223- 55th Street, Edson, AB
780-723-5696
The Resilience Project is a multifaceted project undertaken by
The Edson & District Historical Society in collaboration with CANOE to showcase the role of arts and culture in community recovery, promoting a sense of togetherness and celebrating our home.
This project was made possible through a grant from
Department of Canadian Heritage's Commemorate Canada - Reopening Fund.
CANOE is an acronym for Culture and Arts Network Of Edson and as the name implies, it is a group of individuals, companies and organizations whose mandate is to contribute to the arts community in the West Yellowhead town of Edson and the surrounding area.
The Resilience Project consists of several component parts, including a series of five murals designed and created on local buildings to beautify these buildings and bring a sense of pride and togetherness.
Switzer's Drugs Artist - Brie Adkins
The Heart of Edson Gallery & Studio artists - Andrew Visser & Pat Jakubiec
Royal Canadian Legion -Joe Wynne Branch 51 artist - Madison Sharman
Timberjack Home Hardware Building Centre artists - the community and Madison Sharman
Henry Family Vision Care artist - Berg Felsing
Concurrently, the committee approached a number of area residents who were identified as having unique stories - but all exemplify the theme of resilience.
Those residents formed the nucleus of the remaining components which included a series of portraits created by area photographers documenting the character and/or lives of the subjects.
These images were used to create a gallery exhibition of fine art prints to be displayed at different venues and kept as an archive of the project.
As well, a series of video interviews created by a local filmmaker and recorded for community archival purposes formed the basis of a documentary - Resilience - A Small Town Definition.
From those interviews, a series of short accounts of the subjects was written and combined with the portraits to create a book - Resilience - A Collaboration.
Five hundred copies of the book were printed and made available to the public free of charge and the documentary and the book are available below in both official languages. (The documentary contains French subtitles).
Please note that Resilience - A Collaboration and Resilience - A Small Town Definition deal with content and themes that some may find distressing.
Resilience
a collaboration
A poignant written exploration of 15 individuals in the greater community who tell their stories with grace, humour and wit.
Resilience - A Small Town Definition
A full-length documentary highlighting the amazing stories of our 15 subjects, and their resilience and strength through adversity.
Résilience une collaboration
Une exploration écrite poignante de 15 personnes de la grande communauté qui racontent leurs histoires avec grâce, humour et esprit.
Résilience - Définition d'une petite ville
Un long métrage documentaire mettant en lumière les histoires de nos 15 sujets, leur résilience et leur force face à l'adversité.
The entire project is then wrapped up with a celebration gala at which the book, prints and documentary were unveiled and presented.
Special thanks go out once again to the subjects of this book for their patience and time, to CANOE committee members, the Edson Photography Club and contributing photographers, the mural artists and businesses, the Galloway Station Museum staff, the Town of Edson, The Heart of Edson Gallery, SRVENT Freelance, our translators, and the Government of Canada.
This project was made possible through a grant from Department of Canadian Heritage's Commemorate Canada - Reopening Fund and in-kind donations from the Town of Edson and the Edson & District Historical Society.
The Resilience Project material is subject to copyright. Use of the above material in full or in part is subject to the approval of both
The Edson & District Historical Society and The Culture and Arts Network of Edson.
