In the mad rush to see every band on your hit list during Sled Island don’t forget to designate time for art. A handful of downtown galleries are hosting exhibitions as part of the festival’s arts component and they are worth adding to that list.
Your first stop should be Avalanche! Gallery ( avalancheavalanche.com ) not only for White Heat which runs June 21 and 22 but also because this is the last show before the gallery packs up and moves to a new undisclosed location. The group exhibition and performance includes collaborative installations by Kelly Smith and Gwen Morgan Joleen Toner and Ashley Ohman and Mohammad Rezaei and Alia Shahab (pictured) as well as a DJ set and limited edition posters designed by DJ McClure and shadow puppetry performances by Humble Wonder.
If you’re planning to catch some music at Olympic Plaza be sure to cross the street to MOCA Calgary ( mocacalgary.org ) for Spaces . The show features work by photographer Bryce Evans the winner of a contest for emerging artists judged by representatives from MOCA Sled Island and Etsy. Evans’ work includes conceptual abstract and experimental subject matter with a focus on driving positive social change in the world and will be on display until July 1.
If you’ve had enough of the downtown crowds and need a dose of humour head out of the downtown to Haight Gallery for Soft Serve a lighthearted collaborative exhibition about Calgary summers — that short but sweet period between winters — that opens Friday June 21.
On the weekend you can fill any hole in your schedule by making your way to Victoria Park for the First Street Market Walk ( marketwalk.ca ) taking place on First Street S.W. between 12th and 15th Avenues. The “pop-up” market (the first of four taking place this summer) will include art and fashion displays installations and temporary galleries along the sidewalk and in vacant and exiting retail spaces; an open-air PARKSale at Haultain Park where artists and designers show and sell their work; and the unveiling of a new mural.
View the full schedule of arts events at sledisland.com/lineup/visual-art .
Trepan Theatre ( trepantheatre.com ) is putting its own absurd spin on the classic Canadian comedy The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine with a little help from mentor Kevin McKendrick (recently seen in I Am My Own Wife ) as director. The play written by Leah Cherniak Robert Morgan and Martha Ross is about two newlyweds who move into a tiny basement apartment which puts a strain on their relationship — to say the least — and runs until June 29 at Joyce Doolittle Theatre.
Three local playwrights received nods of recognition at the 47th annual Alberta Playwrighting Competition . While Edmonton playwright Katherine Koller won the Grand Prize the jury also awarded an honorable mention to Calgarian David van Belle for Liberation Days . Local playwright Ryan Reese won the Discovery Prize for Ascending the Blue . The emerging playwright will receive the $1500 prize to help fund his future writing endeavours.
