The Allied Arts Council kicks off the sixteenth annual Arts Days celebration with Word On The Street, Saturday, Sept. 21.
 ArtsDays  continues with a variety of  events happening the following week.

“We’re sponsoring a tent this year,” said Allied Arts Council communications manager Kelaine Devine, adding it won’t be the music tent, which begins at 11:30 a.m. with Calgary blues rock band the Eric Braun Band followed by local country musician Tyra Whitson, more blues with the Steve Keenan Band at 1:35, local folk/ blues band In Cahoots, Willy Big Bull and winding up with Fred Penner at 4 p.m.

“We’re sponsoring the cartoon and comic stage with Eric Dyck and Carson Morton,” Devine continued.
 Word On The Street features a variety of authors writing teen fiction, non-fiction like cook books,  science fiction, Canadian authors and much more.

 “But the next day, I’m really looking forward to  Mimosas, Muffins and and  Movies in Casa. We’ll be showing the Double Take: The Art of Elizabeth King. You’ll really enjoy it if you like stop motion animation,” Devine continued. It begins at 10 a.m.. There will be coffee , food and mimosas for $5. Admission is by donation.

The ArtWalk quilt show begins at City Hall on Monday, which also features Dawn Leite’s walking theatre tour of downtown Lethbridge.
“It’s hard to believe there used to be 30 theatres in Lethbridge,” Devine said.
 there are plenty of exhibitions opening throughout the week at the Trianon, Mortar and Brick and the SAAG. The seven new exhibits at casa continue for ArtsDays as well. You can see them all during th Gallery Stroll, Sept. 29.

There are a couple of changes this year.
“ We’ve moved  the SOAR Emerging Artist Cabarets from May to September because we found most of the students  had left in May,” Devine  observed, noting they will be at Casa on Sept. 25 and 26 featuring  works by Ashley Thomson, Austin Culler, David Gabert, Garrett Mallory Scott, Integra Contemporary and Electro Acoustics (ICE). There will also be performances by Megan Wittig, Marigold, Michael Bartz, Sydney Murdoch and Zach Pollis. There will be a different lineup both nights. The cabarets run from 7-9 p.m.

Casa opens a whopping seven new exhibits this weekend.
Casa has undergone a few changes for exhibits.
 Adrianna “ the Hobbyist” Richardson is the first artist to utilize the new PROJEctspace space.
“ One of the large cabinets on the main floor is open to emerging artists to do site specific exhibitions,” said Casa Curator Darcy Logan, noting that means the space itself is now a part of the exhibits rather than just  a place to display exhibits.

“So the artist can respond to the commitment of space,” he said, adding it is similar in spirit  to  the cabinet of Queeriosties at the former Bowman art gallery.
“ But she has created an exhibit about the excess of consumerism and disposable culture. She’s used found objects and artfully recontextualized them.”
 There are two big exhibits in the main gallery which are related to issues of feminism and family.
“Karen Campbells’s “My Lilac Shadow,” features colourful coloured pencil drawings inspired by personal struggles, the popular and well respected local artist has faced in her life. It is her first exhibit  at casa.

“It is a real meditative and contemplative response to family illness and subsequent convalescent care,” Logan summarized.
“It reflects all the time spent in reflection while in a hospital,” he said, adding the exhibit is quite colourful in spite of the morbid theme.
“Often you need colour and light when you’re in a hospital,” he said.

The other main gallery exhibit, “sins&insecurities,”  features self portraits of photographer and artist Karla Mather-Cocks as well as an interactive and performance component.
“It explores the idea of negotiating the diverse facets of life. Specifically the guilt of of trying to balance being a free spirit and artist while at the same time as being a mother.
“ There will also be a an opportunity for gallery visitors to anonymously  write down their sins and insecurities,” he said adding  at the end of the exhibit, she will burn them as an allegory of sins and insecurities keeping people from celebrating their lives.

New local art gallery Mortar and Brick (# 20 316 7st South) is presenting a new exhibition  from Calgary based artist Carl White.

 The artist himself will be presenting an artist talk, Aug. 17 from 1-2 p.m. to talk about his  exhibition Carousel, which opened, July 31 and ends on Aug. 17 as well.
“He was born in Liverpool and spent a lot of time  in England and Europe. But he has been inspired by Renaissance and high art,” summarized Mortar and Brick arts and Events Coordinator Courteny  Green, noting White emigrated to Calgary to at the Alberta College of Art and Design.

 She noted he explores the idea of art being “precious,” or untouchable by ripping, tearing, altering and painting graffiti on the canvasses and even on the walls  around the works.
The exhibition features 13 pieces in several different mediums including acrylic, oil and ink.

There are also three sculptures.

More information is available at:  Mortarandbrickyql.com
Website page: Mortarandbrickyql.com/carousel
Carl White’s Website: http://www.carlwhiteart.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mortarandbrick/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mortarbrickartsand