Edmonton 2007 Cultural Capital of Canada - Building Connections

In recognition of Edmonton's ongoing commitment to arts and culture, the Government of Canada has named the City of Edmonton as 2007 Cultural Capital of Canada. This one-year campaign, titled Building Connections, will include the following six projects:

1. Edmonton Explorations: A grant program intended for individual artists in all artistic disciplines, investing in artists of today to foster the arts and cultural community of tomorrow. Edmonton Explorations will target those artists working outside the arts and culture mainstream; an Outreach Director will be employed to identify these artists and acquaint them with the program. Details of the criteria, application guidelines, and grant deadlines will be available soon on our web site: www.edmontonculturalcapital.com

2. Poetry Festival: Poetry is an art form with a long, diverse tradition in Edmonton - a tradition largely under recognized and yet with enormous potential to connect. Poetry readings, workshops, and development opportunities will be programmed throughout the year under the direction of Poet Laureate Alice Major, culminating in a Poetry Festival during the third week of September.

3. Symposia and Speakers Series: The Symposia and Speakers Series will explore the connections between the arts and other areas important to community. Three symposia are currently planned: Connections through Community Arts, Connections between Arts and Science, and Connections through the Written and Spoken Word. These events will foster an appreciation of the possibilities for connection, allowing Edmontonians to associate with people and ideas from across the country and around the world.

4. Community Arts: The Community Arts project will partner local cultural communities with professional artists for the purpose of the artistic exploration and creative presentation of community issues, heritage, and aspirations. Edmonton values the many diverse communities that call Edmonton home, and takes as a priority the appreciation within these communities - and among the general public - of their contribution to the municipal whole.

5. Cultural Inventory: The objective of the Cultural Inventory project is to document the full breadth of Edmonton's diverse cultural resources. Identifying those populations removed from Edmonton's arts and culture mainstream will be central to the realization of this goal.

6. Nightworks: To mark the conclusion of Edmonton's Cultural Capital year a family focused celebratory event is planned for Churchill Square in December.

These projects will be publicized through a unique Marketing and Awareness campaign, highlighting the wealth of talent and cultural depth that distinguish Edmonton as the Cultural Capital of Canada.

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The Edmonton 2007 Cultural Capital of Canada Office:

Web site: http://www.edmontonculturalcapital.com

Office (opening in April) will be located in the offices of The Works Festival at:
#200, 10225 - 100 Avenue
Edmonton AB
T5J 0A1

Staff:

Linda Huffman, Executive Producer: linda@edmontonculturalcapital.com
Al Rasko, Finance Officer: al@edmontonculturalcapital.com
Christina Tozer, Marketing Director: ctozer@edmontonculturalcapital.com
Alison Turner, Outreach Coordinator, Edmonton Explorations Grant Program: alison@edmontonculturalcapital.com
Alice Major, Poetry Festival: alice.major@shaw.ca
Don Bouzek, Community Arts Project: dbouzek@edmontonculturalcapital.com