Lethbridge artist Annie Martin was inspired by how people and animals next to create homes in her new exhibit “flotilla,” which opens at CASA, Sept. 19 just in time for Arts Days

“It’s been a work in progress,” Martin said, noting a smaller version of the exhibit ran at the Pith Gallery in Calgary back in 2013.

 She used some of those pieces and created several more “nests” hanging from the ceiling including a variety of found objects including leaves, branches,plastics, flowers and even flags which usually mark pipes in the ground.

“It’s the result of thinking about how people and animals turn a house into a home by decorating,” she said, adding she was influenced by how animals, particularly magpies pick up objects they find and incorporate them into  their nests.

 She will be holding a two part workshop in conjunction with Arts Day at CASA about crafting with found objects.

 It has been a long haul for Todd Lacharite, the mind behind Think Tank Events which celebrates five years of putting on unusual events in Lethbridge.

Their events have included several visits by Vancouver, Celtic punk band this Real McKenzies, established acts like successfuls show with Vancouver punk pop band Gob, 54 40, Matt Mays and up and coming bands starting to gain larger audiences like Monster Truck, who he had open for FUBAR’s the Deaner and his band Nightseeker plus  the Glorious Sons who played Whoop Up Days this year and One Bad Son, who opened for Def Leppard in April. They have also put on events with rappers like Tech9  and Madchild, unusual acts like Hank and Lily as well as art shows and more off the wall events, which haven’t worked as well as Lacharite would have hoped, like Pac Man tag.

“ I guess it really started when I was at Henotic helping promote their events,” Lacharite said.
“ Then I teamed up with DJ Booda for about a year to do some bigger events and then decided to put on my own,” Lacharite said.

As with a lot of promoters, it can be a challenge to get people to come out to shows, so he lost money on a lot of events.
“I’ve tried to put on some events that are outside the box like Pac Man Tag and art shows and the Lebowski bash, which  have been successful, though they haven’t been with the money and time I put into promoting them,” he said.
 He will be taking a break from art shows after his cult film inspired art show “The Unusual Suspects,” which will run at the Owl Acoustic Lounge Sept. 18-Nov. 10.

“It will feature the art of Len Komenac, Will Woods, Russell Jensen, Leila Armstrong and Mockrabbit, but it will be open to all artists,” he said.
“They’re a great group who have opened the doors and have tried to support my ideas,” he said.

Two exhibits examining  both movement and surveillance draw to a close at The Southern Alberta Art Gallery. They run until Sept. 6.

Toronto/ New York City based artist Brendan Fernandes digs into his dance background for his new exhibit ‘Still Move.’

 If features an array of photographs , videos and rubber balls scattered all over the floor of the South side of the main gallery.
“There's a lot of synergy between the  pieces,” observed SAAG communications specialist Nicole Hembroff.
 The black and white photographs feature the dancers posed on plinths.

“They explore the theme of control. There are some pretty intense poses in these photographs,” Hembroff continued.
The exhibit is s heavily influenced by  the movement of ballet dancers.

The SAAG presents  “Still Move” in conjunction with the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Rodman Hall, Brock University, Varley Art Gallery, St. Mary’s university  Art Gallery, and the Contemporary art Gallery in Vancouver.