Young talent on display

40TH ANNUAL ART’S ALIVE AND WELL IN THE SCHOOLS OPENS AT SAAG

Local young artists, with their families in tow, celebrated the opening of a time-honoured tradition that displays their work.

Sunday marked the opening reception for the 40th annual Art’s Alive and Well in the Schools at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. This year the exhibition features over 350 works by Lethbridge students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

Thirty-one schools participated across Lethbridge School District No. 51, the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Division No. 4, and Ecole La Verendrye.

“We’re so happy to have artwork from all schools in Lethbridge in Art’s Alive and Well in the Schools,” said Taylor Crozon, SAAG’s public engagement co-ordinator. It’s very important to have a space for emerging young artists to display their work, she said.

“Especially when you come to SAAG, a leading contemporary art gallery, and their exhibitions are right after ‘big-name’ artists. Their position as artists is an important one in our community and within the art world.”

Crozon has witnessed firsthand the excitement the artists exude when they get to show off their work to their family and friends.

“One of my favourite parts of Art’s Alive and Well in the Schools is when people come into the gallery and they’re like ‘My sister had an artwork here’ or ‘My mom had an artwork here’ ... It’s a real sense of pride in our community.”

It was also the grand opening for Iihtaomoipiyotsio’pi Aawahkaisinaakssin: We Gather Together Through Art, a collaborative project between Tatsikiisaapo’p Middle School (Kainai Board of Education) and Bob Edward’s School (Calgary Board of Education), which explores Truth and Reconciliation.

Lead by Tatsikiisaapo’p Middle School, together the students explored “a deeper understanding of the true historical relationship between First Nations people and Canada and how this relationship has affected First Nations people in Canada through a Blackfoot youth’s perspective.”

Both exhibitions run through June 11. For more information, visit

Herald photo by Melissa Villeneuve Young artists and their families celebrated the opening of the 40th annual Art’s Alive and Well in the Schools exhibit at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery on Sunday. It was also the opening of Iihtaomoipiyotsio’pi Aawahkaisinaakssin: We Gather Together...