December 13, 2023
After two successful years of collaboration between The Works Art & Design Festival and The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, the two events will reclaim their original spots in Edmonton’s Festival Calendar. The Works Festival will launch June 27 and run through July 1st, offering large scale visual art installation and performance in a concentrated 5-day format for art lovers young and old, followed quickly by the 40th anniversary edition of the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival July 5 – 14th, filling the civic space with variety performance and high -flying antics for festival goers of all ages.
Both events experienced disruptions in the early 2020s and joined forces for the last two years to fully engage the Square as a Festival Site. Together, they presented a multi-arts celebration with two full artistic programs. “The collaboration with The Works has been fantastic! The Square has looked amazing, people showed up in droves, and now we are stretching into the space in new ways,” and says Liz Hobbs, Director of Programming and Communications at StreetFest. Amber Rooke, Works Executive Artistic Director echoes the sentiment, “The past two years with StreetFest have had great energy and the two festivals lifted each other up as we came out of Covid. Looking to the future, we are eyeing Churchill Square as a fresh canvas!”
The organizers add that this return to separate events has presented new possibilities for a creative collaboration. “We have a solid working relationship and are looking for opportunities to enhance each other’s events in front of and behind the scenes,” says Rooke “The Works partners annually with as many as 50 businesses and cultural organizations to celebrate and promote visual arts throughout the city”. Hobbs notes that “our collaboration with The Works has inspired us to think about visually engaging the Square in different ways and we look forward to bringing this element into our 40th anniversary celebrations”. Both organizations are grateful for the opportunity to have worked so closely with one another over the past two years and look forward to continuing a strong relationship in new ways moving forward.
The Works Art & Design Festival:
June 27 – July 1, 2024
The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival:
July 5 – July 14, 2024