“Mycologists aren’t sure how many species of fungi there are, estimating diversity somewhere between 2 and 1 million. Only 150,000 species are formally described; Most people can maybe name a handful. How many do you know?”

If people were asked about where one can go to see visual art and what that experience would be like, conventional impressions that may come to mind would be dedicated art spaces where people can visit and look at the art—where the experience maintains a separation between the viewer and the artwork.

On display at The Westin Hotel in The Works Art and Design Festival this year, mixed media sculpture artist Dustin Coulson’s series Of Bark & Bane examines the adverse impact of human society upon the natural environment as well as the shifting and, at times, contentious relationship that exists between them.

An integral part of a thriving capitalist economy is its reliance on the continual production, circulation, and consumption of goods. Yet, such consumption depends on people who have the means to pay for these goods as well as for the goods’ planned obsolescence, which incentivizes and makes it necessary for people to purchase more. Quebec-based artist José Luis Torres explores these types of issues in an unconventional manner with his contribution Trojan Horse to this year’s The Works Art and Design Festival.

How can visual art activate possibilities for public engagement within the urban environment? Jill Stanton’s Supergarden explores these possibilities with her larger-than-life art installations that have populated Churchill Square during this year’s The Works Art and Design Festival.

The name of Jason Fielding’s exhibition, Hidden Realms, may imply the presence of unseen realities of which people are unaware, but that could be accessed by those who keep their minds open. Deriving inspiration from elements within natural and human environments, Fielding’s graphite drawings reveal visually evocative, abstract landscapes that explore the interrelated themes of human society, nature, and industry.

Upon initial viewing, what may strike people about Erika Germain’s Collected Translations is the expansive plethora of colours, lines, and objects that inhabit the coloured canvas of each work, which lack any conventional visual cues or signposts to guide people’s interpretations of them. Instead, these works encourage people to approach them without preconceptions and to arrive at their own understandings about what they mean and how the images within each work relate to each other.

The phrase “way station” is defined in dictionaries as an intermediate stopping place, a stopping point on a journey, or a place where people stop to eat and rest when they are on a long journey.

If you were to think about trees in Canada, one of the most visible reminders of their presence is when their leaves change colour and fall in the autumn, prompting people to clear their yards and sidewalks. Apart from that time of year, the ubiquity and omnipresence of trees in our communities is something that people may not give much thought about as they go about their daily lives.

Born into a creative family, Ryan Wispinski learned to carve wood during his childhood and has since incorporated other mediums such as stone, paper, pen, and ink. His latest exhibit We Will ART YOU! features a large, intricate ink drawing and several attractive wood carvings that encourage people to take a closer look.

In the current global climate, debilitating forms of conflict and violence—stoked by cultural differences, economic disparities, regional tensions, and scarcity of resources—continue to impact communities around the world. Amidst these entrenched divisions, it can be challenging to maintain a sense of hope for the future. Bushra Yousaf’s intimate series of portrait paintings evoke optimism and encourage self-reflection by reminding us of our common humanity.

Engagement, reflection, and connection: these are some processes that drive Veronika Marks’ artistic practice. In her interactive performance Sigils of Sovereignty, Marks encourages possibilities for storytelling and community, through which she explores how art can facilitate opportunities for people to connect and heal.

The built environment in downtown Edmonton is replete with glassy office towers and concrete buildings and spaces such as Churchill Square, the site of this year’s The Works Art & Design Festival. Amidst the sterile and depersonalizing connotations associated with these human-made structures, Jonathan Monfries’ installation CANOPY injects evocations of the natural environment into these surroundings by providing a functional, yet aesthetically eye-catching, group of wooden structures for everyone to experience and enjoy.

The past two years of the pandemic have impacted people’s lives significantly and contributed to people’s sense of isolation and disconnection from each other. In this year’s The Works Art & Design Festival, two interactive installations on Churchill Square were a welcome addition in reigniting these bonds of communication and social interaction.

As part of their artistic practice, multimedia artist Breanna Barrington aims to work sustainably and often incorporates second-hand materials into her works, through which they explore ecological concerns and hopes to encourage people to take meaningful action.

When viewing Agatha Chacinski’s installation work A Grasp for Love (2022) for the first time, people may initially have been struck most by the bright blue wall of painted purple flowers and the colourful plant life residing in the five pot-like structures that were arranged on the grass. However, upon closer examination, visitors noticed that her work did not contain any live plants and that they were, in fact, artificial creations. Each pot also contained a painted purple heart that was attached to the blue wall via a long piece of sturdy rope.

In early 2021, The Works was tasked with adapting our volunteer art interpretation training program TART to a remote context. With fewer volunteer opportunities this year, the program was expanded from its traditional scope of volunteer training to a program for those interested in art interpretation, or early in their careers in fields requiring art interpretation and writing.

Sharon Rose Kootenay, Jason Symington, and Brittany Cherweniuk, the artists and curator behind "Transformation: Promise and Wisdom" and "Wildflowers: Metis Women of Fort Edmonton, 1785-1910" discuss process, collaboration, and reconciliation.

Monique Martin’s expansive public art exhibit Context is Everything closes on November 10. Since October 1, paper dandelions and their images set root in familiar spaces in Downtown Edmonton, bringing with them light, colour and a message of hope. Monique Martin’s print series Critical Pieces will remain on display in the Alley of Light Art Boxes into the new year.

The fascinating thing about digitization of the body is that you will not notice it on your physical self. The discovery of the digital body is a bit like discovering yourself as the host of your own doppelgänger. And after seeing the Dyscorpia exhibit at the Enterprise Square Gallery, you might have the feeling this “Body 2.0” is, at last, trying to shed it’s skin with disregard for it’s biological home.