Arts & CultureCampus & CityMagazine

Central Edmonton Arts & Culture Map

Our city's swankiest arts establishments and where to find them

NORTH OF THE RIVER

Theatre:

  • MacEwan University (Allard Hall): MacEwan’s new fine arts facility houses an atrium, recital hall, and proscenium and black box theatres for events, plays, and concerts.
  • Citadel Theatre: Western Canada’s hallmark regional theatre offers something for everyone, including musicals, dramas, cabarets, and Rapid Fire Theatre’s weekly improv shows.

Music:

  • The Mercury Room: Live music venue, bar, and event centre located in the heart of Jasper Avenue.
  • The Starlite Room: Members-only live music venue — you can buy a $5 yearly membership on their app or at the door.
  • Winspear Centre: Home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, this concert hall hosts choral performances, symphonies, and more.
  • Bohemia: Intimate, multipurpose live music venue and pizza bar.
  • The Common and 99ten: This pair of live music venues promotes underground local and international artists.
  • Naked Cyber Cafe: Live music venue featuring an open stage on Thursdays — a chance for emerging musicians to take risks.

Cultural Affairs:

  • Rogers Place/Ice District: Home to overpriced food and broken dreams. Also the venue for big-name artists
  • Evolution Wonderlounge: Featuring drag shows, cabarets, community events, and more — this gay bar is your one-stop shop for all things queer in Edmonton.
  • Shaw Conference Centre: Convention centre hosting speakers, community events, and performances with a river valley view.
  • Chinatown Multi-Cultural Centre: This Chinese-Edmontonian community hub hosts interest classes, Chinese cultural events, and a Chinese library.

Visual Arts:

  • Art Gallery of Alberta: Featuring exhibits and free admission for Alberta post-secondary students.
  • dc3 Art Projects: This gallery and bookshop champions contemporary Canadian visual art.
  • Latitude 53: Gallery specializing in contemporary visual culture and experimental art.
  • Harcourt House: Open since 1988, this public, artist-run gallery supports contemporary visual artists in Edmonton and beyond.
  • 124 St: Home to cafés, bakeries, restaurants, and a farmers’ market, this thoroughfare also boasts several regional art galleries, including the Scott Gallery, Bearclaw Gallery, Peter Robertson Gallery, Bugera Matheson Gallery, and West End Gallery.

SOUTH OF THE RIVER

Theatre:

  • Jubilee Auditorium: Expansive auditorium hosting travelling musicals, concerts, speakers, and more.
  • Timms Centre: This two-venue live theatre complex’s mainstage houses Studio Theatre, a training grounds for BFA and MFA students. It also hosts ABBEDAM Productions, the U of A New Works Festival, Off the Cuff Cabaret, and other shows and workshops in the Second Playing Space.
  • Old Strathcona Theatre District: The city’s hub of mid-sized theatre venues: Fringe Theatre’s Arts Barns, Theatre Network’s temporary home at The Roxy on Gateway, the newly renovated Varscona Theatre, and the Waterdale Theatre.
  • The Playhouse: Workshop space and Fringe venue, home of the Alberta Opera and Concrete Theatre.
  • The Grindstone Comedy Theatre: This new venue serves up weekly sketch comedy, variety shows, and musical improv show the 11 O’clock Number.
  • La Cité Francophone: Home to L’Unithéâtre (a French-language theatre company) and Café Bicylette, this Franco-Edmontonian cultural centre is a vital fixture of the French Quartier.

Dance:

  • Sugar Swing Ballroom: A dance hall offering weekly classes in swing, jazz, and tap dance styles, as well as social dances.

Music:

  • Students’ Union Building (SUB): SUB’s three venues: the Myer Horowitz Theatre, Dinwoodie Lounge, and SUB Stage, host live music, speakers, and movie nights.
  • Convocation Hall: Part of the historic Old Arts Building, the Department of Music presents operas and concerts in this auditorium.
  • Whyte Avenue (82 Ave): Alongside restaurants, bars, and buskers, this southside main street encompasses live music venues like The Buckingham, The Almanac, The Forge, and Blues on Whyte.
  • The Yardbird Suite: The Edmonton Jazz Society’s volunteer-run music venue.

Visual Art:

  • Fine Arts Building (FAB): While this brutalist monolith has been a lightning rod for security concerns, it also hosts the departments of music, art & design (which exhibits visual art in the FAB Gallery), and drama, which produces MFA productions in the Bleviss Laboratory Theatre and class presentations in the Corner Stage.
  • Telus Centre (MacTaggart Art Collection): Perhaps campus’ best-kept secret, late Edmonton philanthropist Sandy MacTaggart’s vast Chinese art collection resides in this sleek building.

Cultural Affairs:

  • City Arts Centre: Community centre offering arts educational programming for both adults and children.
  • Campus Saint-Jean: The university’s French campus hosts Francophone cultural events, an annual production from the Japanese Drama Society, and Fringe plays in its auditorium.

Film:

  • Metro Cinema (Garneau Theatre): Independent one-screen cinema, famous for its monthly screenings of The Room.
  • Princess Theatre: Independent two-screen cinema specializing in indie, arthouse, and international releases.

Jonah Dunch

Jonah Dunch is in his third year of a BA Honours with a major in philosophy and a minor in drama. Aside from his work at The Gateway, Jonah writes, directs, and acts in plays. He eats your clicks for dinner.

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