A tour of Calgary's lively public art collection

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The City of Calgary’s public art collection, created in partnership with the Calgary Arts Department, began growing in 1911 and has since amassed more than 1,300 pieces.

The displays throughout the city tell the story of Calgary, as well as share local Indigenous traditions, beliefs and practices through art. The city is working with Indigenous artists to increase representation and improve opportunities, as less than three per cent of the collection was created by Indigenous artists.

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While the majority of the art is downtown, pieces can be found across the city — from as far north as Country Hills, to Seton in the southeast — both indoors and outdoors.

Locals or tourists wanting to take in the history of Calgary in a unique way, and at their own pace, can grab a coffee from a local shop and take an art tour of the city.

In northeast Calgary, inside the Vivo recreation centre, Celebrations by Barbra Amos is on display. The 20-piece display is a collection of brightly coloured realistic and abstract paintings, and celebrates the excitement and activities found within the recreation centre.

While in the northeast, head to 96th Avenue N.E. near the Airport Trail and Deerfoot Trail interchange and take in Travelling Light, recognized city-wide as the “Giant Blue Ring.” The design of this piece was intended to “capture the dynamics of Calgary on the move and create a lasting impression for all who experience it,” according to the city.

“This site is a complex intersection catering to a wide variety of users, all converging with different perspectives and rates of motion. In order to provide visual interest to all viewers, as well as create a distinct identity for the bridge, the artists designed a simple, clear, monumental sculptural form that is set apart from the bridge and landscape by its colour.”

Then take Deerfoot Trail south towards downtown, where the majority of the city’s public art pieces are on display.

Once downtown, head to Calgary-born coffee shop Rosso Coffee Roasters, located inside the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre at 140 8th Ave. S.E. to fuel the remainder of the art tour. Within walking distance from Rosso is the city’s Central Library, home to art display Fish by Christian Moeller on the third floor.

Inspired by the concept of goldfish in a fishbowl, this piece holds a total of 10,260 books in 12 different colours. From close up, the spines of the books read as an abstract composition of coloured shapes, but from a distance, they appear as a detailed image of a carefully framed portrait of a goldfish.

Continuing the art tour, head west to find several outdoor pieces on display.

On the steps of the Calgary Municipal Building is Harry O’Hanlon’s Family of Horses, and nearby at Park East of the Municipal Building is Natural Engineer by by Cochrane-based sculptor Don Begg — a naturalistic bronze beaver representative of the wildlife around the nearby Bow and Elbow rivers.

Also at the Municipal Building is Balancing Act by Roy Leadbeater. This piece uses bright colours and welding to transform construction materials into a sculpture. The city describes this piece as a “gravity-defying balancing act.”

Continuing west to the Stephen Avenue Mall at 1st Street S.W., Conversation by William Hodd McElcheran is on display. Part of The Businessman Series, this piece features two businessmen, intently focused on each other, deep in conversation.

For those taking public transit, visit the 6th Street S.W. LRT station, look up and enjoy the brightly coloured SWARM by Stuart Keeler.

Also installed at LRT stations is the 20-piece Luminous Crossings by Cliff Garten. The interactive display features two large-scale vertical sculptures, plus three hanging works, on four stations located at either end of the 7th Avenue LRT platform. The illuminated sculptures are integrated with the LRT system to change colours when the train arrives, docks and leaves the station.

Nearby, Century Gardens is home to two displays — The Alberta Family by Stanley Bleifeld and Bears by Leo Mol. The Alberta Family depicts a life-size bronze family playing outside, meant to exude joy.

Bears, also a bronze sculpture, shows two playful bears on a rock. Born in Polonne, Ukraine, Leo Mol, the artist behind Bears, is best known for his sculptures of both people and animals, and many of his bronze works can be seen in the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden in Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg.

To finish off the downtown tour, stop at the Downtown Calgary Mosque and take a look at the east wall to find Our Window by AJA Louden and the 2018 participants of City of Calgary’s Street Art Program for Youth.

“The mural combines patterns designed by youth, community members, and lead artist AJA Louden. The concept was inspired by the seeds that are planted when we exchange ideas and inspiration openly,” according to the city.

This mural can be activated through augmented reality by downloading an app accessible by a QR code on the mural. It features digital animations by Jarett Sitter and stop-motion animations by The Bum Family.

Before heading south, stop for dinner at Bridgette Bar (739 10th Ave S.W.), a local chef-driven bar. For Japanese-influenced cuisine, try Shokunin, located south of the downtown core in Mission at 2016 4th St S.W. The restaurant proudly uses some of Canada’s best produce, with some coming from the chef’s personal garden and farm.

Other highly rated restaurants to try in Calgary include Ten Foot Henry (1209 1st St S.W.), Bonterra Trattoria (1016 8th St. S.W.) and Lulu Bar (510 17th Ave. S.W.).

Continuing south, Elbow Island Park features several public art displays.

At the gateway to the park is Fish Ladder by Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett. As described by the artists on the City of Calgary website, “the stairs reference fish skeletons, the ribs of a canoe, and ripples in water. As you move down the stairs onto Elbow Island Park, materials transition from steel to wood, indicating a change from urban to natural. Drooping stairs create a moiré pattern, rippling underfoot. You become the stone skipping across water. Over time, foliage will grow up through the stairs, integrating them into the park.”

In the park, Late Lunch by long-time friends Jeremy Pavka and Sean Procyk is an interactive display, offering visitors the chance to enjoy the view of the river in colourful seats in the shape of large wheelbarrows.

Also in Elbow Island Park is Things that both a relative you haven’t seen in a long time and the river could say, by Kablusiak. This display is made up of large stones that provide a pathway across a stream, five of which are engraved with phrases in Inuvialuktun and English that are personal to the artist.

Further south at New Brighton Athletic Park is Versus by The White Studio. Meant to represent the nature of competition, the large VS. statue, an abbreviation of the word versus, “speaks to the idea of opposing a competitor or of challenging oneself within a team setting. It is also applicable to larger conversations pertaining to global, social and economic issues,” according to the city.

Finally, head down to Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, where The Nest by Donald Lipski is on display. The piece is made of clear acrylic “twigs” and is suspended from the ceiling. Each hallway features a different flock of life-sized birds flying towards the nest. There is a total of 30 birds from three different species chosen by community members — the Swainson’s Hawk, Great Blue Heron and Great Horned Owl.

Finishing the tour in Seton, visit locally owned and community-driven restaurant Starbelly Open Kitchen and Lounge to enjoy a rotating seasonal menu using local ingredients.

Visit the City of Calgary website for a map of all public art across the city.

In our new instalment of How Canada Wins, we’ll publish stories every second Wednesday throughout the summer highlighting some of the people and places that make Calgary special.