Meet our alumni

Almut (Asta) Dale

Diploma   Painting  

My time at ACAD was an eye-opener for me. I was a mature student and up to that day I really believed in ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.

DIPLOMA IN PAINTING, 1982 

ALUMNI RELATIONS INTERVIEW, 2018 

 

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Contemplation, 2016

 

1. What year did you graduate from the Alberta College of Art + Design? What did you graduate with (A diploma? BFA? BDES? Major?) I graduated in 1982 from the Alberta College of Art with a diploma in painting, but I also did ceramics which I enjoyed immensely – mostly form and hand-building. After graduating at ACA I continued studies at the University of Calgary – there I received my Bachelor of Fine Art. Since then I have participated in workshops at Emma Lake twice, and at the Atlin School of Fine Art six times.

 

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Abstract I, n.d.

2. A lot of graduates use the ACAD degree as a creative stepping stone. How has what you do evolved since graduation? How did your education at ACAD direct your career? After graduating from ACA and the U of C, I worked as a curator for Untitled Art Society (UAS) and helped with the Newsletter. After my retirement from those duties I concentrated more on painting and finding my own style. My first solo exhibition was about ‘Love’ at the Courthouse Gallery in Red Deer 1992, which was followed by my Environmental ‘Animal Protest March’ at the same location in 1997. This same exhibition was also shown in Cochrane in 1998 and part of it at the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton 1999. In 2000 I participated at a two-person exhibition with a ceramicist in Stony Plain which dealt with ‘Love’. Another Solo show at the Red Deer Allied Arts Council was about ‘Change’ in 2009 and in 2012 another solo exhibition about my travels in Turkey ‘Istanbul’. In 2003, I joined the Alberta Society of Artists and chaired the South of the Province of Alberta for two years. This connection enabled me to participate in a 2 year Travel-Show by Trex all over Alberta in 2015 - 17. Group exhibitions with various individuals, and in various places were a constant annual event for me. I have travelled in Sweden, Egypt, Greece, Italy , Spain, England, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Peru and in Quito where I took a Spanish Intensive Study Course.  In 2017, I was invited to join a newly founded group ‘G9’ in Calgary and our 9 members had our inaugural exhibition in the Collectors Gallery. Our next group Show will be in Saskatoon on May 12th - 25th with 7 of our members.

3. What’s your current employment? Or, What are you most busy with these days? Now, I am busy conquering the medium of water colour because our Group9 is having a show in Fabriano, Italy in August 2019.

 

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Love and Hate, 2017

4. What insights did your time at ACAD give you? Why or how is what you learned at ACAD important? My time at ACAD was an eye-opener for me. I was a mature student and up to that day I really believed in ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. I cannot explain how it happened but over the four years I was at the college, I became interested in Philosophy, Sociology and realized how connected life and art are.

I joined a group that had philosophical discussions every two weeks and I really learned a new language, in a way. The Apeiron Society was founded around 1986-7? I joined 1991. Petra von Morstein was one of the founders and she believed that philosophy was very important in real life. It helps us think and work on finding solutions in life and finding the things that give us satisfaction – which in turn makes us happy and that is what life is all about.