Allied Arts Council Lethbridge

06/18/2026

Do you know about the Sounds Around system?

This program provides basic sound equipment to AAC members to improve sound quality at small, local gigs. A short orientation session is required before accessing the equipment.

This video was created by Lethbridge Polytechnic practicum student Maddie Gillam to help support community members after being oriented.

This program was made possible with funding from Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta.

The AAC's Sounds Around program provides basic sound equipment to A...

06/16/2026

Storytelling has the power to connect, inspire and transform, and for Fine Arts/Pre-Education student Kennedy Chinn, it’s at the heart of her practice.

Through her passion for learning and creativity, Kennedy is exploring how stories shape the way we communicate perspective and connect with others.

Kennedy’s artistic journey recently expanded into public art through a mural mentorship opportunity with the City of Lethbridge, where she created a mural within the City Centre transit hub.

Read more about Kennedy, her mural and her artistic practice: https://stories.ulethbridge.ca/kennedy-chinn-cultivates-a-passion-for-learning-and-storytelling/

06/16/2026

This past Sunday, the Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada announced the creation of the Alberta Focus Fund—a $25 million investment over five years—to help artists and arts organizations across Alberta access the support they need to create, collaborate and connect with audiences, to the benefit of communities across the province.

The investment responds to what artists and organizations across Alberta have been expressing: there is tremendous creativity and potential in the province and, with additional support, even more of it can be realized and shared.

The Canada Council is presenting its approach to improve the regional distribution of its grants.

06/12/2026

It's time! Plan your summer and get ready for Upside Downtown 2026! Each week, we'll have local artists playing in Rotary Square at Casa along with local food trucks. So stop by, grab some food, and listen to some music!

06/11/2026

Get your first taste of summer! Find out who is playing at Upside Downtown in July and August!
Join us Thursday, June 11 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm for the LINE-UP BREAKDOWN for Upside Downtown 2026 on Rotary Square at Casa.

Alberta Artist-in-Residence and Upside Downtown Alumnus, John Wort Hannam will be our featured performer, the AAC Bar will be open, and get ready to plan your Thursdays this summer!

Upside Downtown: Concerts + Art is thankful to FACTOR, WESTCO Construction, Spectrum Ale, Davis Auto Group and the Re-imagine Grant for the City of Lethbridge. Our funders and sponsors allow the AAC to keep these summer concerts free to the community.

06/11/2026

Join us for our Summer Opening Celebration at The Gallery at Casa - Saturday, June 13 at 7:00pm. Exhibitions run June 13 through August 21, 2026.

The Main Gallery features Maracuyá by Colombian-Canadian artist Valerie Camila, a cinematic painting series exploring q***r intimacy and relationships, alongside The Cabinet of Queeriosities V, a group exhibition curated by Leila Armstrong that brings together more than twenty artists celebrating 2SLGBTQI+ identity, history, and community.

Throughout the gallery spaces, visitors will encounter Rosemary Allan’s installation Night Rainbow, Oseremen Irete’s photography and storytelling exhibition Sometimes I Forget, and Object Relations: Inner Symbolic Domains, a posthumous exhibition by acclaimed Alberta artist Elizabeth Ginn reflecting on healing, memory, and personal meaning.

Additional exhibitions include Expectations by Lethbridge artist Kennedy Chinn, Surface Tension: A Field Under Extraction by Iranian artist Shayan Shadjareh, a showcase celebrating 45 years of creativity by the Textile Surface Design Guild, and new work by contemporary Indigenous artist Torrie Ironstar in the Saokitapi Gallery.

The Gallery at Casa is FREE to visit, and open Monday to Saturday from 9:00am to 9:00pm, and Sundays from 10:00am to 5:00pm

06/10/2026

ART/Work: The Art of Making It Work - with New West Theatre
June 18, 2026, 6:30 PM
New West Theatre Education Space (The Post - 704 4 Street S)

Join us for another exciting ART/Work Professional Development Session featuring Kelly Reay and the team from New West Theatre. This engaging panel-style discussion will take place in New West Theatre’s Education Space in the basement of The Post.

Gain valuable insight into the many pathways available within the arts sector, discover opportunities to grow and connect within our local creative community, and hear practical advice for building a sustainable artistic career.

ART/Work is the AAC's free and ongoing professional development series open to all artists, in all disciplines at any stage in their career or practice.

RSVP now: https://bit.ly/4uK6bu4

06/04/2026

Do you want to know who is playing Upside Downtown this summer? Want to hear John Wort Hannam in Rotary Square? Join us Thursday, June 11 from 5-6pm to get all the news!

06/02/2026

Are you passionate about the arts?

Are you well connected within an Indigenous or southern Alberta community?

Apply to the AFA by June 22 to be a Community Connector!

The AFA’s Community Connector program is looking for passionate well-connected Albertans to act as a bridge between the AFA and their regional, cultural, or d/Deaf and disability community.

This year long contract gives the selected Community Connectors the opportunity to help improve their community’s access to the province’s primary arts funder.

Deadline to apply is June 22.

Learn more: https://buff.ly/HT2NyE6