June by James Kirlick won best in show at this year's Stampede Visual Arts Show. (Photo Courtesy Kevin Kyle)

By Chris Brown

Impressive talent at Stampede Visual Arts show

Jul 28, 2023 | 3:08 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Visual Arts show is one of the most enduring parts of the annual Medicine Hat Stampede, and this year it’s also one of the coolest.

Held inside the air conditioned Fireside Room at the Cypress Centre, hundreds of pieces adorn the walls and there are children’s exhibits in the Sierra Room.

Visual arts chair Laura Kennedy says the pieces on display show an impressive level of talent in the community.

“We have a really artistic community in that I know we have a lot of music talent in town but we also have a lot of artistic talent in town,” she says. “And the different art clubs promote their art but it’s a really neat niche and if you travel downtown you can often see in the different cafes art displays. You don’t realize the amount of work and the number of people that are contributing to those. So this is one place where you can see it all in one place.”

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Mediums at the Stampede show range from paintings and photography to sculpture and pottery and many other types of art and many of the pieces are for sale.

Kennedy says some of the pieces are by professional artists and some are by amateur artists just starting out.

“It’s really hard to tell one from another,” she says.

June by James Kirlick (above) won the best in show award. If you stop by the exhibit you can vote for the people’s choice award and see artists doing demonstrations.

The exhibition is open from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday.