Family Drugs Gallery opens Saturday with eight artists and a mix-up origin story
Eight artists occupy the studio space at 10233 97 Street after an accidental eviction and quick reversal. Opening reception starts at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
A brand-new artist-run gallery is opening Saturday at 10233 97 Street — born from a comedy of errors that almost closed the space permanently.
The eight studio artists occupying Family Drugs Gallery experienced a sudden eviction notice, packed up, and moved out. The next day, building management realized the mistake and invited them back. After renegotiating the rent to better terms, the collective decided to launch a gallery and celebrate the chaos.
"There was kind of this whole fun mix-up where we got told that the space got leased to someone else, and we had to move out, and everyone moved out," artist Erika Germain explained. "And then the day after, they were like, 'Wait, why'd you move out?'"
Germain, an Emily Carr BFA graduate, occupies the same space she rented a decade ago alongside Dara Humniski and Tandie McLeod, just east of the Winspear Centre and directly in Edmonton's downtown arts cluster — steps from the Art Gallery of Alberta, Citadel Theatre, and Stanley Milner Library.
"I think it kind of works in our favor," painter Lisa Bourque said. "You know, it's a landmark to help people find us and kind of remember our space."
The location sits at the edge of what has traditionally been dead space downtown, but Germain sees the arts as vital to reviving it. "A lot about when we were kind of in that conversation of moving back in, the building owner said something along the lines of like, 'Oh, I like renting to artists because they're the only people that want to come downtown.'" She laughed. "I do feel like the arts is so important in downtown, and the artists care a lot about the space."
The opening reception, called Meet the Family, starts at 6 p.m. Saturday. Germain is showing ceramic slab paintings — translations of loved ones' names using a color code system where each letter corresponds to a specific hue. Bourque is exhibiting luminous oil paintings reminiscent of B. Kliban's whimsical animal work. Other artists round out the inaugural show.
The details
When does Family Drugs Gallery open?
Family Drugs Gallery opens on Saturday, July 19, 2026, with an opening reception called Meet the Family starting at 6 p.m.
Where is Family Drugs Gallery located?
Family Drugs Gallery is at 10233 97 Street in Edmonton, directly in the downtown arts cluster east of the Winspear Centre and near the Art Gallery of Alberta, Citadel Theatre, and Stanley Milner Library.
Who are the artists at Family Drugs Gallery?
Eight studio artists occupy Family Drugs Gallery, including Erika Germain (who shows ceramic slab paintings), Lisa Bourque (oil painter), Dara Humniski, and Tandie McLeod, among others.
