The Art Gallery of St. Albert Offers Creative Gift-Giving Options

Some of the best gifts have a story behind them. One you can trace past the purchase back to the creator and their influences and intentions. 

“It’s a beautiful thing when you have a mug–or whatever it might be—that you can say, I know the person who made this,” Leah Louden says. “They made this with this area in mind, hoping that somebody locally here would [receive] this.” 

Louden is the director of the Art Gallery of St. Albert, whose gift shop features the works of approximately 65 local artists and crafters. (They’re also having a holiday sale that runs until December 24th). 

“Part of our mandate is supporting our local arts and culture organizations,” she notes. “I really see the gift shops as being a really great opportunity to support artists that are very local.” 

That support goes beyond just the gallery shop: Louden notes the Musée Héritage Museum is another excellent place to find locally made gifts in a wide array of styles:  hand-made crafts, painted works, and more fill both spaces, giving local artists hubs where their works can be discovered by potential supporters, and offering gift-hunters a great place to find uniquely local items. 

Artists can always submit their works for gift shop consideration, but Louden also scouts for new artists to include herself.  

“I visit a lot of craft shows, a lot of art openings, and keep in touch with the guilds here in St. Albert,” she says. “I try to make sure that I'm visiting those and approaching those artists [whose works make me] think, ‘We don't have anything quite like this and I think you'd be a really good fit for the shop.’”  

The works are then sold on commission. Louden, a practicing artist herself, knows the importance of ensuring a decent contract for the artists involved: works featured in the shop are never burdened with an exclusivity contract that prevents them from selling those works elsewhere, for example. 

“I actually have some of my work in a gift shop that is sold on consignment,” she says. “So I really try to make sure our contracts are very fair to artists.” 

Once a work is in the shop, the artists’ biographies are posted cards beside the works, helping explain the backstory behind the piece, and of the person who made it. So you know directly who your purchase benefits. 

But beyond supporting home-grown artists—which is good on its own!—shopping locally has a proven overall benefit for the community as a whole, be it during the holiday season or the rest of the year.  

“When you're spending your dollars locally, it's more likely that that money is going to stay in your local community,” Louden says. “So if you purchase something from an artist here in St. Albert, they might go in and buy something at the local coffee shop or go get a book at the local book store or what have you … supporting that local economy overall.” 

By: Paul Blinov

To shop, visit them online or in-store at 19 Perron Street, St. Albert.

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