Alberta Hilly Town, by Aeris Osbourne, 2021
Alberta Hilly Town, by Aeris Osbourne, 2021

Strathcona County Permanent Art Collection

The Permanent Art Collection was established in 1987 by Strathcona County Council to support and showcase local artists. What began with seven works has grown to more than 340 pieces, including painting (watercolour, oil and acrylic), pottery, sculpture, photography, textiles, ink drawing, serigraph (screen printing), glass, monotype and mixed media.

The artworks are displayed in civic facilities, outdoor and urban spaces and through special projects, bringing art into everyday life. They celebrate our community’s creativity and help residents and visitors connect with our shared history, present experiences and future vision.

Submit your work for 2026

Each year, the Art Collection Advisory Committee invites artists to submit their work for purchase. Eligible applicants include:

  • Strathcona County residents

  • Artists with a meaningful connection to the County

  • Equity-seeking artists living on Treaty 6 Territory

  • Artists who have participated in a juried exhibition at Gallery@501 or a Strathcona County public art project

Artists can submit their work through the online application form, available February 9, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. on April 26, 2026.

Submit my application

General guidelines

  • 1. Who is eligible to participate?

     Permanent link to Who is eligible to participate?
    Who is eligible to participate?

    • Artists residing within the municipal boundaries of Strathcona County  who are 18 years of age or older.   

    • Artists who identify as being from an equity deserving group residing within Treaty 6. Equity deserving groups are: Women, Indigenous peoples, visible/racialized minority persons, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2S+ persons. 

    • Artists who have been part of a juried art exhibition (Gallery@501) or public art opportunity with Strathcona County

    • Artists living in Canada with a significant connection to Strathcona County who are 18 years of age or older.  

    Strathcona County is committed to equity in the arts. With the intention of building a permanent art collection that is representative of our diverse community, the Art Collection Advisory Committee are committed to addressing bias and improving diversity within our collection efforts. We encourage and welcome submissions that represent the diversity of this community, including representation from artists who identify as Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities and people with disabilities. We recognize there may be barriers for some when applying. If you require accommodations please contact the Public Art curator by email at public.art@strathcona.ca

  • 2. How do I participate as an artist living outside of Strathcona County?

     Permanent link to How do I participate as an artist living outside of Strathcona County?
    How do I participate as an artist living outside of Strathcona County?

    Artists who do not live in Strathcona County but have a significant connection to the area are welcome to apply to participate. These participants are asked to provide a brief description of their relationship to the area within their application. Applications from non-Strathcona County Residents will be reviewed by the Art Collection Advisory Committee.

    The Art Collection Advisory Committee will review and evaluate responses with equal consideration given to: 

    • The overall impact of your contributions to Strathcona County: 

      • Have you ever worked or volunteered in Strathcona County? If so, for how many years? 

      • Have you made any artistic contributions to Strathcona County?  

      • Have you exhibited your artwork in Strathcona County? 

      • Does your artistic practice have a considerable focus on Strathcona County?  

    • The significance Strathcona County holds for you personally: 

      • Have you ever lived in Strathcona County? If so, how many years?

      • Are you an active member of a community organization in Strathcona County? 

    Artists are encouraged to contact the Public Art curator prior to applying, especially if their connection to the County is not covered through the examples above.

  • 3. I need help with my application

     Permanent link to I need help with my application
    I need help with my application

    Contact Strathcona County Recreation, Parks and Culture for assistance:

    780-467-2211 

    artacquisition@strathcona.ca 

      

Artwork requirements

Artwork sales and donations

Jury and selection process

Past acquisitions

Thirteen artworks were selected for purchase in 2025 and are on display at the Community Centre through August 2026. Click an image below to view the gallery. 

Aeris Osborne
Aeris Osborne
Anne Marie Szucs
Anne Marie Szucs
Dennis P. Yowney
Dennis P. Yowney
Jessica Desmoulin
Jessica Desmoulin
Karen Blanchet
Karen Blanchet
Ken Hawtin
Ken Hawtin
Kirra Kent
Kirra Kent
Linda Treleaven
Linda Treleaven
Suzan Berwald
Suzan Berwald
Suzan Berwald
Suzan Berwald
Tania Garner-Tomas
Tania Garner-Tomas
Garfield Morgan
Garfield Morgan
James MacDonald
James MacDonald
  • Aeris Osborne

    Aeris Osborne

    Alberta Hilly Town, 2023

    Acrylic

    Aeris Osborne is a Hong Kong-born Chinese Edmonton-based Alberta painter and visual artist known for her bold impressionist heritage and landscape paintings. She was the 2022 Alberta Artist in Residence (AIR) / Art Ambassador appointed by the Government of Alberta, the first self-taught immigrant artist to receive this prestigious grant. Osbourne has been painting for over fifteen years.

    “Alberta Hilly Town”, is inspired by the mixed memories from different landscapes of Alberta's small town. It became a one-of-a-kind windy, twisted, hilly landscape with houses scattered and surrounded by spruce, pine trees. The yellow sky is the signature of the painting to create a surreal atmosphere in this bold impressionist painting.

     


    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Anne Marie Szucs

    Anne Marie Szucs

    Waterfall Potatoes, 2024

    Acrylic 

    Anne Marie Szucs is an emerging abstract artist working in acrylic.  Her inspirations are nature, colour, and the flow of energy around us all.  She starts her work with the feel of "alla prima" but then adds layers of textures and colour's in later stages to celebrate the image she sees - either based on plein air, photos, preliminary sketches, or purely from her imagination.  Her colour palette is vibrant and expressionistic, and her works express her joy in the freedom of creativity.

    Waterfall Potatoes is a whimsical exploration of our Alberta landscape where movement, colour, and energy abound.


    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Dennis P. Yowney

    Dennis P. Yowney

    Calling Lake, Alberta, 2024

    Acrylic on linen

    I am an artist who has lived with extreme near-sightedness since birth and more recently, I have been diagnosed with wet macular degeneration with the loss of sight looming in my future. I have faced much in way of challenges both internally within myself, and in the educational and artistic communities. When I realized I could instruct other individuals in an artistic way, I worked at the Nina Haggerty Center for the Arts as a Lead Artist educator, an experience for which I am grateful as I contributed my artistic knowledge to those who needed it.

    My work evolved from sketching and painting the landscape of Northern Alberta within the beauty of its natural light. My artistic practice necessitated a retreat to my studio where I painted still lives learning about different light sources. Sketching with no visual exterior references to landscape, figurative, or still life, I derived “seeing” form. My lines became thicker, colors were brighter, more intense in tone. 

    I have taken from my Ukrainian heritage developing a visual language using elements from Ukrainian embroidery, the Pysanka, the illuminated manuscript and the Icon. This gives me a unique point of view to translate the Northern Alberta landscape.
     

    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Jessica Desmoulin

    Jessica Desmoulin

    Arctic Pup and Winter Cub, 2023

    Acrylic on canvas

    I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on September 18, 1978. I am Ojibway of the Pic River First Nation. As a child I lived in Rochester, Alberta and later in Sparwood, British Columbia. Currently lives in Sherwood Park. After the birth of my second child, I developed an illness that left me unable to work outside the home. I took this opportunity to approach my art seriously and began my Artist journey. I have been practicing my art for over 20 years, but have been more on the professional artist level for about 15 years. 

    This piece represents the relationship in the arctic between two young different animals, polar bear and seal. That they depend on each other in the arctic.

     

    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

     

  • Karen Blanchet

    Karen Blanchet

    Onwards and Upwards/ en avant, 

    Mixed media

    Introduced to poverty at the age of twelve, Karen became acutely aware of the plight of others. Her involvement with the Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Development and Peace-Caritas Canada has broadened her understanding about the widening gap between rich and poor and the abuse wreaked upon our lovely planet Earth. Having settled in Edmonton in 2011 she has concentrated on bringing awareness to others through her mixed media paintings, installations and poetry. A founding member of Devenir, DDK and Duo, she enjoys the dynamic of working in tandem with other artists as well as within the more traditional solo model. Her studio/gallery, in her backyard, and is open to the public by appointment only.

    Onward and Upward
    Not knowing the way,
    onward and upward we move
    towards light and love.

    En avant
    On avance en haut
    sans connaître le bon chemin
    vers la lumière.

    Getting out in Nature and reconnecting to something bigger than ourselves renews the soul. Mountains put us in place.

    Sortir dans la nature et se reconnecter à quelque chose de plus grand que soi renouvelle l'âme. Les montagnes nous remettent en place.
     


    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Ken Hawtin

    Ken Hawtin

    Nature's Beauty, 2025

    Black poplar and resin

    My name is Ken Hawtin and I was born and raised in Cadogan; a small farming community in east central Alberta. I met the love of my life in high school and we raised our three children on an acreage east of Sherwood Park where we lived for over 40 years. My wife, Allyce, was a big support with lots of encouragement throughout my discovery as an artist. 
    A carpenter by trade, I spent 45 years in construction. I am a self-taught wood-turning sculptor and I specialize in finely turned vessels. 

    This is made from a black poplar burl with lots of bark inclusions which were filled in with emerald green epoxy. The wood is very rare, but was actually found locally south of Stony Plain. 

    The wood was given to me by a friend who had the black poplar tree on his property that grew burls and when the tree died, he gave the burls to me. I have had lots of different types of wood burls to use over the years, but the black poplar burls are the prettiest you’ll ever see. This is part of a new collection I have been working on since Christmas using resin. 

    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Kirra Kent

    Kirra Kent

    First Time Parents, 2025            

    Acrylic       

    Kirra (She/They) has vacillated between art and science since early childhood, and in the last four years, she has finally embraced smashing them together. They have both a Bachelor’s degree (2022) and a Master of Science (2024) from the University of Alberta, as well as a prior diploma of animation from VanArts (2014). Their artistic skills supported their initial admission into university. Despite the outward presentation of a strictly science-focused decade since animation school, illustration has been a key component of her three current scientific publications and a digital anti-arachnophobia book.

    In parallel with their academic career, they have used most of their free time to experiment with the limits of fine art materials, intending to work on surfaces or scales not previously in her practice. Recently, Kirra has decided to seriously pursue the arts with more intention as a career element, and has participated in a few group exhibitions in 2024, with her first solo Exhibition “Fungus on Flannel” scheduled in the summer of 2025.

    First Time Parents” conveys (in my opinion) a number of elements you’d see in a new family. Parents are a bit overwhelmed, all of the kids are up to something. While most human families don’t have six kids, we can likely see a little bit of our small selves in one or more of the goslings. We change as we grow up, but we still recognize little facets of our younger selves in our day to day lives. The goslings each represent a little slice of my own childhood antics.

    2025 Art Acquisition 

    Strathcona County Art Collection 

  • Linda Treleaven

    Linda Treleaven

    A Symphony of Light, 2024

    Digital photograph on metal

    After retiring from a fulfilling career in teaching, I discovered photography as a powerful outlet for artistic expression. I joined the Images Alberta Camera Club in 2008 with my camera set to auto and JPG, but my passion for learning soon led me to explore the technical and creative depths of the craft. Through courses, workshops, and competitions, I developed my skills and began experimenting with image processing, composites, and textures. Today, I proudly consider myself a visual artist, continually inspired by the ever-evolving world of photography.

    This photograph captures a spontaneous moment of experimentation—lightbulbs illuminated on the surface of an iPad, glowing as if suspended between the digital and physical worlds. It began as play: a simple act of curiosity, testing light and reflection. Yet in that moment of interaction between tangible objects and a luminous screen, something unexpectedly poetic emerged.

    The image explores the intersection of technology and imagination, where familiar objects are recontextualized through light, shadow, and surface. The iPad becomes more than a device—it becomes a stage, a canvas, a source of light and reflection. The lit bulbs, though disconnected from power, seem alive, charged by the energy of the moment and the illusion created.

    At its heart, this piece is about wonder. It’s about allowing ourselves to explore without purpose, to create without rules, and to find beauty in the simple act of playing. Through this lens, play becomes a form of discovery—a way of seeing the everyday as extraordinary.


    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Suzan Berwald

    Suzan Berwald

    Pyramind Lake II, 2024

    Mixed media

    Like many individuals Suzan has always had a deep appreciation for fine art. As Suzan has progressed on her artistic journey, she has explored a variety of mediums and subject matter. It has become clear that mark making is a key component of her work, which she explores in her mixed media works. With her pastel works she can combine mark making with her love of colour. The landscape is one of her favourite subject matters. Recent group exhibitions in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Vancouver and Calgary. Suzan has also held several solo shows. 

    A past trip to the mountains inspired several works based on a visit to Pyramid Lake. Little did I know at that time, how poignant these works would become with the recent wildfires in the Jasper area. The autumn colors and the azure blue of the lake highlight the inherent beauty of this place. 

     

    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Suzan Berwald

    Suzan Berwald

    A Sailor's Delight, 2022

    Hand pulled monotype

    Like many individuals Suzan has always had a deep appreciation for fine art. As Suzan has progressed on her artistic journey, she has explored a variety of mediums and subject matter. It has become clear that mark making is a key component of her work, which she explores in her mixed media works. With her pastel works she can combine mark making with her love of colour. The landscape is one of her favourite subject matters. Recent group exhibitions in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Vancouver and Calgary. Suzan has also held several solo shows. 

    To many persons, the prairie land appears monotonous; soft rolling hills covered in  gentle, swaying grasslands. However, this misperception is only true part of the time. Under our dramatic prairie skies, the prairie land emerges brilliant and bold flush with color and vibrancy. 

    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Tania Garner-Tomas

    Tania Garner-Tomas

    The Threat, 2025

    Acrylic 

    Garner-Tomas was raised in an artistic family. Her mother Zenia loves style and plays piano and her father Bruce Garner was a metal sculptor who has over 30 large metal installation sculptures in Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario. Alberta has been the Artist’s home for 40 years. She has a wonderfully supportive husband and family who help her whenever needed. She graduated from the three-year fine art special course at Central Technical School, Toronto, Ontario in 1979. Tania has had the honor of being selected for many commissions, public and private. These include Silver Birch Lodge, Sherwood Park, The Stone Barn Society in Leduc which has two sculptures, The Edmonton Art Council, Enbridge storage facility, Fantasyland Hotel, Wetaskiwin General Hospital, The College of Physicians and surgeons, Hockey Moms, and the County of Strathcona. Tania has also written and illustrated and published two children’s books; The big adventures of Spike the miniature horse.

    2025 Acquisition
    Strathcona County Art Collection

  • Garfield Morgan

    Garfield Morgan

    Time Traveller, 2024

    Oil, African wax fabric, fabric, fabric tissue on canvas

    Garfield Morgan is a multidisciplinary artist who began his artistic journey as a graphic designer after graduating from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. He later pursued graduate studies in the United States, earning a Master of Arts in Painting and Digital Media and an MFA in Painting from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he was awarded the Post Graduate Fellowship in the School of Art. 

    After completing his Fellowship, he returned to Jamaica, where he taught at the Edna Manley College and the University of the West Indies, Mona. Garfield’s international acclaim includes exhibiting his piece Consumer Bird at the 2010 Beijing Visual Arts Biennale, which was later, included in the international Climate Art Collection.
     
    In 2023, Garfield was selected through a competitive jury process as Harcourt House’s Artist-in-Residence for the 2023-2024 term. His residency proposal was exceptional, demonstrating a clear vision and a commitment to creating a body of work that would challenge societal norms and invite critical reflection on the global issues of consumerism, exploitation, and environmental sustainability. Garfield and his wife Shelley now reside in Edmonton. 

    This portrait is interplay of tradition and modernity. The subject is enveloped in an intricately patterned headscarf where the face is punctuated with African wax fabric, which grounds the work in a sense of cultural richness and heritage suggesting both protection and pride. The fabric and patterns highlight textile artistry and combined with the subject’s direct; bold gaze establishes a profound sense of presence. 

    The vibrant geometric patches pulls focus to the subject’s face and shoulder and also injects a dynamic, contemporary energy into the composition. These colored areas hint at digital influences allowing the figure to exist compellingly between epochs. The geometric shapes also act as a visual language, proposing narratives about identity, resilience, and transformation. 

    The beige fabric tissue background marked with technical sewing patterns and lines, references the behind-the-scenes labor and structure integral to both fashion and art making. This subtle backdrop gently anchors the piece. It provides a conceptual bridge between craft and creation, inviting viewers to consider the intersections of handwork, design, and self-construction in identity. The juxtaposition of these technical markings with the organic, tactile feel of the figure’s skin and textiles further enriches the layered storytelling within the painting.
     

    2025 Art Acquisition 

     

  • James MacDonald

    James MacDonald

    In the Shadow of Giants, 2024

    Oil on canvas

    I've always been drawn to creating art. Growing up in Canada, my love for nature and adventure shaped the way I see the world - and that’s where my inspiration comes from. Whether it’s the Rockies or Vancouver Island, I try to capture more than just a scene. I want the viewer to feel the place, get lost in it, or find a story within it.

    I taught myself to paint by working exclusively outdoors, using the natural world as my studio. Plein air painting is still the foundation of my practice, and those on-site studies now inform my larger oil paintings. I gravitate toward big canvases, where texture and movement bring out the raw beauty of the landscapes I explore - mountains, forests, coastlines.

    This painting was inspired by my visit to Cathedral Grove and other ancient forests on Vancouver Island. Standing among those towering trees brought back a feeling I hadn’t felt since childhood—a kind of wonder and smallness that made the world feel bigger again. It reawakened a sense of awe I had forgotten, the kind of magic you only really feel when nature is still new to you.

    The group of figures is loosely based on a class photo from when I was a kid, around grade 3 or 4. I saw a school group walking through the forest that day, and something about that moment clicked. It reminded me of how nature felt back then - vast, mysterious, and full of stories I didn’t yet understand.

    I stretched raw canvas and primed it with a transparent gesso for a softer, neutral ground. Using oil paint, I layered thin washes to create a sense of atmosphere and translucency, letting some areas feel dense while others remain light and open.

    More than anything, I hope this painting stirs up a sense of wonder and memory - something quiet but deep, like being a kid exploring the woods for the first time.

     

Direct questions and concerns to Strathcona County Recreation, Parks and Culture:

Phone: 780-467-2211
Email: artacquisition@strathcona.ca

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Personal information is collected under the authority of section 4(c) of the Protection of Privacy Act and will be used to manage and administer Strathcona County's eNewsletters.  If you have questions regarding the collection, use or disclosure of this information contact Curator, Gallery@501, Strathcona County, Recreation, Parks and Culture, at 780-410-8585 or artgallery@strathcona.ca.
 

Related topics

Arts and Culture grants

Visual arts programs

Arts and culture

Last updated: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Page ID: 38811