Every day is arts day, but September is arts month.

“ September is the month of the artist,” said Allied Arts Council Communications manager Kelaine Devine who is excited about another ArtsDays.

 “ THere’s lots of events happening this week,” Devine said, noting Word on the Street is the  unofficial kickoff to Arts Days.

 This year, there is a focus on murals and painting, though there will be plenty of buskers  performing all week from Sept. 23 - 30  and outdoor events  at Rotary Square outside Casa and  in Festival Square.

“It’s more fun to have events out doors. But All of them can be moved indoors ,” she continued, adding  the Allied Arts Council started moving towards outdoor events during Covid and continued. 

Alexis Bialobzyski will be poetry busking in the streets, writing spontaneous poems by request.

 Most of the fun begins on Friday. Artists will be at work at he Casa kiosks and outside local businesses.

Check out the new exhibits at Casa and the SAAG while you’re downtown. And a lot of new murals are being created in back alleys. So there will be a public art walk from 5-6 p.m. taking a tour of them.

The AAC pop up gallery opens Friday Sept. 23  from 6-8 p.m.

There will be a public art bus tour, Saturday. Sept. 2 which leaves from Casa at 2 p.m.. using the culture bus that was operating all summer.

 One of the highlights is an exhibit on the roof of the Helen Schuler Nature  Centre.

New exhibits at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery  take a look at different perspectives through two travelling exhibits, which open tonight and run until Nov. 20.

The main gallery features Vancouver based, Korean born artist Jin-Me Yoon’s “Here Elsewhere Other Hauntings”, which explores human’s relationship to nature  through photography and short films ranging from nine minutes long to  22 minutes long.

“ She moved to Canada with her parents in 1967 or 1968,” said curator Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre, noting the exhibition, which was conceived and organized by the Musée d'art de Joliette, Québec, shows the artist and her family reflecting on  their relationship to nature and their Korean roots.

 The artist teaches at Simon Fraser University. Her exhibit reflects 30 years of her reflections on nature.

 Since beginning in 2019, the exhibit has run in Quebec City, Ottawa and Kamloops. Lethbridge is the last stop.

 One short film features the artist observing a Korean Crane dancer on  a  Vancouver island beach overlooking the ocean.

“She’s looking over the Pacific Ocean towards Korea,” she observed.

The exhibit begins in the Southern Alberta Art Gallery’s main foyer with six large photographs of the artist looking at familiar landscapes like the Rocky Mountains in Banff. They started as a series of postcards.

“ They’re  very touristic and fun,” she said

Another series of photos features a sand structure.

“ It’s about her relationship to natural discourse,” she said.

Get the Word. The twetfth annual Word on the Street is back live in Lethbridge  for the first time since 2019. So  the streets outside the Lethbridge Public Library will be alive with the sounds of music, and lots of authors, Saturday, Sept.17.

“ We’re all really excited  to be holding a live event again. it will be the first time since 2019,” said Elizabeth  Hegerat, Lethbridge Public library manager community and economic advances.

 Word on The Street has been an online event  for the past two years during the pandemic.

“ There’s some advantages to  the online event, but it isn’t the same as live,” Hegaret continued.

 The popular event has six stages and a Kids corner and a few activities inside.

Lethbridge Herald Author Stage features  Sandra Wong, Kit Dobson, environmental activist Maude Barlow, Little Mosque on the Prairie  creator Zarqa Nawaz talking about  her debut novel, Leah Hennel, Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau. 

Canadian Heritage Author Stage has Suzette Mayr, Myrna Kostash, Jonathan Dyck, Jacob Lee Bachinger and Jaspreet Singh, Jamie Chai Yun Liew and Virginia Bordeleau. 

The Words in Motion Stage welcomes Lethbridge Historical Society, Lethbridge Girls Rock Camp, Wordbridge writers’ workshop, Andrew Nugara, Telling Stories With Panels with Eric Dyck and a Drop-in Comics Jam. 

The Teen Zone Stage features Jo Treggiari (virtual), Natasha Deen, Judy I. Lin, Colleen Nelson, Jesmeen Kaur Deo and Emily Victoria. 

Kids’ Zone Stage has Deidre Havrelock, Shazia Afzal, Isabelle Groc, Gillian Goerz, Colleen Nelson and Wesley King (virtual) with a special presentation from the Rocky Mountain Book Award Committee.