Arts Roundup
April 23, 2026

Music

• Edmonton Young Voices, a choir with 120 members from kindergarten age to their mid-20s, is using its spring concert to cope with climate anxiety and contribute to a University of Alberta research study on eco-anxiety. The choir's concert is set for May 9 and features original compositions exploring humanity's relationship with the natural world. It will also be part of Pro Coro Canada's Ice: Voices for a Frozen World on May 31.
• Musicians and history buffs are hoping to save the Casavant organ that the University of Alberta plans to dismantle and remove from Convocation Hall. The university has said the organ presents an accessibility barrier. Renovations are to begin on April 30. The Anglican Diocese of Edmonton has also spoken out against the removal of the organ, noting that it is "a significant cultural asset, a memorial, and a rare example of Canadian organ‑building history."
• Organist Anna Lapwood — the inaugural official organist for Royal Albert Hall and a social media sensation with 1.5 million Instagram followers — will perform a sold-out concert at the Winspear Centre on April 25. She will play the Davis Concert Organ, one of the largest in Canada, with a program of minimalist music and film scores.
• Edmonton bassist and producer Amson Saintimé discussed receiving the 2025 Edmonton Artists' Trust Fund Award from the Edmonton Arts Council and the Edmonton Community Foundation.
• Loud in the Pines celebrated Ben Plotnick's award for Producer of the Year for the band's album Every Colour Left at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Visual arts

• Joanne Guthrie, a sculptor, mixed-media artist, and journeyman welder based in St. Albert, is the featured artist at Messer Canada's Industrial Expo, which is coming to Edmonton on April 30. She'll feature large-scale metal sculptures she's created that mimic vines. "Just showing my work, especially amongst innovators and the welders, it's just a whole new dynamic," she told Taproot.
• Student artist Sloane Riendeau and adult artist Glen Christenson will have their artworks displayed in Fort Saskatchewan as part of the city's new Art in Public Places Program.
• The Art Gallery of St. Albert will open its next exhibit, Witnessing the Middle Distance by Karen Bishop, on April 28. The collection of en-plein-air paintings examines the Jasper National Park landscape following the devastating 2024 wildfire.
• Applications are open until April 28 for a full-time position as public programs and outreach coordinator at the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Theatre and dance

• The Mayfield Dinner Theatre production of Footloose, directed by Kate Ryan and running through June 14, is a "fun evening all around," Liz Nicholls wrote.
• Lucy Haines reviewed Waiting For the Parade, John Murrell's play about five women navigating life on the Calgary homefront during the Second World War, playing at Walterdale Theatre through April 25. Haines praised the cast and director Monica Roberts for telling an impactful story.
• In St. Albert Dinner Theatre's show Murder's in the Heir, audience members vote on who they think the murderer is. The production runs until April 25.
• SkirtsAfire is running a fundraising campaign for The Shoe Project, with donations up to $20,000 made by April 30 to be matched by the Edmonton Community Foundation and the Edmonton Arts Council.

Books and publishing

• The St. Albert Public Library, a founding member of the Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries, has added its voice to opposition to Bill 28's restrictions on libraries, saying that it "undermines free speech and expression, local decision-making, and the privacy of Albertans." The St. Albert library's board issued a release calling on the province to clarify its intent with the bill and "ensure any legislative changes are evidence-based, practical, and supportive of Alberta families."
• The First Draft of History: Newspapers in St. Albert is open at Musée Heritage Museum until July 25, running in conjunction with the 65th anniversary of the St. Albert Gazette.
• The Edmonton Poetry Festival continues until April 30. Among the events are a showcase blending poetry with theatre, the launch of The Polyglot's 17th issue, and a celebration of the recent collections from the University of Alberta Press.
• Linda Hoang spoke to Postmedia about her new book, Miracle Baby: You're Finally Here!. "My hope with the book is to start those infertility conversations quite young and just make it feel like more of a natural part of families or family building," she said of the children's book she wished she'd had when she had a baby after a long infertility journey.
• CBC Books has recommended eight Canadian titles for readers who enjoyed Billy-Ray Belcourt's A Minor Chorus, which was championed by filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers on Canada Reads 2026. The list includes Beaver Hills Forever by Métis writer Conor Kerr and Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, a two-spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw scholar from Peguis First Nation, which won Canada Reads in 2021.
• Sincerely, Sincerely, by Rayanne Haines and Carolyne Van Der Meer was the top-selling poetry book on the Edmonton bestseller list from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.

Screen industries

• NorthwestFilmFest has announced its 2026 audience award winners: Mr. Goalie, a documentary about Hockey Hall of Famer Glenn Hall was named the top feature film; The Forbidden University, directed by Nauzanin Knight, won favourite Alberta feature. Hatch and I Wanted to Hear Your Voice took the narrative and documentary short awards, respectively.
• Four Edmonton creators will receive $10,000 from TELUS Storyhive for video podcasting projects. Amin Ahmed will produce Chai With Changemakers: Meet The Successful Newcomers Who Shaped Edmonton; Miriam Minshull will produce Stay Safe, Love You; Terrence DeMarce will produce Access Stony Plain Podcast; and Ufuoma Muwhen will produce Behind The Curve.
• Artificial Agency is partnering with Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to offer a year-long machine learning residency. The successful candidate will build agentic systems for the next generation of video games.

More headlines

• Arts Habitat Edmonton executive director Al Chapman has outlined plans to expand the organization's role as an arts space advocate, with an Edmonton Cultural Infrastructure Plan set to be released in the coming weeks. Chapman says the plan will guide efforts to provide accessible art spaces and shape public policy around cultural infrastructure.
• The Edmonton Arts Council is inviting community members to a dialogue on why the arts matter now with Mayor Andrew Knack on May 5.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• April 24: Spotlight: Dana Wylie starting at 7pm at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse
• April 24: ambient ch0ir, presented by hundredmillionthousand starting at 7pm at St. Basil's Cultural Centre
• April 24: The Forest Reclaims the Land starting at 8pm at Winspear Centre
• April 25-26: Edmonton Indie Bookstore Extravaganza at various bookstores
• April 25: Curator's Tour and Artist Workshop: In Whose Eyes starting at 1pm at Art Gallery of Alberta
• April 25-26: Amy van Keeken's Vinyl Dance Party at CKUA
• April 26: Kill the Critic: Getting Out of Your Own Way and Back to the Page starting at 10:30am at Edmonton Public Library (Jasper Place)
• April 26: 46th Annual Art Auction starting at 11am at Chateau Louis Conference Centre
• April 27: Haven Reading Series starting at 7pm at Upper Crust Cafe
• April 28: Literary Editions 2026 starting at 5pm at University of Alberta (Rutherford Library South)
• April 28: The Ennis Sisters with Mallory Chipman starting at 6:30pm at Horowitz Theatre
• April 29: Dance Lives Here starting at 12:15pm at City Hall Plaza
• April 29: Odd Wednesday starting at 7pm at Rapid Fire Exchange

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• May 5: LitFest Presents: Kim Echlin at ArtHub Creative Studios
• May 8: Spring Fling starting at 5pm at Edmonton Convention Centre
• May 9: The Animators Town Hall at The Orange Hall

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.