THE GOOD PLACE
Heart of the Arts
With 20 years of arts activism and community spirit, Arts on the Ave has helped breathe new life into Edmonton’s Alberta Avenue.
By Lailani Mendoza-Lai
(From top) Christy Morin; acrobatic feats at the family-friendly Kaleido festival. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARTS ON THE AVE
EDMONTON'S ALBERTA AVENUE (a.k.a. 118 Avenue) once had a reputation as a dangerous, rough-around-the-edges area. But these days, the neighbourhood has been transformed with colourful murals, mini-gardens, annual street festivals and a vibrant, year-round community of artists and art-lovers. It’s thanks, in large part, to Arts on the Ave (AOTA), a community-based non-profit that has been active in the area for 20 years.
Arts on the Ave was formed in 2005, shortly after the city began revitalization efforts in the district. Christy Morin, a theatre grad and area resident since 1994, reached out to fellow local creatives to imagine what a better neighbourhood might look like.
“We asked what [would happen] if the arts took over this space… and you [started] seeing beauty, creativity and life,” says Morin, now AOTA’s executive director. “Those were the glasses we put on to see things as opportunities, to see gritty back alleys as places for performances, to see murals on walls that were gang-tagged.”
“We don’t claim to be everything or know everything. We’re all about the partners and the relationships.”
With limited resources, this group of volunteers hosted the first Kaleido Family Arts Festival, showing residents what was possible and helping spark Alberta Avenue’s renaissance.
In the two decades since, Arts on the Ave has grown. Currently, over 850 multidisciplinary artists and committed residents are involved in a wide range of projects that share the common goal of harnessing the arts for positive change in the community.
The non-profit helms two signature festivals every year — Deep Freeze in winter, Kaleido in fall. It also runs a food pantry, a back-alley beautification program, and most recently, an art class for people in recovery from addiction. Their headquarters? The Carrot, a volunteer-run social enterprise coffee shop that showcases local artists’ work on the walls, and which doubles as a venue for community events, workshops and performances.
Eventually, the non-profit plans to get a new building where even more innovative community projects can be realized. But for now, Morin is proudest of AOTA’s legacy of change in Alberta Avenue — one built on partnerships, creativity and community spirit.
“We don’t claim to be everything or know everything. We’re all about the partners and the relationships,” Morin says. “That’s what has built Arts on the Ave — the relationships.” AMA
Performers from the Verkhovyna School of Dance at Arts on the Avenue’s Deep Freeze festival. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARTS ON THE AVE
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(From left) TK; Christy Morin; performers from the Verkhovyna School of Dance at Arts on the Avenue’s Deep Freeze festival. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ARTS ON THE AVE
EDMONTON'S ALBERTA AVENUE (a.k.a. 118 Avenue) once had a reputation as a dangerous, rough-around-the-edges area. But these days, the neighbourhood has been transformed with colourful murals, mini-gardens, annual street festivals and a vibrant, year-round community of artists and art-lovers. It’s thanks, in large part, to Arts on the Ave (AOTA), a community-based non-profit that has been active in the area for 20 years.
Arts on the Ave was formed in 2005, shortly after the city began revitalization efforts in the district. Christy Morin, a theatre grad and area resident since 1994, reached out to fellow local creatives to imagine what a better neighbourhood might look like.
“We asked what [would happen] if the arts took over this space… and you [started] seeing beauty, creativity and life,” says Morin, now AOTA’s executive director. “Those were the glasses we put on to see things as opportunities, to see gritty back alleys as places for performances, to see murals on walls that were gang-tagged.”
“We don’t claim to be everything or know everything. We’re all about the partners and the relationships.”
With limited resources, this group of volunteers hosted the first Kaleido Family Arts Festival, showing residents what was possible and helping spark Alberta Avenue’s renaissance.
In the two decades since, Arts on the Ave has grown. Currently, over 850 multidisciplinary artists and committed residents are involved in a wide range of projects that share the common goal of harnessing the arts for positive change in the community.
The non-profit helms two signature festivals every year — Deep Freeze in winter, Kaleido in fall. It also runs a food pantry, a back-alley beautification program, and most recently, an art class for people in recovery from addiction. Their headquarters? The Carrot, a volunteer-run social enterprise coffee shop that showcases local artists’ work on the walls, and which doubles as a venue for community events, workshops and performances.
Eventually, the non-profit plans to get a new building where even more innovative community projects can be realized. But for now, Morin is proudest of AOTA’s legacy of change in Alberta Avenue — one built on partnerships, creativity and community spirit.
“We don’t claim to be everything or know everything. We’re all about the partners and the relationships,” Morin says. “That’s what has built Arts on the Ave — the relationships.” AMA