Medalta

🌻 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟭𝟲 & 𝟭𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 Beginning this "May Long" weekend, the museum @ Medalta will be open Saturdays AND Sundays from 10am - 5pm! How exciting is that?! Self-guided tours will be available until 4pm each day, with guided tour times available for booking on our website (follow link in bio). Stay tuned for more details on added tour times! 🧱WHY VISIT MEDALTA? · A chance to explore and walk inside our unique beehive kilns · Travel back in time as you wander through the still-standing Ol' Factory · View historic photographs and hear personal stories · See working heritage machinery in our production room · View thousands of pottery pieces on display, covering decades of artwork & ever-changing production · Adventure across the prairies, taking in the entire historic clay district · Experience one of Medicine Hat’s most unique historic sites 📍 713 Medalta Ave SE in Medicine Hat, Alberta ☎️ (403) 529-1070 📧 [email protected] #medalta #albertatourism #summerplans #maylongopening #canadiandestination

𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗘𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 @ 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗔 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: July 6-10, July 13 – 17, and July 20 – 24 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵: Choose from 1, 2, or all 3 weeks 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 9:00am – 4:00pm daily 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝘀: 16+ 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: $375/week (multi-week discounts available) 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 713 Medalta Ave SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta 🧱 𝗗𝗶𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 @ 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗮! Based in the heart of Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District, this summer workshop is your chance to uncover real stories, artifacts, and the industrial heritage that shaped Canada’s ceramic legacy. 🪏 Each week students will work alongside Archaeologist Dr. Talva Jacobson to continue the excavation of a historic stable used to shelter draft horses employed at Medalta Potteries sometime between 1912 and 1954. Last year in 2025, over 100 artifacts were discovered! 📸 Throughout this workshop, students will learn excavation techniques, site mapping, artifact washing, and interpretation. They will be taught how to engage in field methods using archaeological techniques to recover the material culture and to fully document the process of recovery, while learning how to take samples, record, analyse, and prepare resources for later study and preservation. ➡️ Participants are welcome to register for one, two, or all three weeks. Anyone registered in multiple weeks can choose to take on leadership roles and deepen their skills through expanded lab work and presentation opportunities. 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 @ 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 🛜 Follow link in Bio 📧 [email protected] ☎️ 403.529.1070 #medalta #fieldschool #archaeologystudent #summer2026 #canadianhistory

🏆 𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘆, 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵-𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 @medalta . These students have been carefully hand-selected by each of their schools to join this unique and potentially career changing opportunity! 📆 For one full month, these young artists will have the chance to fully immerse themselves in their practice, connect with fellow creators from across the country, and spend time focused on experimenting, learning, developing new work, and having fun while in a supportive studio environment. 𝘈𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. 📸 Throughout the month, these seven creative students will be documenting their residency experience and sharing behind-the-scenes moments, studio updates, process videos, reflections, and more through our artist takeovers! Stay tuned for lots of fun, thoughtful, and insightful content from this incredible group of emerging artists all month long. ➡️ Full artist bios have been shared on our Facebook page 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗻 (𝘀𝗵𝗲/𝗵𝗲𝗿), 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗮 @anaiesmee 𝗕𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗳𝗳 (𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆/𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺), 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 @isstlz_ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝘀𝗵𝗲/𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆), 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 @charlotte_saulnier_ceramique 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝘂𝘀 (𝘀𝗵𝗲/𝗵𝗲𝗿), 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 @ellieyus 𝗘𝘃𝗮 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 (𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆/𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺), 𝗞𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 @eat_me_pottery 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴 (𝘀𝗵𝗲/𝗵𝗲𝗿), 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮 @hml.studio 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘁 (𝘀𝗵𝗲/𝗵𝗲𝗿), 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 @rumikha

🔥🙏🧱 Thank you, Medicine Hat and Medalta supporters! We had an absolute blast this weekend celebrating 40 years of Clay, Culture & Community during our "Fired Up!" event. The community support exceeded our expectations, and we loved welcoming visitors of every age and interest to explore all that Medalta has to offer. Our giant 6-ft horse sculpture was a massive success, with hundreds of creative clay additions, alongside the many visitors who toured through the Shaw Centre for Contemporary Ceramics. Judging for our children’s colouring contest will also take place this week, with an announcement coming soon, so stay tuned! Thank you again! If you had the chance to see Clay, Creativity & The Comeback at the Monarch Theatre this weekend, you’ll know just how much hard work, dedication, passion, and collaboration it takes to create and sustain a site as important as this. Thank you for being part of our story ♥️ 📆 Remember to mark your calendars for more fun on July 10 & 11 when we celebrate "District Days"! 📸 Photo Credit: Our Village Creative #medalta #medaltafiredup #medaltalegacy #medicinehat #thankyou

Wow! Did you know how magical the artists here at @medalta are?! Come see for yourself tomorrow in Kiln #4 during the Fired Up event! While you’re over there, you can also tour the MIAIR studio space, and contribute to our giant horse sculpture!! We can’t wait to see you! 🌞 OH! And there’s exciting things happening in the gift shop too, including some ‘new to us’ Hycroft wares! 🤩🤩

We love history, heritage and horses around these here parts! 🤠🧱🌾 Our handy volunteer Jason has helped build this very special base for our outdoor community clay project at our 🔥FIRED UP! event this Saturday, May 2nd. While horses are no longer used at the Medalta site, they were once a powerful and very necessary tool of the trade for this pottery factory and many others factories & industries throughout the prairies. This special animal also connects us to the horse stable being excavated in July for our 2nd annual Archaeology Field School @ Medalta, led by renowned Archaeologist Talva Jacobson. Are you ready to add your piece to this project and get fired up this weekend in Medicine Hat?? #medalta #medicinehat #medicinehatevents #whattodoinmedicinehat #mymedalta

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 @ 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗮 📆 Date: Saturday, May 2, 2026 ⏳ Time: 10am - 5pm 📍Location: 713 Medalta Ave SE 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘜𝘱! 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 ✨ For one day only, the reception gallery @ Medalta will be transformed into a fully styled, faux wedding experience, designed to help you step into the atmosphere! Thoughtfully arranged tables and curated details will showcase how this historic, industrial space can be elevated into something refined, welcoming, and entirely your own. 🥂 Planning an event starts with a vision, but finding the right space to bring it to life is what makes all the difference. Can you picture it? Will it feel right? Will your guests remember it? This is your opportunity to find out! __________________________________ While weddings are a natural fit @ Medalta, they are only the beginning! Our event spaces are designed to host a wide range of gatherings including: * Corporate Events & Conferences * Fundraisers & Galas * Holiday Parties * Musical Concerts * Private Events * Weddings * Workshops * And more! Inquire about a private rental by visiting us at Medalta.org or by contacting our Events Coordinator at [email protected]

🔥 Have you made plans for May 2nd yet? It’s going to be an exciting weekend in Medicine Hat with two exciting events back-to-back!! ☀️ First, spend the day down @ Medalta enjoying clay & community during our “Fired Up!” event. Enjoy cake, kids activities, @stationcoffeeco and our new brew with @mhbrewco ! Hop on a free tour through the museum, as well as the Shaw centre for contemporary ceramics, and remember to join in on our large-scale outdoor community clay project! 🐴 🎬 After all that, spend the evening down at the @themonarch_mh with the launch of @editingluke ’s documentary “Clay, Creativity, & the Comeback”, marking the 40th Anniversary of the Friends of Medalta Society. From Luke: “For the first time, the story about how Medalta Potteries and the industrial ruins of Medicine Hat's abandoned clay district were saved from demolition in the 1970s will premiere at the Monarch Theatre at the end of next month. Featuring original interviews, unseen archival materials, and a story told by the incredible volunteers who stepped up to make it happen - this is one of those movies that will make you look at what's in your own backyard a little differently. If you enjoyed that movie I made about Monarch Theatre a few years ago, this is the documentary that made that one possible.” ____________________________ 🔥 Fired Up! Is a free, drop-in style event from 10am - 5pm on Saturday May 2nd 🎟️ Tickets for Luke’s documentary are available at Fandrix.com/tickets 📸 Photo credit to Editing Luke #medalta #mymedalta #MedicineHat #medicinehatevents #supportlocal

🎞 Local filmmaker @editingluke will premiere his documentary about Medicine Hat's National Historic Site @medalta at the @themonarch_mh ! 🧱 During the creation of Clay, Creativity, and the Comeback, Luke Fandrich captured first-hand stories of those who were actively involved in protecting Medalta from being demolished! ❤️ Medalta withstood many misfortunes, including two fires and a flood, but there was always a group of passionate people there to pick up and rebuild the broken pieces! 🎉 On Saturday, May 2, 2026, Medalta in the Historic Clay District invites you to celebrate a major milestone of 40 years of The Friends of Medalta Society (FOMS) with a full day of creativity, community, and clay! 🔥 As part of their “Legacy Series,” Fired Up! is a free, family-friendly event that brings together hands-on experiences, live demonstrations, and interactive programming across our historic site. Visit the event before or after catching the film at The Monarch! 🎟 See the full documentary and find tickets at /tickets | Show dates are April 30, May 1, and May 2 — #medaltainthehistoricclaydistrict #medicinehatnationalhistoricsit #albertadocumentary #medaltadocumentary #documentaryabouthistory

🔥 THE WAGON WHEEL Did you know we often refer to this large, exposed kiln foundation at Medalta as the “Wagon Wheel”? This unique piece of history has earned it’s nickname for two reasons! 1️⃣ The first comes from its distinctive shape because it closely resembles the wooden wheels that once carried goods across the prairies. 2️⃣ The second reason is pretty incredible. In Medalta’s early days, much of the factory relied on horse-powered systems. Much like the pulley system that allowed these animals to operate the large grinder in the old factory, horses were also brought in when the kiln needed to be fired. Once connected, the horses would slowly rotate the kiln base as it absorbed and distributed heat during firing. This method was often time consuming and required careful control. Temperatures inside the kiln rose gradually, and firings often took significantly longer than in later years when natural gas allowed for higher, more consistent heat throughout the kiln. The horses had to be monitored 24 hours a day and “swapped out” at scheduled times (while still moving!) so as to maintain as much stability as possible. Today, the “Wagon Wheel” remains on display as a reminder of both the ingenuity and the evolving technology that has helped shaped Medalta’s production processes! Additionally, if you have read this far, you now know that this is April Fool’s joke. We hope you enjoyed this silly tale, whether it made you smile, take pause, or question everything historical you’ve ever heard about a beehive kiln! Make sure to comment below to keep the joke going! 🔥🧱🤣 #mymedalta #candianhistory #aprilfools

Only a few days left to visit "The Looking Glass" at Medalta! 🪩 Featuring work from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Permanent Collection, "The Looking Glass" invites viewers to ponder reflection as a tool for introspection and situating oneself within reality, or more accurately, one's perception of reality. Curated by Sierra Zukowski, TREX Southeast. As an interactive companion to the exhibition, enjoy our Room of Mirrors! We encourage visitors to step into their own world of self-reflection. 🪞 Last day to visit is Saturday, April 4! @medhatespanade @cityofmedicinehat @tourismmedicinehat @afa.1991

🖼️ SELECTED ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT Our 2027 Community Artist Exhibition Open Call received an incredible response from artists across Canada. From November 10 to December 15, 2025, Medalta received over 70 exhibition proposals representing a wide range of artistic practices and ideas. The Community Artist Exhibition is a new annual program that supports and celebrates creative voices. The initiative opens the Yuill Family Gallery to artists from across Canada and creates space for artistic perspectives beyond Medalta’s regular exhibition programming. Following a multi-stage juried review process, we are excited to announce the selected artist! Congratulations to Patricia Lortie, a Québec-born, Calgary-based visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, installation, and community-based art. For more than twenty-five years, Lortie has exhibited widely across Western Canada, creating immersive environments that explore relationships between people, place, and the natural world. Her work will be featured in the 2027 Community Artist Exhibition, opening on March 19, 2027 in the Yuill Family Gallery @ Medalta. We are excited to have @patricia.lortie.art as the first artist to launch this new exhibition program at Medalta. Stay tuned as we share more about Patricia’s exhibition in the months ahead! Website: patricialortie.com #communityexhibition #medalta #canadianart