ALLIED ARTS COUNCIL OF LETHBRIDGE

1) Municipal Service Agreements: The AAC provides arts leadership and manages the Casa Arts Centre through fee-for-service agreements with the City of Lethbridge. 2) Arts Promotion: The AAC promotes awareness and engagement in the arts through advertising print and digital publications social media newsletters and a publicly accessible online arts calendar. 3) Professional Development: The AAC offers professional development sessions to support local artists and arts organizations. These sessions include training presentations and recorded resources all of which are accessible via the AAC YouTube channel. 4) Advocacy and Representation: The AAC provides an arts perspective on various municipal and community committees including the Heart of the City Public Art the Culture Master Plan Steering Committee the Performing Arts Centre Advocacy Group Team Lethbridge and the Tourism Lethbridge Attractions Committee. The AAC also participates in local community events and festivals to promote arts engagement and increase public access to the arts. 5) Arts Education: The AAC offers accessible and affordable educational programming in various disciplines including visual performing and literary arts for all age groups. 6) Accessibility Programs: Specialized programs include the Accessibility Modified Art Program for Adults (AMAPA) and the RAW (Real Artists Working) drop-in program which serves individuals facing housing challenges. 7) Artist Support and Retail: The AAC Works storefront provides a platform for local artists to sell their work and engage with the community through demonstrations and workshops. The AAC also hosts the annual Christmas at Casa fine arts and crafts sale promoting local artists holiday markets and downtown businesses. 8) Artist in Residence (AiR) Program: The AiR program offers artists complimentary studio access at Casa as well as opportunities to engage with the community through open houses artist talks and workshops. 9) Gallery and Exhibition Program: The AAC curates and manages multiple gallery spaces offering exhibition opportunities for local and regional artists including a dedicated gallery space for Indigenous artists. 10) Free Community Events: The AAC organizes several free events annually including Family Fun Day Drop-in Life Drawing the Upside Downtown concert series artist walks film screenings Arts Days activities such as Big Band Bop and an Orange Shirt Day T-shirt making workshop.

1) Busker Database: The AAC launched an online form in collaboration with the Lethbridge Downtown BRZ to create a database of local buskers available for paid performance opportunities. 2) Newcomer Art Day: The AAC hosted Newcomer Art Day at Casa. The event featured translator-assisted workshops (including clay tiles monoprints textile journals cyanotypes and woodworking) as well as drop-in activities such as chalk drawing face painting button making and Afro-Fusion dance. 3) Nikka Yuko Collaboration: The AAC held an en plein air art day featuring artists working on-site at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden (with support from the Nikkei Memory Capture Project). This will culminate in a group exhibition at the Casa Arts Centre in June 2025. 4) Black History Month: The AAC hosted a Black History Month event in collaboration with the BIPOC Foundation featuring a film screening speaker panel digital artwork by BIPOC artists and a workshop.