photo by Heather Zinger

In June of 2010, Art on Alberta decided to undergo an organizational transition. We were invited by the Regional Arts and Culture Council to take part in their Cultural Leadership Program, which gave us the opportunity to work directly with professional nonprofit arts consultant George Thorn over the course of the next two years. Thorn has decades of experience as a consultant to nonprofit arts organizations around the United States, and we felt the chance to be able to redefine ourselves after ten years of serving the Alberta Arts District was an offer we couldn’t refuse. We’ve been working closely with Thorn to redefine our role within the community with the intent to remain true to our original mission of bringing exceptional arts and educational programming to Northeast Alberta Street.

Our strategic work thus far has led us to redefine our main focus for 2011. This focus includes restoring a 1960s teardrop trailer into a mobile art gallery to host rotating, monthly shows that can travel around the street, neighborhood, and city to promote Northeast Alberta Street’s arts identity. Watch for its presence this spring!

Our annual May Street Festival, Art Hop, will not be held in 2011. This was a difficult decision for Art on Alberta, as this has been our signature event for the past 12 years. The decision was made in part because the event became too large and overwhelming for our small all-volunteer organization to run. We have been unable to find major sponsors to help fund Art Hop, and grant sources have been scarce in this economy. We encourage our past vendors and supporters to participate in another beloved annual event, the Alberta Street Fair, which is run by Alberta Main Street and the Alberta Street Business Association (ASBA) which will be held on August 13, 2011.

We would also like to announce a change in the leadership within Art on Alberta for the new year. Eve Connell is now serving as Art on Alberta’s president. Eve has been a board member for over two years and has written our newsletter, grants, and participated in many other activities which supported the last three Art Hop events. Former president and five year board member Hilary Pfeifer has completed her term as president, and will step into the role of Community Liaison.

Our committed board continues to discuss the possibility of transforming Art on Alberta into an organization with a physical, permanent presence on the street. We will announce more about our future vision of Art on Alberta via our website www.artonalberta.org.

Questions? Contact: info@artonalberta.org