Local artist Demi Zelasak poses in front of The Owl Acoustic Lounge. where her documentary premiered on Sept. 24. Photo by Scott Holman
Two University of Lethbridge students hope to break stereotypes surrounding Lethbridge but highlighting the city’s creative communities. A University of Lethbridge student is producing a reflective documentary on the city’s artist community and can’t wait for it to be shared with the public.
University student Demi Zelasak is collaborating with local artists including dancers, painters, musicians and visual artists to highlight the small creative community within Lethbridge. The film shines light on the creatives and their work, to show that although the community is small, it is tight-knit and has a lot to show. Zelasak says the film includes insight from artists from all walks of life.
“I wanted to get community perspective about what the art scene is in Lethbridge, and what people from different walks of life and different mediums think of the community here,” says Zelasak.
The documentary is called The Art of Windy City and is supported and funded by Telus Storyhive, a program that funds productions and mentors emerging filmmakers. Along with support from the National Screen Institute, Storyhive is for filmmakers in Alberta and British Columbia. Completed projects are featured on Telus Optik TV using the Community Showcase program.
Zelasak is meeting and interviewing numerous creatives within the community for the first half of the film, while the second half of the film is aimed at shining light back into the community through a live preview. The preview, along with live performances from those interviewed within the film, took place at the Owl Acoustic Lounge. The preview and performances were filmed and will be added to the final product.
Dancer Stephano Washikala who performed in the documentary says the project was an amazing experience to be a part of.
“All the ideas that were discussed kept pushing the project forward, everyone working hard on their part to make the documentary the best it could be,” says Washikala.
Funded by Telus Storyhive along with Zelasak is another local creative, Sedona Vigneault, who has been assisting Zelasak during production and who also has her own series on Telus Optik TV. Vigneault’s show is like Zelasak’s, as it too involves interviews with Lethbridge locals, though the goal of the series is unique.
Vigneault’s showcases Lethbridge from a different perspective, rather than focusing primarily on the creative scene, she focuses on the city and the beauty of it that is often overlooked. She says she wants to show off the side of Lethbridge most people don’t see.
“There is a lot of negativities about what Lethbridge is and it was my personal objective to broaden people’s mindset of Lethbridge and see it for the beauty that I see it for,” says Vigneault.
In the show Vigneault interviews prominent figures within the community to gain a perspective about who they are, what they do and why their position is an integral part to the community.
Vigneault is assisting Zelasak with the filming and production of The Art of Windy City. While Vigneault believes the small family of creatives is hard to get into, she encourages those hiding their talents to showcase what they’ve been working on. She believes that for a city this size, the artists deserve more creative hubs, which are safe spaces for artists to network, however due to lack of funding, the formation of these hubs won’t be prioritized.
Both pieces can be found on Telus Optik TV. Vigneault’s Honeycomb on Demand is available now while Zelasak’s The Art of Windy City will release in March 2023.