Coal in Alberta

For the past couple of years several members of the Monochrome Guild have been working together on a photo project.  Initially it was myself, Court, Nigel and Mark that elected to visually explore the history of coal mining in Alberta.  A few months later, Mark decided to take a break from photography and step away from the Monochrome Guild.  His involvement in the coal project also ceased at that time.

Some months later my friend Arturo joined the project, and more recently another friend, Fred, came on board.  And then there were five....

Before Covid turned the world upside down we had taken some trips together to explore some of the remaining coal mine sites in Alberta, at locations such as Crowsnest Pass, the Drumheller area, and the eastern slopes.  The onset of the Corona virus pandemic really put a damper on things.  We have continued to chip away at the project, but our opportunities to get out together shooting have been limited.  Just before the pandemic lock down started back in March of 2020 we had put together a submission package and proposed our project to McMullen Gallery.  We were hoping to secure an exhibition but some months later we were notified that our proposal had not been accepted.

In recent months there has been a lot of attention focused on coal mining.  The Provincial Government of Alberta is looking to re-open the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains to open pit coal mining.  This has made for a massive protest from environmentalists and concerned citizens.  In light of all that attention we elected to refine our project, and begin making gallery submissions again.  The official title of our exhibition is now...  "Coal in Alberta.  a journey to obsolescence"

The first submission package was sent out last week.

A day after it was sent we received word that we had been accepted for exhibition at the Crowsnest Pass Art Gallery.  That first show will be in October and November of 2021.  Hopefully this is the first of several exhibitions, and this can become a traveling show, much like my previous Procession West project.  This is one of my images, that was included in the submission package.  This is an air compressor from the Greenhill mine in Blairmore.