Honouring St. Albert’s Creative Spirit at the Mayor's Celebration of the Arts Awards

“When I was growing up here in St. Albert, it was 30,000 people,” Andrea Gammon recalls. “But for the size, there was an incredible amount of opportunities for young people, particularly, to be involved in the arts.”

The city’s population has more than doubled since then, but those same opportunities still exist. They’re what brought Gammon and her family back to town after years away; now working as a cultural programming manager with the city, she helps ensure St. Albert continues to support the artistic community. And one of the biggest opportunities to do just that is the Mayor’s Celebration for the Arts, which celebrates some of the finest artists making their work here in St. Albert.

“It's really exciting for us,” Gammon says. “We do have a very thriving arts community and lots of artists living and working in St. Albert. … Obviously they're often locked behind their doors in their studios and painting or sculpting or whatever, so this is a chance really to bring them to the fore and get to see what they've been doing.”

This year marks the 13th iteration of the Mayor’s Celebration, which happens biannually; its five categories include Emerging Artist, Mid-Career Artist, Youth Artist, St. Albert Gazette Arts Champion, and Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, whose winner will be this year’s inductee in the Cultural Wall of fame.

Gammon notes that the event has evolved over the years to maximize impact for the recognized artists. In addition to the award itself, the winners receive a carefully crafted video that beautifully showcases their practice, whatever it may be. That sort of high-quality document of their work that can anchor a portfolio and help create future opportunities, Gammon notes.

“I know that it has opened doors for some of them,” she says. “Some of them are able to show this work and then either apply for grants or have their first publication, or have their first showing in an art gallery, because they have something tangible to put out there.”

That level of support can go a long way to helping someone forge a life in the arts. It’s no easy path to making a career out of your passion; but having the city recognize your work, no matter what stage of your career you’re at, can make an enormous difference.

“It's a tough go to make a professional living as an artist,” Gammon says. “When there's an opportunity for an artist to be seen, for someone to say, ‘We recognize that there's value in what you do, we appreciate what you're doing, it contributes to our community, to people's emotional health and wellbeing’—I think that goes a long way to encourage them to stay on what can be a tough path.”

And the 2026 nominees are…

Emerging Artist Award

• Jenna Moan - Painter
• Dallas Loyd Stainthorp - Writer/Poet
• Saraswoti Lamichhane - Writer/Poet
• Daphne Charrois - Actress/Dancer/Singer/Writer
• Alexa Leon - Singer/Writer

Mid-Career Artist Award

• Cristian de la Luna - Musician
• Phillip Gagnon - Painter
• Eunju Park - Collage Artist

Youth Artist Award

• Aveya - Singer/Songwriter
• Oyemen Agbonison - Poet
• Keira Myer - Singer/Songwriter

St. Albert Gazette Arts Champion Award

• St. Albert Singers Guild - Choir
• Groovy Gang Choir - Choir  
• Emily Baker - Curator         

Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award

• Ryan Arcand - Singer/Dancer/Educator
• Gracie Jane Genereux - Gallery Owner
• Bruce Allen - Painter

The Mayor’s Celebration for the Arts will be awarded on March 18th, with winners being announced on social media shortly thereafter. More information can be found at stalbert.ca/exp/arts-culture/mayors-celebration/.

Article written by Paul Blinov

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