Calgary's Funky Arts District: InRaMa
While the City of Calgary is spending billions trying to revitalize the Olympic Plaza Arts District and create a new entertainment and cultural district at Stampede Park, Calgary’s creative community is continuing to invest their time, money and energy into making Inglewood, Ramsay and Manchester a thriving arts district.
Should the City be rethinking its billion dollar cookie-cutter master plans for something more unique, creative and even sleazy?
Cold Garden Beverage Company is perhaps the Calgary’s funkiest creative hangout.
The 18th Annual East Side Studio Crawl happens September 18th, 2021 from 11 am to 5 pm.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
Great art districts aren’t made up of huge institutional buildings - large museums, theaters and concert halls - but rather places with an abundance of live music, commercial galleries, artists’ studios, bookstores, cafes and today craft beer and distilleries. They are rarely created by billion-dollar master-plans, but rather by the grass roots endeavours of hundreds of artists and art entrepreneurs.
Unfortunately, Arts Commons and the Glenbow have failed create a vibrant arts district next to them. There are no commercial galleries, no bookstores, no small live music venues, no late night cafes, so artist studio, as the rents were always too high.
While plans are in place to convert empty office space into affordable housing, it would be great to see some of the space become affordable live/work space for artists.
Imagine how downtown would change if there were hundreds, perhaps 1,000+ artists living there.
Great cities always have a bohemian neighbourhood where local artists live, work and play. However, It is often at the edge of the downtown or central business district, rarely in the middle of it. Usually in old warehouse or industrial areas that are more gritty than glitzy and not yet gentrified.
In Calgary, that means Inglewood, Ramsay and Manchester, all on the southeastern edge of our City Centre - historically working class neighbourhoods, but gradually becoming more upscale. Today, these neighbourhoods house a variety of artistic and creative enterprises and are home to many artists and creative types.
Link: Wanted: Artist-Friendly Downtown Office Building Landlords
Keep Inglewood Slightly Sleazy
For decades, Inglewood’s and Ramsay’s inventory of smaller older affordable homes have made them a popular neighbourhoods for Calgary’s artists to live. Calgary poet Rosemary Griebel, for one, has lived there for over 30 years.
She recalls that “Inglewood has always had a bit of an underdog status, dating back to 1884 when the CPR switched its speculated development from Inglewood to create a new city hub west of the Elbow River (today’s downtown core). I think the gritty, grassroots spirit of this community, where the past and the present constantly intermingle, has made it attractive to artists of all kinds over the years.”
Rick Silias book sculpture.
She adds, “When we moved into the community the Dandelion Artists' Cooperative - which started in what is now the Deane House restaurant - was thriving in the nearby Alexandra Centre and was publishing established and emerging writers.
Rick Silas was making public art, like the Maytag Man, out of trees. He placed a wooden sculpture of a pile of books beside the old Central Library, and this piece of guerrilla public art remained there for many years.
Whether it was community murals or poetry in store fronts, Inglewood has always fostered arts projects that support the community in expressing their unique character.”
Griebel acknowledges that “over the past 30+ years the community has become much more gentrified. Seedy corner stores are being replaced by upscale shops and small bungalows are being replaced by ‘monster’ homes.”
Yet she believes “the spirit of a community is embedded in its history. Jack Long (architect of Centennial Planetarium), a dear friend and former neighbour, who was also a renowned architect and community activist, once said that to keep Inglewood authentic, it was important to maintain the KISS theory -- Keep Inglewood Slightly Sleazy. It is that underbelly which provides inspiration and interest to artists who continue to call Calgary's oldest community home.”
Diversity of Art Activity
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Inglewood has two venues offering live music seven days a week (Blues Can and Ironwood), plus Calgary International Folk Festival’s, Festival Hall. Recordland, is heaven for those into vinyl with its floor to ceiling (literally) records. It reputedly has the largest collection of records for sale in Canada.
Café culture is also critical to a vibrant arts district. In Inglewood, there is Gravity Café, which also offers live music. In Ramsay, there’s Rosso Coffee Roasters in the Dominion Bridge building where you will also find R&D Scene Changes where they construct everything from public art to parade floats.
Inglewood boasts several visual art venues including the Esker Foundation Gallery, Circa Vintage Art Glass, Collector’s Gallery and Viviane Art and Moonstone Gallery.
The old Trail Appliance showroom on 9th Avenue slated to become new mixed-use development in the future, is currently been converted into Inglewood Crossing offering spaces for creative enterprises. This fall, Tribal Expressions will open in the space with a jewellery store on the main level and a gallery/artisan space on the second level.
If you wander up 11th St. SE to Ramsay there is Artpoint Gallery & Studios, nvrland foundation’s studios and Burns Visual Arts Society studios that offer dozens of studio spaces for Calgary artists and creative types all within a few blocks of each other.
Jeff deBoer, one of Calgary’s most prolific artists also has his studio on 11th St., in the historic 1912 Canadian Western Natural Gas Company’s Warehouse #2 building. And the Alberta Society of Artists Gallery is located in the Crossroads Arts Centre at the Crossroads Market.
Several of Calgary’s leading contemporary commercial galleries are clustered in Manchester – Norberg Hall, Gibson Fine Art, Christine Klassen Gallery, Dean Miller Fine Arts Gallery. As well, The Alberta Print Makers Society studio and gallery is located in this neighbourhood.
Great art districts are often home to great books stores. So is the case with Inglewood, having Fair’s Fair Book’s flagship store there since 1988. It is one of my favourite places to browse and treasure hunt (as it’s full of mid-century funky artifacts).
Recently the owners of Pages in Kensington opened “the next page” in Inglewood offering new, used and remainder books in an early 20th century building. It is perhaps the most charming bookstore in Canada.
Fair’s Fair Books
More Beer Please
Early in the 20th century, Inglewood was home to the huge Calgary Malting & Brewing site along the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, today it is home to several craft breweries where Calgary’s artists love to hang out. One of them - Cold Garden - is arguably one of the most bohemian places in Calgary.
These days in North America, it is almost impossible to call yourself an arts district unless you have a several craft breweries in your ‘hood. In 2019, Inglewood, Ramsay and Manchester were branded as the “Barley Belt” because it is home to 10 brewers, three distillers and a cidery.
Last Word
A good arts district is where artists of all genres live, work and play. While Inglewood and Ramsay are gradually being gentrified, there is still lots of artistic creative energy in the ‘hood. And Manchester is still maintaining its industrial funk for now.
Hmmm….does Calgary’s arts district needs a funky moniker. Maybe InRaMa? Maybe InMaRa?
Manchester gets no love from the City of Calgary. It has perhaps the ugliest LRT station in North America. With some love and attention it could become a very cool arts neighbourhood.
If you like this blog, you might like these links:
Inglewood: One of Calgary’s Coolest Neighbourhoods