LETTERS: The Works Art & Design Festival (Fall 2009)

This letter is in regards to some errors in the review of The Works Art & Design Festival (Fall 2009). The first has to do with the scope of the festival, described as “Northern Alberta’s biggest art festival”. With over 200,000 visitors, more than 500 participating visual artists, and 18 contributing arts organizations, The Works is justifiably the largest outdoor, free art and design festival in North America. Second, in relation to the layout of the main festival site, the review suggests that art is hard to come by on Sir Winston Churchill Square. In 2009, exhibits and installations could be found on The Works giant gateways at the South and North entrances, on the east lawn of the site, inside the Works Gallery in the centre of The Art Market, and in The Works Big Tent, a 45' x 90' outdoor weatherproof venue, which held two major festival exhibits and saw 10,000 visitors in 13 days. There were also demonstrations, workshops and events throughout the festival, including the MADE Street Furniture Competition, The Portable Festival of Portable Art, and Raku firing demonstrations for the 2009 HEAT theme.

The review also takes issue with the important collaborations and partnerships that The Works develops with arts organizations and venues. While many artist-run centres and galleries counted among Works Official Venues curate their own spaces, and would likely hold shows with or without The Works Festival, our partnerships allow those groups to have their efforts appreciated in a broader context. The Festival is recognized as being at the forefront of developing audiences for the arts, and the fact that this is not understood as integral to The Festival and of value to arts presenters, shows short-sightedness.

Finally, in critiquing The Festival, the review incorrectly cites the Festival’s mandate as “To put public art in alternative spaces”. The Works’ mission is “to promote the visual arts and design among the public at large and the artistic community”. Special events and public art are a means to achieving this mission, as is encouragement of dialogue around art and design. As such, The Works welcomes all opinions, critiques, and discussions about and arising from the exhibits and programs run at the Festival.

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