Free art buses to offer tours of Edmonton galleries, aim to reduce downtown core navigation anxiety

Edmontonians have a chance to explore nine art galleries for free this weekend.

Edmontonians have the chance to tour nine art galleries for free on Saturday.

ArtBus is an all-ages, one-day event organized by MacEwan University’s Mitchell Art Gallery with support from the Edmonton Transit Service, Edmonton Arts Council and Scott and Kathy Watson.

Hopping on a bus at a designated Art Stop around the city gets you access to activities and exhibits put on by participating galleries around the inner city as well as discounts at their art shops and restaurants.

Each ride on the designated ETS art buses is free. Admission to each venue is also free – which Jervis says is true anytime for most of the city’s galleries aside from the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Mitchell Art Gallery curator Carolyn Jervis said the event was made to alleviate challenges people may experience while visiting the downtown core.

“You might be intimidated trying to navigate on your own, perhaps construction, and figuring out how to navigate around construction or where to park can feel like a challenge,” she said on Friday.

Three ArtBuses will loop each stop from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. A full list of activities and stops can be found on the official website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall