AFA News

Before any AFA artwork is sent out for an exhibition or loan, it is thoroughly assessed to make sure it is in good condition—and that includes ensuring the artwork is clean.

So what does it take to get an artwork in show-worthy shape? A little elbow grease, distilled water and a vacuum!

Art Collections Manager Erin McDonald shows us how to go about cleaning an artwork—in this case, it’s Arlene Stamp’s Nova, which is going to the Glenbow for an upcoming exhibition. Nova is comprised of vinyl tile (the kind you’d find on kitchen floors), and the medium determines what cleaning technique will be best.

First, Erin removes any surface dust using a hand-held, manual air blower to lift the dust from the surface, followed by a light vacuuming.

The next step is to apply a cleaning agent. The least invasive cleaning agent is always the first choice; in this case, it's starting with distilled water. Very carefully, Erin applies the cleaner to the surface of the artwork and wipes it using a fine, microfiber cloth.   

Erin will not use a spray bottle to apply the water, as she doesn’t want to oversaturate the artwork and have water seep into the wood support of the artwork.

Erin will repeat this process, square by square, until finished—which will take approximately eight hours.

See more of Arlene Stamp’s artwork in the AFA collection.

We invite you to explore the 2017-18 AFA Annual Report, which includes our accomplishments during the last fiscal year, a summary of grants awarded, financial statements, and the AFA Board’s membership and responsibilities.

Message from the AFA Board of Directors

Message from the Chair

For more than 25 years, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has served as the Government of Alberta’s primary supporter of artists and arts organizations. Our support helps ensure that the arts continue to be an essential contributor to the quality of life of Albertans.

In 2017-18, funding for the AFA was increased by $5 million for a total of $31.6 million. This increase represents our government’s commitment to supporting Alberta’s arts community, in spite of economic challenges caused by the steep decline in oil prices.

In response, the AFA Board of Directors developed a budget to support greater access, excellence, and sustainability of the arts sector. Arts organizations received greater support to assist with the challenges from the economic downturn and individual artists and organizations seeking project funding were given a greater chance of receiving support. In result, the total number of grants we provided increased by 18 per cent from 2016-17 due to the increase to our budget allocation.

The AFA cares for the largest and most active provincial public art collection in Canada, valued at more than $16 million. We acquired 126 new artworks into the AFA Art Collection this year, helping us celebrate and preserve works by visual artists in Alberta. We are also committed to sharing our treasure of artworks with Albertans, with more than a quarter of our entire collection on display last year.

The AFA seeks to promote engagement with the arts across the province. We were thrilled to partner with Alberta Culture Days for its 10th anniversary, and to continue promoting access to the arts for youth in First Nations and Métis communities through our partnership with the Alberta’s Future Leaders program.

On behalf of the AFA Board of Directors, I am happy to share the results of a remarkable year of growth.

I am pleased to present the AFA 2017-18 Annual Report.

Liam Oddie, Chair
Alberta Foundation for the Arts

We invite you to read the 2022-2023 AFA Annual Report, which includes our accomplishments during the last fiscal year, a summary of grants awarded, financial statements, and the AFA Board’s membership and responsibilities.

Key highlights from the report:

The AFA’s funding priorities in 2022-23 were to continue to provide stable support for Alberta’s arts organizations and to maintain funding levels for programs that support individual artists.

• With the removal of public health measures in June 2022, the AFA managed increased funding demand in 2022-23 as the sector returned to pre-pandemic levels of arts activities.

The AFA continued to support equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) in the arts and through the arts.

• The 2022 cycle of the AFA’s Organization Activation Projects grant program focused on EDIA. In March 2023, the AFA approved more than $242,000 to support EDIA projects being undertaken in Alberta

In March 2023, the government appointed Paul R. Baay as Chair and four new board members: Le Bo (Vice Chair), Robert Fernandez, Sylvester Ndumbi, and Shana Yang.

Funding

Through its grant programs, the AFA administered $23.0 million to Alberta’s arts sector.

• The AFA provided 386 operating grants and 223 project grants to organizations totaling $19.5 million.
• The AFA provided 242 grants to artists working in a variety of artistic disciplines totaling $2.5 million.

Art collection

The AFA art collection acquired 106 new pieces: 44 purchases and 62 donations.

• Through the Art Acquisition by Application program, the AFA purchased 41 artworks by 32 artists, 9 of whom were not previously represented in the AFA Art Collection.

The AFA’s Travelling Exhibition (TREX) program visited 180 venues and saw 401,719 visitors.

Research and engagement

On September 2022, the AFA marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection by announcing the production of a video series that promotes the AFA’s Art Collection and the art and artists within Alberta.

• The AFA Art Collection is the largest, most active, and one of the oldest of 16 provincially owned art collections.

In October 2022, the AFA hosted engagement sessions to gather input and feedback from Alberta’s arts community that could be used to inform the AFA’s next three-year strategic plan.

In early 2023, the AFA was honoured to select 15 recipients from Alberta's arts community to receive Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medals.

• Two presentation ceremonies were held in Edmonton on January 30, 2023, and in Calgary on February 2, 2023, where the AFA presented the medals to the recipients.

When applying for funding from the AFA the first thing you will need to do is get acquainted with the Grant Administration Tracking and Evaluation (GATE). GATE is the AFA's online application system.

The AFA only accepts applications through the Front Office portal of the GATE online application system.

Accessing GATE Front Office

Click the “Apply Now” button on the program guidelines page for your grant. 

First time GATE users

First-time applicants will require a GATE username and password.

First time applicants, email registrationafa@gov.ab.ca at least five business days before the application deadline, and include:

• your legal name
• the funding opportunity to which you are applying
• your email address

If you are registering on behalf of an organization, please also include the Legal Name of the organization as registered with Alberta Corporate Registry.  Your GATE user name and password will be sent to the email address provided. 

Returning GATE users

If you are a returning user, you do not need to request a new username. Use your previous login information to access Front Office. Should you have trouble accessing your account, email GATE Registration for a password re-set.  Please note, if your account goes for six months without login, you will be required to request a password re-set. 

GATE usernames don't expire but passwords do.

Your GATE username will not expire but your password will expire every six months. Email registrationafa@gov.ab.ca to reset your password.

Recommended browsers

While engaging with GATE ensure that you are using one of the recommended browsers:

• Chrome 65.0.3325.181
• Firefox 59.0.2
• Microsoft Edge

Did you know...

You can start your application in GATE at any time during the year?

Since its inception in 1981, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) Travelling Exhibition (TREX) program strives to ensure every Albertan is provided with the opportunity to enjoy art exhibitions in their own communities in one of four TREX regions across the province.

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA)  is seeking proposals from proponents such as non-commercial public art galleries and/or arts organizations with experience with public programming, art exhibition development/circulation of Alberta visual arts to manage the Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) for the next five year contract term of April 1, 2025-March 31, 2030.  

Detailed information on the Request for Proposal (RFP), the Service Requirements and the Contract can be found on the Alberta Purchasing Connection website.

You will need to create a “Supplier” Profile on the Alberta Purchasing Connection website to view the opportunity and to ask questions. The Alberta Purchasing Connection Suppliers Registration portal can be found here:

APC Suppliers - Purchasing Connection

General Information on the Management of the Travelling Exhibition (TREX) Program Request for Proposal opportunity can be found here:

AB-2024-09293 - Posting - Purchasing Connection

Please note: All questions must be submitted through the Alberta Purchasing Connection Portal and will be posted publicly.

Please access and read the full Request for Proposals (“RFP”) Number RFP-AFA2024TR001, Management of the Travelling Exhibition (TREX) Program document before submitting questions.

We look forward to receiving your submissions. 

All the World’s a Stage is a documentary portrait and homage to revolutionary theatre artists Joyce Doolittle, Grant Reddick and John Murrell. These trailblazers, who have laid the foundation for the renowned eclectic theatre scene that thrives in Alberta today, look back on how their experiences have shaped their lives.

Through interviews, high-resolution projection and intricate camera work, the filmmakers Sandi Somers and Corey Lee present a textured portrait of these artists, to peek behind the curtain to catch a glimpse into their soul and their creative process and touch the bricks that have laid the foundation for their legacy in theatre. This project was supported by an AFA 25th Anniversary Commemorative Art Project grant.

The short film received three nominations for the 2018 Alberta Media Production Industry Association (AMPIA) awards:

• Best Non-fiction Short - Corey Lee and Sandi Somers
• Best Director, Non-fiction under 30 mins - Sandi Somers and Corey Lee
• Best Original Musical Score, Non-fiction under 30 mins - Alec Harrison

Join us in celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with a special Artist Spotlight featuring playwright and producer Elisa Marina Mair-Sánchez.

Watch Elisa share how creating her bilingual, multidisciplinary production, El Funeral, gave her a platform to explore her immigrant experience and family history, and helped foster an even deeper sense of pride in her culture and heritage. El Funeral resonated with audiences from various cultural backgrounds who saw their own stories reflected in the play.

About El Funeral

What would you say, what would you ask, which stories would you retell, and which ones would you choose to forget if you could reunite with all those you've lost? El Funeral is a bilingual, multidisciplinary theatre production that celebrates life and explores the memories and stories we all carry within us.

Performed during the 2023 Found Festival in Edmonton, El Funeral offers an emotional and immersive experience that reflects on the immigrant experience—the guilt of leaving loved ones behind, the resilience needed to build a new life in unfamiliar places, and the unbreakable bonds that persist across distances.

This site-specific production takes the audience on a journey through the lived experiences of immigrants, inviting viewers to reflect on themes of love, loss, and community.

About the Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration.

A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from October 31-November 2. While October 31 is Halloween, November 1-2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead. According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2.

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Congratulations to Gail Lint, Art Collections Consultant – Exhibitions, who has retired from the Alberta Public Service after 43 years of working for the Arts Branch/Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA).

Gail has contributed greatly to the AFA throughout its existence. She diligently fostered the enjoyment and appreciation of Alberta visual artists through developing an extensive network of connections with artists, curators and others in the visual arts community, curating successful exhibitions such as Narrative Quest, mentoring curators through the AFA’s Emerging Curator Fellowship program, researching and advising on curatorial purchases to fill gaps in the AFA Art Collection, as well as managing the highly successful Travelling Art Exhibition (TREX) program in partnership with four art organizations/galleries. You can learn more about Gail as she features prominently in the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection video series available on YouTube.

If you’ like to leave personal well wishes for Gail’s retirement, please do so on this ecard  recocards.com/board/retirement-gail-89750186912.