Enjoy events, experiences, programs and exhibitions at the Esplanade this winter

Medicine Hat – The Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre winter season showcases an array of arts and heritage offerings for the community including Pay What You Will experiences, a cappella group performance, self-portrait classes, new exhibitions and more.

Visual Arts and Heritage

Cultivated in the galleries until April 9

Cultivated features artists and designers from across Canada who got their “start” as students in the Art and Design program at Medicine Hat College: Chad Burton (ON), Myron Campbell (BC), Melissa Chinski (AB), Scott Cumberland (AB), Theresa Eisenbarth (AB), Darrin Hartman (AB), Kelly Hartman (AB), and Maureen Newton (AB). The exhibition highlights the refined talents of these eight alumni, who have been working within their creative fields for the last decade. Through various mediums and approaches, from large-scale paintings to augmented reality, the works in this expansive three-thousand-square-foot exhibit express diversity of creative knowledge and abilities.

The Hat Art Club: A 75 Year Retrospective in the galleries until March 12

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Hat Art Club. Since its inception in 1946, the Hat Art Club has been nurturing the development of visual artists in Medicine Hat through educational workshops, studio space, group exhibitions and experiences as well as member scholarships. To mark this significant occasion, The Esplanade presents The Hat Art Club: A 75 Year Retrospective, showcasing works from past and present Hat Art Club members and instructors. Seventy-five works are on exhibit from current members such as Fran Lauzon, Dale Beaven, Aldof Erdman and Dawn Knowles as well as past members and instructors such as Helen Beny Gibson, Allan Jensen, Joan Van Belkum and Gary Newton.

Admission to the galleries is Pay What You Will, which means patrons decide what they pay after their visit. Hours of operation are Tuesday to Friday, Noon to 5 p.m.

Inspired! Thursday Evening Pay What You Will Experiences

Art Box January 27, February 10 and March 3 at 6 p.m. for families and 8 p.m. for adults

Get out of the box and get inspired with unconventional and experimental art activities. This experience is about the journey, not the destination, so get bright, get bold, get messy and have some fun!

Art couldn’t get any cooler with this latest Art Box experience!

This winter get inspired with local chainsaw artist Marina Cole as she demonstrates ice carving! Following this demonstration Marina will give participants some pointers on hand tool techniques before they try chipping and carving their own small block of ice. Please note that Art Box activities change seasonally.

Stories Uncased Connect, learn and have a family fun evening together!

Participants will first explore the gallery with a scavenger hunt, then get a closer look at specially selected artifacts brought out of the Esplanade and Medalta “vaults” and discover their stories.  Once participants learn just how special the collections are, they will learn about how staff keep them safe. Help Esplanade and Medalta staff fight against the “Agents of Deterioration!” Guests won’t need a cape, just maybe some white gloves and a little imagination, as they investigate these museum menaces through examples, hands on learning and demonstration experiments. Help defend against damaging physical forces, ultraviolet light and creepy crawlies!

Backstage Pass February 3 Families 6 p.m., Adults only 7:30 p.m.

During this exclusive experience, patrons will walk in the footsteps of the greatest performers to have graced the Esplanade stage, while also learning more about lighting, sound and production elements that result in the striking performances our community enjoys. Guests won’t just go on the stage, they will also go under it to explore hidden areas that the public rarely sees. The experience ends in true VIP fashion by visiting the greenroom, the place where stars relax when not performing, and where guests will satisfy their curiosity about the celebrity hospitality requests that keep favourite performers content while on the road.

Education

Express Yourself! Self-portrait Drawing with Jessica Plattner

THURSDAYS | March 3 - 17, 2022 (three sessions) | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Discovery Centre

This beginner drawing class for adults introduces participants to self-portraiture through observational drawing. Artist and instructor Jessica Plattner will guide students through the charcoal-drawing process, building upon skills each week.

Week #1: The Original Selfie: Students will learn about historical and contemporary approaches to self-portraiture, along with practical approaches to observational drawing with a mirror.

Week #2: Seeing the "Value" in Self-portraits: Students will warm up with quick sketches, then complete a longer value study with charcoal.

Week #3: Express Yourself: Students will work from photographs (taken during the previous class) and create a narrative or expressive self-portrait.

February Break Art Days February 22 - 25 | 9am - 4pm | Ages 5 - 12

With a unique PD Day offering, children get the benefit of multiple community-based learning resources in one program. In the morning, children will explore the exhibitions of the Esplanade and take part in play-based projects where they can exercise their imaginations, while developing their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. In the afternoon, kids walk a block away to the TREX Space where they have the opportunity to see the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program in action.

Performing Arts

Straight No Chaser

If the phrase “male a cappella group” conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses... think again. Straight No Chaser (SNC) are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. They have emerged as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase and a long list of accomplishments including 2 RIAA Gold Certified albums, over 1.5 million concert tickets sold, over 1 billion streams on Pandora, and over 2 million albums sold worldwide. Straight No Chaser is the real deal, the captivating sound of nine unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense... and with a sense of humour.

Shaun Majumder

Best known for his role in This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Shaun Majumder is an actor, writer, comedian, and social entrepreneur from the small town of Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. For those looking for a night of laughter and fun, this is the show to see.

Tebey

Nashville resident and Ontario, Canada native, Tebey, is a platinum selling artist, award winning producer, accomplished songwriter and rising star in Canadian Country Music with hits like Denim on Denim, Who’s Gonna Love You, Happened on a Saturday night and Good Jeans. Tebey will be supported by Nice Horse. Nice Horse is wild: wildly talented, wildly entertaining, fun, fresh, fierce and feisty, and they’ve established themselves as one of the most buzzed-about and fast-rising groups in the Canadian music industry. A live act to be reckoned with, the self-contained all-female group has played high-profile festivals across Canada including Boots & Hearts, Big Valley Jamboree, and Dauphin’s Country Fest, and has performed in Spain and France. Don’t miss this family friendly show.

Classic Albums Live: Led Zeppelin I

It’s January 1969 and Led Zeppelin drops out of the sky and into the world. It’s the sound of young men creating a masterwork - blues / country / rock - this album has it all! Dazed and Confused holds its own up against Beethoven’s Ninth, plus it’s way cooler! Ten months later Zep release Led Zeppelin 2, it’s still 1969! This revolution had begun. Classic Album Live has the right musicians for this show, Rick Vatour has perfected the John Bonham drum sound and Dom Polito has a profound understanding of how to properly play Jimmy Page’s riffs. Nowhere else in the world will concert-goers hear Led Zeppelin performed with such care and dignity, note for note - cut for cut, the CAL Zep Band delivers.

Stay up to date on all exhibitions, events and programs by following the Esplanade on Instagram and Facebook, and visit their website.

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