharing stories of the history of the collection throughout this year on our website and through social media. Read the first story.

The AFA Art Collection is a public treasure that we at the AFA are honored to steward. We look forward to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the collection, and all of the artists currently represented, and all those to come. As always, we encourage you to browse through images of more than 9,000 artworks from the collection at alberta.emuseum.com.

Learn more about the anniversary at affta.ab.ca/collection.

Sincerely,

Mary Rozsa de Coquet, Chair

Contact the Chair at afacontact@gov.ab.ca

On September 29, 2022, we marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection. As part of the celebrations, we are sharing snippets from the history of the collection. 
Learn more about the celebrations! 

By Gail Lint, Arts Collections Consultant

You may recognize the building by its easily identifiable artwork that has become familiar to the area’s landscape.

You may have walked past and wondered why there is a bunch of faces on the side of a building.

You may not even know it exists...

Sandra Bromley, “It’s About Time”, 2006, digital photographs, laminated glass, aluminium (Collection of the AFA) 

What am I looking at? 

The home base for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) and the AFA Art Collection. We are located in downtown Edmonton, just north of MacEwan University in the Capital Arts Building.

Capital Arts became our home in 2006 when the AFA Art Collection moved from Beaver House, where it had resided since the 1970s, and the Arts Development (grants) section relocated from the Standard Life Centre on Jasper Avenue, to gather under one roof.

Where did the artwork come from?

To commemorate the opening of the building, and in recognition of the 2005 Alberta Centennial, the AFA launched a commission project to source an artwork for the external wall at the entrance of the building.

The commission was invitational and three well-established, professional Alberta artists were invited to submit proposals. An external expert panel consisting of art professionals, artists and art educators reviewed and adjudicated the submissions.

The commission was awarded by the AFA in partnership with The Works Visual Arts Society to Edmonton artist Sandra Bromley. Her proposal: to create a laminated glass and photographic mural incorporating one hundred images of Albertans “documented” over the course of Alberta’s history.

What was the artist's intention?

In the words of the artist, the mural It’s About Time:

 “... embraces and celebrates our Alberta narrative through a collection of one hundred snapshots revealing the qualities we all share. The matrix of images captures the pioneering strength of homesteaders and adventurers, the independent spirit of our cowboys, the joy of friendship, and the value of Albertans just doing ordinary things.

The artwork is intended to make us laugh, empathize and connect with times gone past and wonder at all the lives lived. It is a celebration of Alberta’s culture and history in all its many forms.”

Sandra Bromley, “It’s About Time”, 2006, digital photographs, laminated glass, aluminium (detail east wall)  (Collection of the AFA) 

In the proposed concept in 2005 the artist, Sandra Bromley included the following description:

“Twelve years ago I moved back to Edmonton from a stay of over thirteen years in London, England. During the first week of my return I took a bus from Whyte Avenue to the downtown core. The bus was packed with people representing a score of cultural groups. I was surprised by how multicultural the passengers on the bus were, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the richness of all the different facial structures and the inflections and tempo of the different languages.

It struck me that each person had a fascinating and widely variant story to tell. I was curious as to what the stories were. The power, excitement, and richness of that initial impression of the people who live in Alberta has never left me.”

The mural provides the viewer a glimpse into a captured moment of time and a direct visual and emotional link to the people who both inhabit and historically helped build the province of Alberta.

Where did the images come from?

The historical portrait images were derived from a wide variety of sources including museums and archives, old photo albums, junk shops, historical societies and garage sales and were chosen for their visual character, influential personalities and documentation of historical events.

To obtain images of the present, Bromely travelled throughout the province photographing individuals and accepting other people’s photographs of family and friends.

Sandra Bromley, “It’s About Time”, 2006, digital photographs, laminated glass, aluminium (detail south wall)  (Collection of the AFA)

Regardless of how often one gazes at the mural, an image always seems to appear that has not been noticed or focused upon in past viewings. The mural has a life of its own as it documents and speaks to our sense of place. Whether we recognize or identify with an image becomes our own personal experience on every viewing.

Easter eggs!

Images of Alberta’s noted visual artists include Peter von Tiesenhausen, Doug Haynes, Gordon Ferguson, Isla Burns, and Phil Darrah to name a few.

On a second viewing you may focus on celebrated singer songwriter Corb Lund, the legendary Lois Hole, Edmonton town crier Pete Jamieson or pioneer mountain guide Bill Peyto all interspersed with images of WWII soldiers, farmers, and everyday Albertans.

Sandra Bromley, “It’s About Time”, 2006, digital photographs, laminated glass, aluminum (detail Lois Hole)

If you have yet to experience the mural maybe It’s About Time to check out a downtown landmark.

To access other artworks by artist Sandra Bromley included in the art collection, visit the AFA's Virtual Museum. 

Sandra Bromley, “It’s About Time”, 2006, digital photographs, laminated glass, aluminum (detail Sandra Bromley)

Our intrepid Arts Development Consultant and luminary in Edmonton community theatre, Barb Mah is retiring from the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA). 

Her dance and theatre training combined with a formal business education means that she is equally at ease in a rehearsal studio or doing a forensic analysis of your latest financial statement. 

Here's a bit more about Barb as we bid her adieu as she seeks new adventures!

Artist profile

We asked Barb about her artistic practice and career:

How many shows have you worked on in your career?

Over 50 - too many to count...

If you could only do one: Directing, acting, choreography or teaching?

Teaching, followed closely by directing. (In community theatre, they’re much the same.)

What’s one of your favourite memories working in theatre?

A production of The Rocky Horror Show. The cast was so tight that we could have performed for no audience and would have been happy. At the cast party, we all slept over at the theatre as we were so reluctant to let it go. (I don’t even like that show that much, but that cast…)

What’s one of your proudest moments as a teacher?

So many good moments, but watching students suddenly “get it” (usually in movement, which for those that don’t have a movement/dance background, they can struggle with).

This is directing-related but, during one show, I hired a teen in a cast of otherwise adults (I didn’t realize he was that young). A quiet young man that, during the course of rehearsal and doing the show, came out of his shell. I received a heartfelt note at the end, telling me he had started the show in a depressed state of mind, and that the show had given him back his life. 

What show have you always wanted to work on, but haven’t yet had a chance?

Bucket list: Merrily We Roll Along (I came close: pre-pandemic, I had actually cast it. Then COVID. We did a “first/last” read on Zoom and then everyone went home and cried.) But I have been very lucky in being able to do shows that are dear to my heart. One of these days…

What will you be up to next?

Next show (also a bucket list item): Austentatious, by a local (Calgary) writer. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice gone completely off the rails. I became aware of this show over 15 years ago when the AFA funded its initial production. (It has since played Off Broadway and across the pond).

Anything to add? 

Other crazy interests: Star Trek and Regency cos-play. (I’m a costumer as well and am crazy about costumes, I’m a decent sewist – have been my whole life.)

Barb and the AFA

Early days

Barbara Mah started working for Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism In May of 1989. You will note that Barb's career pre-dates the establishment of the AFA in 1991, which was an amalgamation of three former government-funded arts foundations. (Learn more about the orgins of the AFA.)

She joined the Touring Section of the Performing Arts Branch, which occupied a space on the 11th floor of Edmonton's CN Tower, sharing space with the Music Section, Theatre and Dance section, administration, and the performing arts library. This was an arts resource owned by the ministry with a large collection of records, music scores, plays, and other lending materials. 

• The playscript library is now owned and operated by Theatre Alberta Society, and has since expanded to more than 23,000 titles!

While grants were an important part of what we did, equally important was the community programming and capacity building. This took the form of classes, conferences, live auditions, hands-on creation of support organizations, newsletters, etc.
~Barb Mah

The largest activity supported by Barb's section was the annual Alberta Showcase conference. Back then, it was a four-day affair where hundreds of presenters and artists were assembled to encourage bookings throughout Alberta. Performances were presented at the Citadel Theatre and the Library theatre in Edmonton. 

• Alberta Showcase is now operated by the Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta.

The AFA is born

In 1991, Barb was part of a four-person task force charged with creating a transition plan to support amalgamation to establish the AFA, and to create workable programs. There were huge changes associated with this transition, but Barb notes one significant move: 

One change we implemented was the introduction of outside adjudicators (our expert panels), based on a model that we had used with some granting on the government side prior to amalgamation – much of it based on the work done by the theatre, dance, and music sections of the former performing arts branch.

The Expert Panel model remains a cornerstone of AFA adjudication of project grants. Learn more about how the AFA adjudicates funding requests. Barb was also instrumental in the development of community support programs, which is now the Community Support Organziations operating funding program.

With the AFA throughout the years...

The Rotting Donkeys is the name of the fictional band that the grants section created (despite the fact that nobody played any instrument or could sing), and we created several albums (complete with artwork and song titles, but never any actual songs). The name of the band came from a grant extension request: a film client needed an extension, as his film included a literal dead rotting donkey in it... and the decay had not gone far enough by the time the reporting deadline hit. You take your inspiration where you can get it...

Barb has been with the AFA through all of its major milestones:

• the AFA's first website, and eventually the adoption of the GATE Front Office online application system
• the move from Beaver House to Capital Arts Building
• Alberta Art Days (now Alberta Culture Days)
• Alberta at the Smithsonian
• introduction of Aboriginal Organization and Alboriginal Traditional Arts grants (now Indigenous Arts Individual Project Funding)
• The AFA's 25th Anniversary and the AFA Art Collection's 50th Anniversary

... and more. We will miss her very much!