RED DEER ARTS COUNCIL

The Red Deer Arts Council is an arts service organization working with visual literary and performing member artists and local cultural organizations to enhance our community through arts and culture. Our Vision is of a vibrant thriving community that celebrates and nurtures arts and creativity in Central Alberta. Our Mission Statement is to inspire support and stimulate arts and culture in Red Deer through education advocacy and programming. Visual Arts: We operate a Public Art Gallery in the city’s library exhibiting local and regional works and promoting monthly art gallery openings in our space and other participating galleries around town. We also have a Community Gallery to offer an exhibition space for under-represented populations and emerging artists. We program an annual open studio tour of artists at work allowing community members to see the process of creativity in action. Performing Arts: We program an outdoor summer concert series that has doubled in size in its first three COVID years and our performing arts committee features theatre cinema and dance sub-groups to sustain their various artistic endeavours. Literary Arts: We program writing workshops an open stage for writers to test out new work and celebration of writers launching new books. Professional Development: We also provide professional practice workshop opportunities; artist talks and general interest sessions for the community in collaboration with the Red Deer Museum & Art Gallery. Education: We provide an annual scholarships and awards program (5+2 respectively) supporting developing artists in their continued pursuits. Community Outreach: We collaborate with more than a dozen local organizations to program the month-long Culture Days festival leading the planning committee and creating events specifically for local students across the city. Culture: We have new premises allowing us to now hold small programs and meetings on site. We are in a leadership role to advocate for the importance of arts & culture to living a creative life and to have facilities that will serve our growing community effectively for generations to come.

We created a Plein Air painting event to start a year full of celebrations surrouding the 50th anniversary of the RDAC. We continued our drum circles on the first Sunday of each month our Paradise Plaza and collaboration with business individuals and organizations surrounding our office location and expanded that towards creating the Arts & Culture District Collaborative which prompted several community conversations surrounding meaningful topics about community creativity in our daily lives. We re-launched our season parking stall patio space outside with plein air artist residencies and busker activations but found some challenges working with other neighbouring businesses that didn't wish to support the project which shuttered our plans early as they complained to the municipality. We began a theatre community marketing & development project to grow ticket sales and collaborative website to increase This year we also launched the Diane Hermary Volunteer Spirit Award as part of our Scholarships & Awards program through a nomination process. This allowed us to honour one of the RDAC's longest volunteers while memorializing the robust efforts of one of our past Board Members who gave two decades of her life to arts and culture in Red Deer. We launched a monthly drum circle for community on the first Sunday of each month with the goal of gathering community around the rhythm of life in various settings. We have also been able to lend or rent out the drums to community groups an elementary school a recovery centre and a centre for individuals with disabilities to use for their own drum circle activities.