Art’s Birthday Edmonton 2025

One of the world’s most unusual celebrations of art is slated to take centre stage in the Alberta capital. Art’s Birthday Edmonton 2025, facilitated by the Boreal Electroacoustic Music Society, holds court Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. at Collins Studio Gallery (11741−94 Street).

The show will feature a wide range of Edmonton sound artists and experimental musician, many of whom have garnered international reputations for their work. Scheduled to play the event are Don Hill, Josh Klassen, James Parrott, Stephen Sereda, Kaunsel and II F Argon.

BEAMS has hosted this annual event in Edmonton since 2010, as part of a global tribute to art, an idea conceived by French surrealist Robert Filliou in 1963. He believed that a million years ago, art did not exist until a sponge was dropped into a pail of water, and picked his own birthday, Jan. 17, to celebrate the occasion. Charmed by the absurdity of the notion, artists, predominantly in Europe, have been celebrating Art’s Birthday ever since. A comprehensive background of the event and international listings are available on arts​birth​day​.net. Information about the local event is available at https://​blog​.beams​.ca.

Admission to Art’s Birthday Edmonton 2025 is $10 for BEAMS members and $20 for non-members, although a BEAMS membership is included in the latter price.