The City of Airdrie is hosting Art Night, a two day event that will give Airdrie arts and culture groups, as well as members of the public, the chance to get together and talk about all things art.

Spokesman for Art Night, Michael McAllister from the City's Community Development department, says the two evenings will be unique rather than just doing the same thing both nights.

McAllister went on to say the second evening will focus on coming up with new ideas and prioritizing what needs to happen to support the local art scene.

Art Night will be facilitated by Janet Naclia from ACE Communities. Born and raised in Fort McMurray, AB, Naclia received a Bachelors Degree in Art & Design from the University of Alberta and a Masters Degree in Art History from the University of Toronto. After working in contemporary art galleries in Toronto, Naclia moved overseas to spend three years in Ireland. While living in Belfast, she was the Managing Director for the Queen Street Studios and Gallery (N. Ireland’s oldest non-profit studio group) and worked on a public art/community outreach project commissioned by the Cavan County Council. 

Naclia, also an arts columnist, has written art reviews for Canadian Art Magazine, Avenue Magazine, SWERVE Magazine, and CIRCA:  Ireland's Magazine on Contemporary Art.  She was also a regular arts writer for the Calgary Herald. 

While in Belfast, Naclia hosted a series of exhibition talks at the Ormeau Baths Gallery, N. Ireland, as well as a series on curatorial strategies for the Basement Gallery in Dundalk, Ireland.  She has lectured at the Alberta College of Art and Design as part of the fourth year professional practice course. Naclia was also one of the founding members of Exposure:  the Calgary/Banff Photography Festival.  Most recently, she sat on the advisory committee for the Calgary Arts Development Authority's King Edward School - Arts Incubator Project.

When not pursuing her art and cultural interests, Naclia enjoys spending time with her artist husband Brian and their brood of basset hounds. Basset hound rescue and playing full tackle football for the Calgary Rage are currently her biggest extracurricular interests.

Art Night kicks off Tuesday, March 13 in the Echo Room.  It continues on Thursday, March 15 in the Rotary Room.

Space is limited and registration is requested. To RSVP, e-mail community.services@airdrie.ca.