Marianne Garrah | Special to the 51暗网
We thought it would be easy to write 400 words on the arts/culture happenings in Habitat. But as the arts are ever changing鈥ver evolving鈥t might be easier to talk about what Habitat is. That hasn鈥檛 changed in 14 years!
Habitat for the Arts is space. Dedicated space for engaging, experimenting and experiencing as many arts mediums as the community desires. We seek to show the impact the arts have on community. From the student who excels at theatre skills over social skills鈥r the adult who needs a place to meet like-minded creatives in a safe space鈥r the senior who inspires by sharing their stories through painting.听
Habitat is a space where partnerships are built, where local artists/arts orgs can find tools to make their events more successful, where Arts Jasper in their 48th year found support to organize a spring series.
That series has seen five productions booked, all hosted at the acoustically perfect Anglican Church. The series started with a co-production with the ACFA鈥檚 Francophone Month and will end on May 28 with the annual classical music concert that Arts Jasper has been bringing to the community for many years.听
This spring saw the eighth Exposition by the art students of Madame Vanessa鈥檚 afterschool arts program. Over 300 youth have completed and exhibited through the program since it began. Vanessa has set a high standard for exploration at Habitat. That freedom to explore is something many take advantage of in the programs that Habitat offers for all ages.
May through to fall you can take a self-guided ArtWalk through the Jasper Library and Cultural Centre. As you enter the building from Robson Street, you pickup your 鈥済uide鈥� that will get you moving through the building 鈥� possibly for the first time you will see what is here through the filter of art.
Being neighbours to the library brings storytellers to the building. Two word projects are in process. One is to find stories/poems that relate to Cowboy Culture for Culture Days this fall. Habitat is hosting a Tribute Stage to honour the Jasper Rodeo on Sept. 16. The second word project is the collection of short stories prompted by the monthly WRITING PROMPTLY gatherings for a short anthology of Jasper writing. Details are best explained by emailing [email protected].
Too nice out to spend too much time indoors鈥heck out the 鈥淪ketchers Bench鈥� on the lawn at the building, or watch for artisan markets in Robson Park. Canada Day Artisan Market details you can get by emailing [email protected].听
The best place to find out what is going on at Habitat, like our summer youth art camps, is our Facebook page or the Municipality Calendar pages, or stop in from Tuesday through Saturday for a tour.
