06.10.2019 | 07.30.2019
INTO THE STREETS | FESTIVAL ART SERIES
The mission of the SAAG’s Into the Streets Public Art Series is to embed art, creativity, livability, and social responsibility within public space, and to facilitate possibilities for creative, engaging experiences for residents of Lethbridge. We believe this series also aligns with the City of Lethbridge's Downtown Vision Statement, by contributing to the vibrancy, openness, accessibility, and diversity of downtown. By pairing this series with free, public events and festivals that are open to all, we are able to reach audiences who may not typically participate in the arts programming of our city's formalized galleries. We want to bring a sense of wonder, joy and amazement to the streets of Lethbridge in places where the public might not typically feel those emotions. By partnering with local events and festivals that already have a built-in attendance of thousands, this series will reach a larger and more diverse audience than if the series was run as a stand-alone project.
Curated by Jane Edmundson & Tyler Stewart
Project #1 - AJA Louden, Student Mural Program Partnership with Helen Schuler Nature Centre and L'École La Vérendrye
Student Workshop - June 10 to 13, 2019
Upper Victoria Park Neighbour Day Festival - June 15, 2019
During a four-day workshop, AJA Louden will help students of École La Vérendrye creatively express what they have learned throughout the year while working through the curriculum of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre’s Natural Leaders Project, which addresses issues of water ecosystems and security. Louden and the students will work together to design and spray-paint a public mural that will be temporarily displayed on the perimeter fence outside of the school. During Neighbour Day, neighbourhood residents, the school’s students and parents, and visitors from across the city will be able to experience the collaborative artwork, which will be inspired by the flow of a piece of wildstyle graffiti and the natural power of water, specifically the importance of the Oldman Watershed to Lethbridge.
AJA Louden (AJA sounds like 'Ajay', short for Adrian Joseph Alexander) is an artist based in Edmonton, Canada. Born to a family tree with roots split between Jamaica and Canada, Louden is a child of contrast. Bold and arresting freehand spray-painted portraits of pop culture figures from Jimi Hendrix and Richard Nixon to more local heroes like Rollie Miles often alternate with hand-lettered designs and vibrant patterns borne of a background in graffiti. Louden looks to bring a multifaceted, collaborative, and multi-narrative approach to contemporary urban muralism. The Aerosol Academy workshop series, developed by AJA in 2011, teaches people of all ages about art making and art history through the lens of graffiti and street art, and has been taught around his home province of Alberta.
Organized by the Southern Alberta Art Gallery and guest-curated by Jane Edmundson and Tyler Stewart. Funding assistance is provided by the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the City of Lethbridge, and the City of Lethbridge Public Art Small Projects Program.
AJA Louden, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
Documentation: AJA Louden, Student Mural Program with students from L’École La Vérendrye, 2019.
