The Eastern Slopes of Alberta and prospective coal mining in that area have been the focus of much controversy in the last year.

These mountains are more than the resources they hold. They provide the people of Alberta with much of the province’s fresh water supply as well as mental and physical connections to nature. They are places of spiritual importance for our Indigenous peoples and they provide artists with inspiration.

In the summer of 2021, five Central Alberta artists worked en plein air, painting and sketching onsite in the open air. Through their eyes, we experience the incredible landscape that is the West Country along the eastern slopes of Alberta’s Rockies.