Chris Allen 

chris.allen@ckua.com



I have a wonderfully varied career. In my day job with the CKUA Radio Network since 1976, I’ve presented nearly every form of musical and informational programming. 


These days, I produce and host several programs. They include Arts Alive, a feature interview around artists and the arts in Alberta, heard twice daily from Monday to Friday. The Arts and Culture Guide, which details upcoming arts events in the province, is featured twice a day from Monday through Saturday. ArtBeat, a half-hour program heard on Sunday morning, concentrates in greater detail on productions, publications and developments in the arts around the province. During the summer months, ArtBeat is replaced by Summerfest, a program that presents information on Alberta’s scores of summer festivals and performances, and the artists featured therein.

I bring to my work a background as an actor and as a playwright and director in theatre and radio productions, and as an actor and voice-over artist in television and film, among other projects. When I’m not doing any of the above activities, you'll find me watching others do similar work, or ensconced in a quiet corner with a good book.

For me, as for so many others, CKUA has been and continues to be an education in the arts and other areas. Immersing oneself in the station’s near-mythical music library, or speaking with artists of divers genres, leads not only to a sense of the immense diversity of artistic expression on this planet, but the historical and cultural context of the art.

More importantly, the range of artists and subject material that CKUA covers confirms my belief in the vital necessity of the arts in understanding, coping with or revelling in, the circumstances that beset or enhance our lives.