Calgary: A Winter Arts Mecca
When Calgarians (or Canadians for that matter), think of great theatre, they probably first think of New York, London and Toronto. Probably the same is true for the visual arts – Museum of Modern Art in New York and Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto or perhaps even Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles.
This is a scene of two Decidedly Jazz Danceworks dancers in the parking lot across the street from DJD’s performance space. The opening scene of Juliet + Romeo is when the curtains open up and the audience looks out into the parking lot and sees the dancers in the parking lot performing. It doesn’t get any cooler or more urban than that.
Art Festivals
Meanwhile, Calgary has quietly evolved into a wonderful winter arts mecca, first with the High Performance Rodeo in January, followed by Exposure Photography Festival in February – both being major annual arts festivals.
Each year, these two arts festivals are augmented by several other insightful arts events that have broad appeal. This year it is Katie Ohe at the Esker Foundation Gallery, the opening of Contemporary Calgary in the iconic Calgary Planetarium building, Vivian Maier and Maxwell Bates exhibitions at the Glenbow and Storied City show at the Lougheed House.
High Performance Rodeo
The High Performance Rodeo was launched in 1985, the same year the Calgary Performing Arts Centre (now Arts Commons) opened. It was meant to kick off the new year and bring contemporary international theatre to Calgarians i.e. no need to go to New York, London or Toronto. Indeed, Calgary has come a long way since 1985. The High Performance Rodeo has ended (it ran from Jan 8 to 27, 2020) but it will be back next year and should be added to the “must see” list of culture vultures across Canada and beyond.
This year, 28 different productions at 15 different venues showcased both local and international contemporary theatre and dance. A personal highlight was Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ production of Juliet + Romeo, created and choreographed by DJD’s own Kimberley Cooper. It was as good as anything I have seen in New York.
Link: High Performance Rodeo website Link: Decidedly Jazz Danceworks website
This is scene from Juliet + Romeo with colourful fun dancing shoes
Theatre Calgary’s “The Louder We Get” has been getting great reviews.
Exposure Photography Festival
Launched in 2004, Exposure includes 30+ exhibitions in Calgary, as well as others in Banff and Canmore. It includes exhibitions focusing on the work of emerging photographers to the iconic 20th century street photography Vivian Maier at the Glenbow. It also includes The Fence a large-scale travelling photography exhibition installed on the fence around downtown’s Century Gardens (8th Street SW between 7th and 8th Avenues).
Exposure continues until February 29, 2020. Vivian Maier continues until May 24, 2020.
Link: Exposure website
Opening night of Exposure at Contemporary Calgary.
Contemporary Calgary
Contemporary Calgary opened full-time to the public on January 23, 2020 in the stunning brutalist former Centennial Planetarium building, designed by Calgary architect Jack Long in 1967. The architecture of the building with its asymmetrical juxtaposition of the circular planetarium roof and circular ramp along with its rectangular slabs of concrete predates the work of world renowned architect Frank Gehry and his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The interior architecture alone is worth a visit.
The opening attracted 1,200 Calgarians who have been waiting for decades for a contemporary art gallery. Though not truly a public art gallery (as it won’t be the home Calgary’s public art collection), it will curate and host contemporary exhibitions and events from a variety of sources.
Current exhibitions include:
Luke Jerram, Museum of the Moon, until Mar 15, 2020
Planetary, until April 26, 2020
Exposure Photography Exhibition, until April 26, 2020
The brutalist Contemporary Calgary building is an a-mazing space.
Katie Ohe
For over 60 years, Katie Ohe has been a force in Calgary’s art community as an artist, mentor, teacher, supporter and builder. She has made a significant contribution to the development of contemporary art in the province and her innovative approaches to material, form, movement, and participation have been a meaningful influence for generationsThe Esker Foundation Gallery has mounted the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of her art to date, tracing the development of work through six decades. The exhibition includes everything from early small-scale sculptures dealing with articulations of the figure; to her break from anatomical structures into abstraction; and from her intricately engineered large-scale kinetic forms; and floor-based works concerned with the interrelationship of form, space, and movement; to a brand new series of modular sculptures.
Shown alongside this body of work is a selection of Ohe’s archives - maquettes, sketches, studies, and small work - that illuminate her ongoing research and experimentation.
The Esker Foundation Gallery is an architectural and programming hidden gem. It is a private gallery that operates like a public gallery. Bonus: Free Admission.
Ohe exhibition continues until May 3, 2020
Glenbow
The Glenbow is one of the largest museums in Canada - it is both a museum. and art gallery. It curates and hosts major local and international exhibitions. This winter/spring it has three exceptional exhibitions Vivian Maier: In Her Own Hands a huge street photography exhibition that is not to be missed. Maxwell Bates: The In Crowd an colourful exhibition of parties, restaurant outings and gallery openings by one of Western Canada’s under appreciated painters. The third exhibition is Calgary based artists Ron Moppett’s Do You Remember/Snow & Stars a huge 22-metre-long wrap-around colourful painting that celebrates the artist’s playful yet thoughtful look at everyday life. Calgary’s Trepanier Baer Gallery who represents Moppett is also hosting an exhibition of his work.
The Glenbow is hosting a major exhibition of the iconic late 20th century street photographer Vivian Maier this winter/spring.
Ron Moppett’s work at Trepanier Baer Gallery.
Storied City at Lougheed House
This exhibit imagines a fictitious 1923 dinner party in which 12 real Calgary writers (Maxwell Bates, Elaine Catley, Bob Edwards, Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, Nellie McClung, P.K. Page, Isabel Paterson, Winnifred Eaton Reeve, Laura Goodman Salverson, Robert J.C. Stead, Arthur Stringer and Flos Jewell Williams) gather at Lougheed House, a home where Calgary culture was often celebrated and fostered via parties, performances and salons hosted by James and Isabella Lougheed who built this mansion in 1891.
Exhibition continues until April 26, 2020
Link: Storied City https://lougheedhouse.com/exhibits/
Public Art Everywhere
In addition to these winter arts events, Calgary, with its 100+ downtown public artworks makes for a fun winter Art Walk or two. In the Beltline (just south of downtown), the Beltline Urban Mural Program (BUMP) has been adding new murals to the community since 2017 - the current total is 25.
Link: BUMP website
More murals can be found in the Hillhurst Sunnyside communities on the north side of the Bow River from downtown. And, in East Village, Katie Green has created 16 murals along the RiverWalk, each featuring a strange masked figure. And, Downtown West also has an ambitious mural program. You could easily spend a day walking Calgary’s City Centre searching for murals.
Not many people think of Stampede Park as an art park but with its 19 murals and sculptures documenting the history of the Stampede and ranching it could easily be deemed as such. Link: Stampede Art Walk brochure
Link: Stampede Art Walk Brochure
Check out the Calgary Downtown Association’s Downtown Art Guide which maps out the locations of 56 outdoor artworks. The list is by no means complete so keep your eyes open for other works of art along downtown streets, as well as in the +15 walkway system.
Link: Downtown Art Walk Brochure
Calgary is home to dozens of murals like this one in Downtown West.
And wait, there’s more….
The Calgary International Folk Festival is hosting its annual Block Heater winter music festival February 20 to 22 with over 30 artists at five venues. And then of course Calgary’s resident arts groups who all have performances in February – Alberta Ballet, Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre Calgary, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Calgary opera, Vertigo Lunchbox Theatre and many others.
LAST WoRD
So, instead of pinning for London, Toronto or New York this winter or in the future, be a “contrarian” and get your “art fix” in Cowtown! For out of towners, or even locals who want a “Be A Tourist In Your Own City” art experience, I recommend staying at the Hotel Arts for the complete art immersion experience.
Want to explore more? Check out these links:
FFQing Calgary’s Udderly Art Pasture!
Iconic Canadian Art Hidden in Calgary Office Lobby!
Calgary 2018: Summer of Murals