Edmonton Journal Article – Sept 27.07

Arts on the Ave brings soul to the city
Revitalization of Alberta Avenue by volunteers, artists and business people is Edmonton’s best hope for true local culture

Todd Babiak
The Edmonton Journal

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Edmonton doesn’t have a symbol. Modern sports teams are international brands, stuffed with millionaires. Neighbourhoods like Old Strathcona and Oliver are charming and vibrant, but hardly unique. The progression of Whyte Avenue from a biker strip to one of the nation’s top destinations for branded coffee, potpourri, expensive clothes and really cheap highballs says nothing particularly resonant about Edmonton. Local culture has been pummelled by globalization, by the decline of newspapers, by an economy that encourages young people to be mobile and cynical.

The city’s best hope for local culture, for a symbol, is 36 blocks north and 11 blocks east of Whyte and Calgary Trail. Outside the building, on a windy fall day, a man in a suit and tie picks up discarded coffee cups and plastic shopping bags. “I do it three times a day,” he offers, to a stranger with a notepad.

Inside The Carrot, a community arts coffeehouse, there is a quotation on the wall by Paul Cézanne: “The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.”

That is, and has been, a daily affirmation for Christy Morin, president of Arts on the Ave and artistic producer of the Kaleido Family Arts Festival, running Friday and Saturday. With her team of volunteers, Morin has helped transform one of Edmonton’s most historic, yet derelict, neighbourhoods into the soul of the city in just a couple of years. There are three new murals up in the Alberta Cycle building, in honour of the second annual festival. They represent the past, the present and the future of Alberta Avenue.

The interpretation of the past, by Michelle Leavitt-Djonic, depicts a glamorous time of romance and a day at the races.

“Back in the ’30s, Alberta Avenue was a bit like Whyte Avenue is today,” says author, playwright and local historian Tony Cashman. “Athletic clubs were set up to keep young men away from a life of crime, and the Maple Leaf Athletic Club sort of defined Alberta Avenue. In the winter, the community rink was one of the social centres of town. It was very lively, full of young people. Skating was a great way to make yourself an introduction.”

The Avenue remained a social centre over the years, even until the 1960s when young artists like Tommy Banks played jazz at the horse-themed Paddock. But the growth of the postwar suburban dream doomed Alberta Avenue and neighbourhoods like it, thoughout the city. Family life became synonymous with a new house in the south, the west or Sherwood Park.

This remains true, but a minority of devoted urbanites are attracted to soulful places, to mature trees and bygone craftsmanship, even if it means negotiating with the destitute and the mentally ill.

In the early 1980s, the Fringe Theatre Festival helped lift Old Strathcona out of its malaise. A half-hearted attempt to brand 118th as Avenue of Champions changed precisely nothing. Until recently, Alberta Avenue has lacked champions. But armed with vigour, the Edmonton Arts Council, a very sympathetic mayor in Stephen Mandel and an energetic — though outgoing — councillor in Janice Melnychuk, Morin and her neighbours have already made a difference.

“I wasn’t really political until I started doing this,” says Morin. “But the response has been interesting. (Conservative MP) Peter Goldring has never come to any of our events, has never supported us. (New Democrat MLA) Brian Mason is the opposite. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the civic election” next month.

The vagaries of the boom-and-bust cycle have helped maintain a distinct architectural flavour in the neighbourhood. Ironically, recent spikes in the Edmonton real-estate market have drawn a rich combination of poor artists, young families and plucky immigrants to the underpriced Alberta Avenue.

And they volunteer at The Carrot, a modest storefront filled with art and donated furniture, board games, a piano, a PA system and — always, it seems — Morin.

“We’re kind of a bohemian group who’ve clustered together,” she says. Gentle pop music plays, a volunteer learns to run the espresso machine, a man on a laptop taps away. The festival is just a few days away, and Morin is typically overcommitted. She’s promoting, producing, banking and delegating. Kaleido is a mixture of music, dance, theatre, visual art displays and interactive family-oriented activity. Many of the artists are household names around here, and they’re all local. “We’re not trying to be an international festival. That isn’t the point. It’s an Edmonton festival.”

The interpretation of the present, by Lorraine Shulba, is a storybook painting. In the mural, everything wonderful is opening soon.

“There are 80 working artists living in the area already,” says Ken Chapman of Cambridge Strategies, who was hired by the city to study and help implement an arts revitalization plan for the area. “And they’ve discovered each other, which has started a renaissance of sorts. Christy Morin is the heart and soul of that. They’re doing everything right. What has to happen next is housing stock — good and affordable — for more artists.”

There are models from across North America of artist-owned housing, built and sold with provisos that discourage speculation. Chapman thinks if artists have equity, they’ll be more permanent, more stable. They can plan. “It’s a reality now. Artists are core to every significant economic development policy. Giving artists capacity is 21st-century infrastructure. It has to be high-density,

multi-use with residential, and they have to own it. It has to be affordable and green — inventive designs. Right now, we’re just about at the starting line.”

Chapman sees buildings with retail and performance space on the street level, rehearsal space and storage in the back, administration above, and residential above that. He says it will cost $35 million to complete the streetscape, which is complex and highly contingent. Working with the city and the province, he wants to help attract some major arts organizations to the area as tentpoles. Then comes the hard part, in a famously cheap and timid city — bringing in

investors.

Some local entrepreneurs already see the potential. Al Rahmani, who owns the Alberta Cycle building and other properties, is donating the space to Arts on the Ave for the festival and beyond. If Morin and volunteers like Michelle Hayduk are successful, local businesses benefit as much as anyone. That is, until Second Cup and Starbucks roll in.

Today, a stroll down Alberta Avenue is a unique experience. You can drop into the indoor skatepark, pick up some “hot and spicy fresh food” or marital aids or Portuguese bread or organic vegetables, an acme juicer, Latin imports. All within a couple of blocks. A stranger will walk by, ask for a cigarette, and declare, “Let the good times roll!” A man in a suit and tie will pick up garbage.

The interpretation of the future, by Fassil Yenie, a recent immigrant, is a painting of a couple dancing a tango. It’s a magical image, hinting at a special moment and at timelessness. Like the humble carrot, it’s as good a symbol as any.

tbabiak@thejournal.canwest.com

A SELECTION OF EVENTS

A partial list of Arts Alive! Kaleido events

Friday

6 p.m.: No Tie Gala, with performances and silent auction

10 p.m.: Homeless, by Jeremy Baumung, directed by Kenneth Brown

Saturday

11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.: Live performances on the outdoor stage (including Captain Tractor, Ben Sures, James Murdoch Band, Le Fuzz)

12:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.: Live performance in The Carrot (including Paul Bellows, Nick Perreault, Mat Halton)

12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Family art workshops and performances (mask- and lantern-making, yo-yo masters, magicians and clowns)

12:30 p.m.: Water, written and directed by Kenneth Brown

2 p.m.: Barrage Dance, by Mile Zero Dance

3 p.m.: Homeless

3:30 p.m.: HMS Hip Hop

4:30 p.m.: Asante African Dance

5:30 p.m.: Generic Theatre: film noir by Dave Clarke

6:30 p.m.: Water

For a complete schedule, see www.artsontheave.org

© The Edmonton Journal 2007