Art at Sled Island

What happens when artists and curators meet musicians from all over the world? This year, the result was ACAD's first formal partnership with the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival: a joint venture presented in late June titled Sled Island Art. As part of this partnership, ACAD commissioned 20 students and alumni to create visual art installations for the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival. This series of visual-art exhibitions, performances and events featured ACAD students and alumni at venues throughout this week-long festival in an exciting series of opening receptions, installations, panel discussions and art performances. Truly a celebration of the innovative power of art and music right here in Calgary!

ACAD is proud to have partnered with Sled Island this year and to have joined the festival in working closely with ACAD students and recent alumni to share some of Calgary's most cutting edge and diverse artists and designers with festival-goers. As ACAD's Curator in Residence, and Sled Island Curator Josh McNorton describes: "The result is over 20 artists creating site-specific pieces at four venues throughout the festival. In some cases, the work is inspired by and interacts with the music. In other instances, the work exists in an independent creative (and sometimes physical) space that combines with the music to create a rich, multi-faceted sensory experience in the venue."

Find out more about Art at Sled Island and the process each of the artists shown here took to create their installations at acad.ca

This short documentary was produced, shot and edited by Brendon Rathbone, and features the work of Kim Seung Pen, Leslie Bell, Theresa Tam, Jennifer Vallis, Greg Debicki, Derek Damassi, Nicolas Gonzalez, Caitlind Brown, Keith Murray, Ryan Von Hagen, Sarah Smalik, Stephanie Murray, Lowell Smith, Wayne Garrett, Karilynn Thompson, Ashley Ohman, Brandon Blommaert, Joleen Toner, Kiarra Albina and Stuart Hughes.