Star Crop Eared Wolf: Niitoyis, 2022-2023 | KSAHKOMIITAPIIKS (EARTH BEINGS)
Jun
21
to Jun 30
Exhibitions

Star Crop Eared Wolf: Niitoyis, 2022-2023 | KSAHKOMIITAPIIKS (EARTH BEINGS)

 

Ksahkomiitapiiks Resident 2022-2023

Star Crop Eared Wolf
Niitoyis

Artist Statement

Niitoyis is a Blackfoot word that means lodge or home and were, traditionally constructed from materials gathered from the land. Often Blackfoot lodges are painted with designs that depict stories and personal experiences by their owners.

Through the use of Blackfoot symbolism, the artist has deconstructed a painted lodge as well as brought in other aspects of Blackfoot designs in order to explore the relationship between people, and the environment. The stories and experiences reflect the interconnectivity encountered from living on the land.

The Blackfoot symbols used represent stories that emerge past, present and future together while allowing the viewer to experience the connections found between people and the land.

Ksahkomiitapiiks (Earth Beings) is an annual residency resulting in dynamic commissions that respond to our relationships with the land while introducing alternative and dynamic ways to approach land acknowledgements.

Interpreted in English as “Earth Beings,” Ksahkomiitapiiks is an inclusive term serving as both a noun and a verb; embodying who we are and what we create as guests on this earth.

Developed in consultation with an Advisory Committee of Indigenous Community Members and Elders comprised of Faye HeavyShield, Clarence Wolfleg Sr. and Adrian Stimson, we are excited to welcome Star Crop Eared Wolf as the inaugural Ksahkomiitapiiks resident and Niitoyis as the first annual commission. The work is sited at the center of the atrium, the very heart of Contemporary Calgary, itself located on the traditional lands alongside the Bow River in downtown Mohkinstsis.

Niitoyis is a Blackfoot word that means lodge or home, a structure that is traditionally built of materials gathered from the land. Often Blackfoot lodges are painted with designs that depict stories and personal experiences of their owners. Informed by Blackfoot symbolism, Niitoyis presents a deconstructed painted lodge that draws upon Blackfoot culture as a way to explore the relationship between people and the environment. Their stories and experiences signify the connectedness and shared knowledge gathered from living on the land. The Blackfoot symbols Crop Eared Wolf uses represent stories that merge past, present and future, and prompt the viewer to reflect on how the land has impacted them and cultivated meaningful bonds between diverse peoples and the land.

Star Crop Eared Wolf is a Niitsiitapi multidisciplinary artist and member of the Kainai Nation. Crop Eared Wolf graduated from The University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Native Art and Museum Studies. Her past and current media include painting, sculpture, photography, video and beading. She uses her art practices to explore themes centered around Land, culture, social and political issues impacting Indigenous peoples.

Star was mentored by Adrian Stimson, a member of Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation. He has a BFA from the Alberta University for the Arts and an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan and is an interdisciplinary artist who exhibits nationally and internationally. Adrian was awarded the Governor General Award for Visual and Media Arts in 2018 and REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award – Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2017. He was awarded the Blackfoot Visual Arts Award in 2009, the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005 and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003.

About Ksahkomiitapiiks (Earth Beings)

Ksahkomiitapiiks is an annual residency of dynamic public programs and responsive art works that interrogate and nurture our relationships with the land.

Ksahkomiitapiiks, interpreted in English as “Earth Beings,” is an inclusive term serving as both a noun and a verb; embodying who we are and what we create as guests on this earth. An invocation for a blessing whenever spoken - a call for prayer, witness and inspiration, we are Ksahkomiitapiiks. This series is an introspection on our ever-evolving languages and ordnance of how we choose to honour the land we occupy, as well as our ancestral custodians. 

Developed in consultation with an Advisory Committee of Indigenous Community Members and Elders, Faye HeavyShield, Clarence Wolfleg Sr. and Adrian Stimson. Each annual art work will be placed in the center of Contemporary Calgary’s atrium, over Helena Hadala’s original Mosaic (1979), a piece that represents the Earth with Calgary at its center. By way of a workshop with the team, we’d like to reflect on our personal and collective connections with the land.  

Each artist will be paired with an Indigenous mentor, working together to build a creative and empathetic partnership. For the first commission, installed on June 21, 2023, we invite Adrian Stimson as our mentor. Our inaugural artist will be announced on September 30, 2022.

We’d like to invite the larger Contemporary Calgary family and community, which includes visitors and members, to also reflect on the land. This reflection is dependent on a grounded understanding in the past and the future, in knowing who we are today has been informed by those who lived before us, and who will become is dependent on who we are right now. It is time to understand what it means to acknowledge the land and honour our relationships to Mother Earth and her keepers. Under the guidance and understanding of artists and elders, we will explore what it means to be Ksahkomiitapiiks.  

About the Artist

Star Crop Eared Wolf is a Niitsiitapi multidisciplinary artist and member of the Kainai Nation. Crop Eared Wolf graduated from The University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Native Art and Museum Studies. Her past and current media include painting, sculpture, photography, video and beading. She uses her art practices to explore themes centered around Land, culture, social and political issues impacting Indigenous peoples.

Star will be mentored by Adrian Stimson, a member of Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation. He has a BFA from the Alberta University for the Arts and an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan and is an interdisciplinary artist who exhibits nationally and internationally.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ELDERS 

Faye Heavyshield

Faye HeavyShield, of the Kainai (Blood) Nation, was born and raised on the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta, and is a fluent speaker of her first language, Blackfoot. 

Heavyshield studied at the Alberta College of Art in 1980 - 85 and focused her art on images of memory, environment, body and language in a minimalist sense with Land and rivers as significant influences.

HeavyShield has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Canada and the US. Her work is found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Museum, Alberta Foundation of Art, the Glenbow and in other public and private collections. HeavyShield is a recipient of the 2021 Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award and the 2021 Gershon Iskowitz Prize.

Clarence Wolfleg Miiksika’am: Warrior, Leader & Teacher

A member of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation.Elder Miiksika'am holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Mount Royal University, his exemplary leadership in Calgary, Alberta and Canada is recognized around the city. Born in 1948 in the Siksika Nation, Broken Knife, as he was called as a child, was barely seven years old when he was taken to live at the Old Sun Indian Residential school for five years. It was there he was named Clarence Wolfleg.

Miiksika'am went on to attend public school, graduating from Crescent Heights High School in Calgary in 1966. At 17 years old, like his father had done before him, he joined the military, serving in the Canadian Regular Forces with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery where he would earn three medals.  

After serving in the United Nations' peacekeeping initiatives in Cypress and NATO Forces Continental Europe missions during the Cold War,  his military service came to an end and soon after he became a  police officer with the Blackfoot Tribal Police, which he eventually headed. His other roles included directing outpatient services at Siksika Alcohol Services and serving ten terms on the Siksika Nation Council. He was also recognized with a headdress, given the name Miiksika'am, initiated into the Crazy Dog Society, and was bestowed a sacred bundle and warrior pipe from the Horn Society.

Elder Miiksika’am now speaks to younger generations about restorative justice, residential schools, and stories from his past. He is also a spiritual advisor for multiple groups and organizations and played a major role in facilitating the creation of the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park

Adrian A. Stimson

Is a member of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation. He has a BFA from the Alberta University for the Arts and an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan. Adrian is an interdisciplinary artist who exhibits nationally and internationally. His paintings are primarily monochromatic, often depicting bison in imagined landscapes. Melancholic, memorializing, and sometimes whimsical, they evoke ideas of cultural fragility, resilience and nostalgia. Stimson is renowned for his performance art, particularly his persona, Buffalo Boy, whom he embodies to consider the hybridization of the Indian, the cowboy, the shaman and Two Spirit being. His installation work predominantly examines the residential school experience; he attended three residential schools in his life and has used the material culture from Old Sun Residential School on his Nation to create works that speak to genocide, loss, and resilience. Stimson was awarded the Governor General Award for Visual and Media Arts in 2018, Reveal Indigenous Arts Award - Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2017, Blackfoot Visual Arts Award in 2009, Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005, and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003.

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Anton Ginzburg: Surface
Mar
13
to Jun 16
Exhibitions

Anton Ginzburg: Surface

 

Anton Ginzburg
Surface

March 13—June 16, 2024

Anton Ginzburg: Surface is a reflection on the use of technology as it relates to cultural labour, data aesthetics and machine learning. By employing algorithms to expand on the formal elements of art, its consumption, and transmutation, Ginzburg underlines the ever-evolving meaning of representation, data visualization and automatization in our digital age. The three bodies of work presented, deliberate on surfaces that range from the architectural to the digital screen and beyond, and are especially relevant to the growing conversations around the role and ethics of AI.

The 2D paintings in the Yerevan series, the 3D sculptural forms in Film Forms and the 4D (moving image) generated video in ML CRSH, all use algorithms to comment on the role and agency of algorithms themselves. And in so doing, they articulate the patterns and relationships that define what we now know as ‘algorithmic culture.’ What are the hierarchies and narratives that these systems perpetuate and grow, and what do they reveal about larger data networks within which they play a part?

About the Artist

Anton Ginzburg (he/him)

Anton Ginzburg is a New York-based artist whose practice combines painting, sculpture, moving image, and architectural collaborations. He is known for his films, sculptures, paintings, and two-dimensional work investigating historical narratives and poetic studies of place, representation, and modernist form. He earned a BFA from Parsons, The New School and MFA degree from Bard College, Milton Avery Graduate School of Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. In 2021, Ginzburg was a research fellow at the Schaufler Lab at the Technical University of Dresden with the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Technology, and Creative Labor. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute (NY) and Parsons School of Design (NY).

His work has been shown at the 54th and 59th Venice Biennales, the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston, Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Canada, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, White Columns in New York, Lille 3000 in Euralille, France, and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art in Singapore. His films have been screened at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR), Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Soluna), Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Les Rencontres Internationales in Paris, Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Dresden Film Festival and New York Film Festival/Projections among others.

Related Programs

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Roller Jungle
Mar
15
to May 17
Workshop, Events

Roller Jungle

 

Roller Jungle

March 15—May 17, 2024

Welcome to the Roller Jungle!

Want to Learn How to Get Down on Rollerskates? Lets FUNK Around, and find out what its ALL about! The Roller Jungle offers three unique programs based on your experience level and interests including Learn to Skate, Intro to Rollerdance, and Open Skate sessions. Visit the links below for more details and to register.

The Roller Jungle is passionate about bringing the joy and magic of Rollerskating and Rollerdancing to the BIPOC & our Allies Communities in Alberta and beyond…come get your GROOVE ON & FUNK around and find out What its ALL about!

Contemporary Calgary is a proud venue partner, for questions about the program contact the organizer Livvy Skates, via the Contact button on the Eventbrite page.

Learn to Skate

Sign up for the Learn to skate Program where you will learn skate rink etiquette, balance, and how to get Rolling and how to stop and fall (safely). This wildly Fun and progressive course will get you Up and Rolling and Roll-Dancing to some Great Music and where you will learn all about and gain an Understanding about Rollerskating and the culture  and how it ties to HipHop and Black culture.

Intro to Rollerdance

Sign up for the Intro to Rollerdance, and Learn To put wheels To Dance! Learn how to control your balance and your wheel edge as well as transitions and learn to spin!

Open Skate

Come Roll with us at our Open skate sessions and use the time to get to know us and others, work on skills learned in class, Roll around and have Fun!

ABOUT THE ORGANIZER

Olivia Walker (she/her)

Olivia Walker better Known as Livvy Skates started skating 8 years ago. She fell in love with the movement and feeling that skating can bring and bought her own skates shortly after visiting the local Rollerrink. Since that then, she has travelled and trained with Master skaters in Canada, the US and across the pond in the UK. 

She has been featured in a few commercials, been a stunt skater for Ghostbusters afterlife movie and starred in a music video for world renown Dj Armand Van Heldon called "step it up" (check it out on you tube).

She has led classes for such skate events like "Rollin in the Rockies" 2 years in a row and also has been the main instructor for the outdoor rollerrink at Deerfoot city mall here in Calgary.

With many years of experience and quite the skill level under her belt you will be sure to have a funky Good time learning from her!

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Derek Liddington: the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust
Apr
10
to Aug 25
Exhibitions

Derek Liddington: the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust

 

Derek Liddington
the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust

April 10, 2024—August 25, 2024

The trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust features a recent body of work by Derek Liddington in which the genre of landscape is the central focus. Having turned away from performance and drawing in recent years to explore the medium of painting, Liddington examines how we experience the landscape rather than how we see it. He challenges the material limitations of the canvas with strategies that seek to capture transformation and movement. By doing so, he confronts the historical canon of painting as a way to reconsider its legacy.

Liddington’s dense canvases visually translate the idea of immersion in a forest so dense, our sense of orientation is hindered. Forests are worlds formed of multiple layers, not unlike the artist’s painting process. In his compositions, there are no visual clues to prioritize important elements; the rules of perspective that usually guide our gaze are discarded in favour of emphasizing the surface. As such, the essential character of each part of the composition is emphasized, from the most imposing to the most humble. In nature, a forest’s height and depth are organized according to an invisible logic: the ground’s humus contains complex life forms that are essential to the regeneration of an ecosystem that is also built up in layers, with old growth forests literally growing on the edge of one another. It’s difficult to locate oneself spatially and temporally in this type of environment because the logic that governs it is beyond our comprehension. Imagining ourselves in the forest involves the question of scale: the body and the temporality of human life become standards of measurement that allow us to put this world into perspective in order to better understand it and our relationship to it.  But perspective—something these paintings don’t rely on in a traditional way—requires stepping back to visually embrace the scene as a whole and capture its spirit. The experience of a forest hampers this reflex, or at least complicates it by reminding us that we live in an all-encompassing and interconnected world in which self-abstraction is impossible, other than to delude ourselves.

As a representation, the forest translates a relationship to the world that is the opposite of gazing out from the shoreline to the infinite horizon of the sea. Although the sight of such vastness might feel vertiginous, a certain sense of authority comes from having one’s feet firmly planted on the ground. But at the heart of a forest, reference points become blurred, perceptions are confused, fears are awakened. What’s that shape over there? Is it an animal or just the shadow from the canopy of trees? And is that a foot I see between the leaves, or just the outline of hills in the distance? Liddington plays with these illusions by revealing the artifice behind his paintings’ construction, the way they assert their flatness and bring us back to their material nature. By imagining ourselves outside of the forest, separate from the ecosystem that supports us, we adopt the viewpoint of someone who asserts their independence at a remove from their surroundings. It means that we avoid questioning the logic of extraction that has guided us until now and that has caused environmental consequences we’ve only just begun to understand. By systematically bringing us back to the surface, to what is closest to us, under our nose, Liddington shows that proximity isn’t always synonymous with clarity; it can often lead to disintegration and abstraction. Perhaps this is a comment on our current times, where decisions are often seemingly made with only short-term effects in mind because considering the bigger picture is so complex that it feels paralyzing. 

The trees weep. The bodies rust. The mountain, still, seems imperturbable. And yet, what is this camouflaged giant if not a sign of imminent danger, of the insatiable appetite of the capitalist system we have created? Like a fable, this exhibition weaves a narrative whose uncertain outcome hints at the chaos of moral disorder. We’ve been warned. 

Text by Anne-Marie St-Jean-Aubre

Produced and circulated by the Musée d'art de Joliette

About the Artist

Derek Liddington (he/him)

Born in 1981 in Mississauga, Ontario. Lives and works in Toronto, Ontario

Liddington acknowledges his relationship to the land as shaped by his settler ancestry as a third-generation Canadian.

After obtaining his BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he focused on video and performance, Liddington completed an MFA at Western University in 2007. Liddington’s work holds a continuous interest in cultural memory and its iterations through abstraction, representation and modernist forms of visual language.

Liddington’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including performances in Athens, Greece and Onagawa, Japan, and select presentations in Toronto (AGO), Madrid (ARCO), Berlin (Art Berlin Contemporary), and New York (Frieze Art Fair, NADA). Liddington has had solo exhibitions at Cambridge Galleries (Ontario, Canada), SAAG (Lethbridge, Alberta), AKA Artist Run Center (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), AGYU (Ontario, Canada), Musée d'art de Joliette (Joliette, Quebec) and Richmond Art Gallery (Richmond, British Columbia). Liddington has had multiple publications on his work, including “the body will always bend before it breaks, the tower will always break before it bends” jointly produced by the SAAG and AGYU and “A Love Story” produced in by Cambridge Galleries for the exhibition “Every moment can be traced back to the first time the sun touched my face”.

A central part of Liddington’s practice is his use of residencies as a means of developing ideas of space and place. These have included residencies at the AGYU (Toronto, ON), AKA artist-run (Saskatoon, SK), Onagawa AIR (Japan) and most recently the Glenfiddich Artist in Residency program. Liddington has been the recipient of numerous public and foundation grants, including support from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts as well as being a finalist for the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts. Liddington currently practices in Toronto, ON. Liddington’s work is represented by: Daniel Faria Gallery (Toronto)

He would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council as well as the Toronto Arts Council

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Winnie Truong: Curious Nature
Apr
10
to Aug 25
Exhibitions

Winnie Truong: Curious Nature

 

Winnie Truong
Curious Nature

April 10, 2024—August 25, 2024

Curious Nature expands on the intersectionality of the feminine form within landscapes, both real and imagined. The exhibition features Truong’s characteristic dioramas alongside new sculptural forms, stop motion animations and a site-specific ephemeral wall installation.

Taking place on simultaneously fertile and treacherous grounds, the works explore harmony, conflict, and play between a figure and its environment, as well as the tension that arises when the natural world traverses the supernatural. Intertwining these two realities opens up opportunity for transgression and for the creation of new realms from which we can consider a subversion of the idea of a natural order and its narrow perceptions of women’s bodies and identities. Evolving the medium of drawing beyond the conventional static image, and teasing the limits of scale are Truong’s ongoing explorations in ephemera and animation. In the manner of pressed flower collections, her wall installations are composed of individual elements of cut paper pinned delicately along a vast space, allowing viewers to explore an uncanny codex of figures, botanicals and creatures. The same hand-drawn floral and figurative collages are laboriously moved frame-by-frame to produce looping meditative large-scale projections. Both these topographies of expanded practice venture beyond the container of the frame and respond to their setting while championing new ways of physically engaging with drawing-based work unfettered by space and time for a fully immersive viewing experience.

Truong’s work provides the imaginary viewpoint of a feminist natural historian from another realm, one who undertakes their labour with great detail and care to depict the part-flora, part-creature figures by observing them in their natural environments devoid of the male presence or familiar social or biological guidelines. As these unashamed subjects shun the viewer’s gaze; they are given their own notions of agency, beauty, sensuality and purpose. These figures are seen contorted, frolicking, consuming, nurturing, conquering, and entangled in environments where you are unsure where limb ends and leaf begins.

About the Artist

Winnie Truong (she/her)

Winnie Truong is a Toronto artist working with drawing and collage to explore ideas of identity, feminism, and fantasy along with a digital art and animation practice that includes public art and community engagement. She has exhibited across Canada, the US and Europe with solo presentations at Volta New York Art Fair, Pulse Miami Art Fair and Art Toronto. Truong is a 2017 recipient of the Chalmers Arts Fellowship and. Her work can be found in private collections, The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas, Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto, Bank of Denmark, EQ Bank, Scotiabank Fine Art Collection, RBC Art Collection and TD Bank Corporate Art Collection.

Exhibition Benefactor

Sharon Martens

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Contemporary Kids: Exploring Native Plants Presentation & Workshop with Star Crop Eared Wolf
Apr
28
1:00 PM13:00
Contemporary Kids, Events

Contemporary Kids: Exploring Native Plants Presentation & Workshop with Star Crop Eared Wolf

 

Contemporary Kids
Exploring Native Plants Presentation & Workshop with Star Crop Eared Wolf

April 28
1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM

For children ages 5-12.

Join us for a presentation and native plants workshop with Niitsiitapi multidisciplinary artist and member of the Kainai Nation, Star Crop Eared Wolf. The workshop includes a tour of Star’s exhibition Niitoyis, the culmination of a year-long research as Ksahkomiitapiiks resident artist from 2022-23, an annual residency featuring dynamic public programs and responsive artworks that interrogate and nurture our relationships with the land. Drawing from her current research, Star will share insights from her native plant collection and captivating stories while providing guidance to enhance participants' understanding of native plants.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities.

For children ages 5-12. Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child.Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

*In case you are unable to attend, kindly inform us by emailing education@contemporarycalgary.com at least 48 hours in advance so someone else can attend.

The same workshop is offered in two sessions for your convenience. Choose only one session that suits your schedule best.

Sunday, April 28
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, April 28
3:00-4:30 PM

About the artist

Star Crop Eared Wolf (she/her)

Star Crop Eared Wolf is a Niitsiitapi multidisciplinary artist and member of the Kainai Nation. She graduated from The University of Lethbridge with a BFA in Native Art and Museum Studies. Working across painting, sculpture, photography, video, and beading, her practice explores themes centred around land, culture, and ongoing sociopolitical issues impacting Indigenous peoples.

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

Supported by

 

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Perspective Film Series: The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Apr
28
5:30 PM17:30
Film, Events

Perspective Film Series: The Battle of Algiers (1966)

 

Perspective Film Series:

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

April 28 | 5:30 PM

1966 | Italy / Algeria | 120 mins

Gillo Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers (1966) documents the Algerian revolt against the French in 1954-1962 and the armed insurgency against the French colonial powers in Algiers. 

The film follows Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, who is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There, he faces Ali la Pointe (Brahim Haggiag), who, as the leader of the Front de Libération Nationale (National Liberation Front), directs strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents.

The screening will be followed by a moderated conversation and Q&A with Matthew Croombs, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Film at the University of Calgary.

Disclaimer: This film contains difficult subject matter and imagery, including depictions of violence and torture, which may be triggering for some viewers.

FREE for Members. Non-members: $10—your ticket to this screening includes admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM for viewing prior to attending the program.

The 2024 edition of Perspective is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary. The series will feature monthly screenings that amplify voices from the Global South, deconstructing broader moving-image practices through an anti-colonial framework. In particular, this year's Perspective will focus on filmic works from the Caucasus, as well as Southwest Asia and North Africa, a region that continues to grapple with the enduring legacies of colonial violence.

Sunday, April 28

Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM

Q&A to follow.

Non-members: $10 / FREE for members.

This film is Arabic and French with English subtitles.

About the Moderator:
Matthew Croombs (He/Him)

Matthew Croombs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Film at the University of Calgary. His work focuses on the intersection between documentary film, political modernism, and anti-colonialism, and has been published in Discourse, Cinema Journal, Third Text, The Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and Screen. At the moment, he is completing a manuscript entitled: Cinema Against State Terror: Documentary Aesthetics and the Algerian War.

About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi (she/her)

Muriel N. Kahwagi is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.

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LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction—Exhibition Opening x FREE First Thursdays
May
2
5:00 PM17:00
Events

LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction—Exhibition Opening x FREE First Thursdays

 

Exhibition Opening
LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction

x FREE First Thursdays

Thursday, May 2
5-9 PM

We invite you to join us on Thursday, May 2 from 5-9 PM for the Exhibition Opening of LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction, presented in collaboration with FREE First Thursdays. Explore an exceptional showcase featuring works generously donated by some of the nation's foremost artists for our annual live and silent art auctions. Spanning painting, sculpture, and photography, the exhibition offers a diverse array of pieces covering decades of artistic practice.

The auction will be on display at the gallery from May 2-25, 2024, providing the community with the opportunity to view these remarkable works and place advance bids on auction items ahead of LOOK: The Dada Ball on May 25.

LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction is graciously sponsored by Heather Edwards, and supported by Contemporary Calgary's Senior Curator, Kanika Anand, as Auction Curator. We extend our sincere appreciation to the artists, gallerists, sponsors, committee members, donors, and collectors whose unwavering support underscores the importance of the arts, culture, and philanthropy. All proceeds from LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction directly support public programming and exhibitions at Contemporary Calgary.

Admission to LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction Exhibition Opening x FREE First Thursdays is complimentary from 5 - 9 PM. We're also featuring curated beats by BABYGIRL, an art installation by Bryan Faubert, and thoughtfully crafted beverages by Sugar Water Bar, along with our latest exhibitions, Curious Nature by Winnie Truong, the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust by Derek Liddington, and Surface by Anton Ginzburg.

LOOK: The Dada Ball After Party tickets go on sale May 2—Purchase your After Party tickets in-person during FREE First Thursdays on May 2 between 5-9 PM and score a BOGO deal—buy one ticket, get one free! Offer valid for one night only!

FREE with registration. This is an all-ages event.

LOOK: The Dada Ball Sponsors

Art Auction Sponsor

Heather Edwards

Art Auction Chair

Kanika Anand

Auctioneer

Stephen Ranger

LOOK 2024 Committee

Contemporary Calgary’s LOOK 2024 committee is made up of a diverse group of individuals, all of whom have one thing in common: their support of arts and culture. Contemporary Calgary and their commitment to making LOOK 2024 the gala of the year. Thank you to all of our committee members for your ideas, your time, your energy, and your enthusiasm.

Honorary Chairs

Morris & Ann Dancyger
Marcel Dzama
Faye HeavyShield

LOOK 2024 Chair

Kelly Streit

Vice Chairs

Kim Berjian
Elizabeth Middleton

Steering Comittee

Bruce Kuwabara OC, Chloe Streit, Ellen Parker, Elizabeth Middleton, Ernest Hon, Jade Davis, Kelly Streit, Kim Berjian, Lauretta Enders, M. Carol Ryder, Matthew Grieve, Michael Meneghetti, Michelle Lazo, Raechelle Paperny PHD, Samara Felesky-Hunt, Tara Cowles, Usman Jutt, Walker McKinley & Jeannie McKinley

Auction Committee

Alexandra Burroughs, Chethan Lakshman & Heather Dunn, Glenda Hess, Heather Edwards, Margaret-Jean Mannix, Michael Simmonds, Steven Wilson, Todd Towers, Tony Hailu

Artists

Vikky Alexander, Dick Averns, Ronald Bloore, Nancy Boyd, Kevin Boyle, Billie Rae Busby, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Nathan Eugene Carson, Michael Corner, Douglas Coupland, Chris Cran, DaveandJenn, Kim Dorland, Amy Dryer, Megan Dyck, Marcel Dzama, Ben Eine, Joe Fafard, Rhys Douglas Farrell, Chris Flodberg, Anton Ginzburg, Joann Godenir, Ted Godwin, Mikel Greco, Angela Grossmann, Julya Hajnovczky, Maggie Hall, Tia Halliday, Greg Hardy, Bradley Harms, Marcia Harris, Aron Hill, Mark Holliday, Jennifer Hornyak, Neshka Krusche, Bryce Krynski, Paul Kuhn, William Kurelek, Marie Lannoo, Derek Liddington, Zachari Logan, Robert Marchessault, Sondra Meszaros, Amy Modahl, Mark Mullin, Yvonne Mullock, Erik Olson, Walter J. Phillips, Darija S. Radakovic, Anthony Redpath, Nick Rooney, Sylvia Safdie, Carol Sawyer, Aaron Sidorenko, Michael Smith, Lucy Sparrow, David Thauberger, Diana Thorneycroft, Todd Towers, Winnie Truong, Carl White, John Will

FREE First Thursday Partners

Photo by: Annabeth Trondsen

BABYGIRL

We are thrilled to announce a FREE First Thursday residency with Babygirl kicking off on May 2nd! Babygirl will be showcasing her talent and passion for music from May through August. 

BABYGIRL (Katie Lavoie) has been a name on dance floors for over a decade. Spending the last 10 years between Toronto and NYC, she has recently moved back to her hometown of Calgary, AB and has continued to bring a passion for nightlife, and deep music knowledge with her. A genre-fluid DJ spanning house, boogie, techno, jungle and breakbeat, nothing is off limits. 

From years of working behind the counter in record stores to digging herself, she holds a love letter for jazz, punk, and generally anything groovy and weird. 

Babygirl has been a regular on The Lot Radio (BK), ISO Radio (TO) and is a resident of Toronto’s rave series Pep Rally. She is also an integral educator with Chippy Nonstop’s Intersession DJ workshops and ran a monthly series at The Black Eagle. 

Back in Calgary, she has been a guest for the party series Ambien, Pleasure Principle, Cutting Shapes and a resident at Sweet Loretta. 

 

Sugar Water Bar

Kyo-Jean Chung started Sugar Water in 2015 as a way of exploring his love for finely crafted cocktails. He has a curiosity for powerful elixirs that percolate ideas and bring people to common ground. His knack for befriending talented people in all realms of culinary arts, mixology, and event planning helps him cultivate fresh ideas and inspired service. He has managed to find the perfect balance between friendliness, professionalism, and lightness throughout his life as an entrepreneur.

 
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LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction Exhibition
May
2
to May 25
Exhibitions

LOOK: The Dada Ball Art Auction Exhibition

 

LOOK2024 Art Auction

May 2–25, 2024

Contemporary Calgary is pleased to present LOOK2024, an exhibition featuring the work of many of Canada’s most significant artistic talents available for auction this year. This exhibition is built upon the extraordinary generosity of our friends and supporters who have contributed to the growing success of our contemporary art community here in Calgary and indeed much further afield.

The LOOK Gala began in 2014 as an art auction and fundraiser to support the establishment of Contemporary Calgary and to help realize a new vision for the Centennial Planetarium as a centre for art in Canada. LOOK is recognised as one of the most anticipated events, one that reflects not only the breadth and diversity of artistic practices but also the beauty and strength inherent in the artistic experience. For this milestone tenth year, the LOOK Gala titled The Dada Ball embodies the spirit of renewal and resilience in times of disillusionment and increasing polarity.

Center stage at the LOOK Gala is our live and silent auction featuring the work seen in this exhibition. When you support the Contemporary Calgary auction you are supporting the artists directly as well as Contemporary Calgary’s expansive exhibitions and public programs.

We would like to thank the artists and gallerists who have graciously supported the art auction again this year, for their vision and leadership. We are also grateful to the collectors in the community for supporting the LOOK auction in the spirit of philanthropy as they help shape the future of contemporary art in our city.

Art Auction Sponsor

Heather Edwards

Art Auction Chair

Kanika Anand

Auctioneer

Stephen Ranger

LOOK 2024 Committee

Contemporary Calgary’s LOOK 2024 committee is made up of a diverse group of individuals, all of whom have one thing in common: their support of arts and culture. Contemporary Calgary and their commitment to making LOOK 2024 the gala of the year. Thank you to all of our committee members for your ideas, your time, your energy, and your enthusiasm.

Honorary Chairs

Morris & Ann Dancyger
Marcel Dzama
Faye HeavyShield

LOOK 2024 Chair

Kelly Streit

Vice Chairs

Kim Berjian
Elizabeth Middleton

Steering Comittee

Bruce Kuwabara OC, Chloe Streit, Ellen Parker, Elizabeth Middleton, Ernest Hon, Jade Davis, Kelly Streit, Kim Berjian, Lauretta Enders, M. Carol Ryder, Matthew Grieve, Michael Meneghetti, Michelle Lazo, Raechelle Paperny PHD, Samara Felesky-Hunt, Tara Cowles, Usman Jutt, Walker McKinley & Jeannie McKinley

Auction Committee

Alexandra Burroughs, Chethan Lakshman & Heather Dunn, Glenda Hess, Heather Edwards, Margaret-Jean Mannix, Michael Simmonds, Steven Wilson, Todd Towers, Tony Hailu

Artists

Vikky Alexander, Dick Averns, Ronald Bloore, Nancy Boyd, Kevin Boyle, Billie Rae Busby, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Nathan Eugene Carson, Michael Corner, Douglas Coupland, Chris Cran, DaveandJenn, Kim Dorland, Amy Dryer, Megan Dyck, Marcel Dzama, Ben Eine, Joe Fafard, Rhys Douglas Farrell, Chris Flodberg, Anton Ginzburg, Joann Godenir, Ted Godwin, Mikel Greco, Angela Grossmann, Julya Hajnovczky, Maggie Hall, Tia Halliday, Greg Hardy, Bradley Harms, Marcia Harris, Aron Hill, Mark Holliday, Jennifer Hornyak, Neshka Krusche, Bryce Krynski, Paul Kuhn, William Kurelek, Marie Lannoo, Derek Liddington, Zachari Logan, Robert Marchessault, Sondra Meszaros, Amy Modahl, Mark Mullin, Yvonne Mullock, Erik Olson, Walter J. Phillips, Darija S. Radakovic, Anthony Redpath, Nick Rooney, Sylvia Safdie, Carol Sawyer, Aaron Sidorenko, Michael Smith, Lucy Sparrow, David Thauberger, Diana Thorneycroft, Todd Towers, Winnie Truong, Carl White, John Will

 
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May | Open Studio for 55+
May
3
to May 17
Workshop, Events

May | Open Studio for 55+

 

Open Studio for 55+

May 2024
Fridays | 1:00-4:00 PM | Workshop

Join Contemporary Calgary at our Open Studio for 55+ on Fridays in May.

Participants are invited to bring projects they are currently engaged in, or ideas and materials for projects they’d like to start. This collaborative space offers registrants the opportunity to work with the support of peers and a facilitator with a background in visual art.

This program is in partnership with Kerby and the Centre of Lifelong Learning.

For adults age 55+
FREE with registration.

Open Studio for 55+

May 2024
Fridays, 1:00-4:00 PM

Location: Workshop

FREE with registration.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

May 3: Open Studio Session

May 10: Open Studio Session

May 17: Open Studio Session

May 24: NO Session

May 30: NO Session


*If you have questions about this workshop please reach out to TD Educational Coordinator Yilu Xing at yilu@contemporarycalgary.com

Supported by

 
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Contemporary Kids: Forest, Creature and Fairytale
May
5
to May 12
Contemporary Kids, Events

Contemporary Kids: Forest, Creature and Fairytale

 

Contemporary Kids
Forest, Creature and Fairytale

May 5+12
1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM

For children ages 5-12.

Join us for Planting and Clay Sculpting Workshop inspired by Derek Liddington’s exhibition the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust.

Inspired by the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust by Derek Liddington, this workshop invites kids to dive into the fairytale forest envisioned by Liddington and unleash creativity through hands-on activities with clay sculpting and planting. This workshop offers a wonderful opportunity to explore diverse perspectives, feelings, and relationships between the forest and ourselves.

*This workshop involves hands-on activities with plant seeds and potting soil.  If your child has any sensitivities to these materials, we recommend bringing gloves to ensure their comfort during the activities.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities.

For children ages 5-12. Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child.Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

*In case you are unable to attend, kindly inform us by emailing education@contemporarycalgary.com at least 48 hours in advance so someone else can attend.

The same workshop is offered in four sessions for your convenience: two sessions on Sunday, May 5 and two sessions on Sunday, May 12. Choose one session that suits your schedule best.

Sunday, May 5
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, May 5
3:00-4:30 PM

Sunday, May 12
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, May 12
3:00-4:30 PM

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

Supported by

 

Supported by

 
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From HAL 9000 to ChatGPT: The lives and failures of AI systems
May
8
5:30 PM17:30
Film, Events

From HAL 9000 to ChatGPT: The lives and failures of AI systems

 

From HAL 9000 to ChatGPT: The lives and failures of AI systems

A conversation with Kathryn Blair and Bryan Cera, moderated by Muriel N. Kahwagi

May 8
5:30 PM | Auditorium

What are some of the considerations that emerge from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in art? What are the broader cultural and societal implications of AI-generated art, including its influence on public perceptions of AI, and the role of emergent technologies in society?

Join us on Wednesday 8 May, 5 PM for an informal conversation on the place that AI occupies in our lives, and its implications across different sectors and forms of labor, from cultural and academic institutions to medical organizations and financial institutions.

Drawing on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey’s (1968) fictional AI character, HAL 9000, the panel will reflect on the reach and abilities – both real and imagined – of AI systems, asking us to (re)consider just how intelligent artificial intelligence is.

This conversation is programmed in conjunction with Anton Ginzburg: Surface, on view in the Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery until June 16, 2024.

Wednesday, May 8

Doors: 5:00 PM
Talk begins: 5:30 PM

Location: Auditorium

FREE with registration.

About the speakers


Kathryn Blair is a PhD candidate in the Computational Media Design program at the University of Calgary. Her work provides contexts in which people can explore the way our societies use algorithmic decision-making through participatory art experiences. She also creates wearable art exploring the relationship between the body and technology using biosensors that control light, sound, and motion. She has participated in the Calgary-based tech fashion show Make Fashion from 2013-2019, and has shown her work in Alberta, British Columbia, China, the US, and Ireland.

Bryan Cera is an artist, designer, and maker from Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose practice explores the intimate and often dysfunctional relationships between humans and their technologies. His studio explorations investigate information and data’s reciprocal relationships to matter and ideas, traversing interactive video installation, wearable electronics, kinetics and robotics, and experimental platforms for digital fabrication. He has contributed to international exhibitions in Australia, Canada, China, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the United States. Cera holds a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Arts, as well as Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Art and Technology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 2016, he founded the Thing Tank – a digital fabrication laboratory dedicated to exploring the integration of emerging technologies into more “traditional” craft and fine arts practices. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Object Making and Emergent Technologies at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, Alberta.

Supported by

 
 
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Perspective Film Series: Beirut the Encounter (1981)
May
12
5:30 PM17:30
Film, Events

Perspective Film Series: Beirut the Encounter (1981)

 

Perspective Film Series:

Beirut the Encounter (1981), dir. Borhane Alaouié

May 12 | 5:30 PM

1981 | Lebanon / Tunisia / Belgium | 101 mins

Beirut, 1977, two years into the Lebanese Civil War.

Zeina (Nadine Acoury) and Haidar (Haitham El Amine) are former university friends who lost touch as Beirut was broken into two halves during the war. When telephone communication is restored between the East and West sides of the city, they attempt to see one another one last time before Zeina moves to the US. The promise of an encounter transforms into poignant confessions to an absent other, with each side of the city trying, in vain, to be heard by the other.

Beirut the Encounter (1981) was restored in 2018 from the original negative by the Royal Film Archive of Belgium – CINEMATEK. The 35mm negative was scanned and digitally restored in 2K. The magnetic soundtrack was also digitized by the Royal Film Archive of Belgium – CINEMATEK.

Selected as part of the Berlinale's official competition in 1982, the film in its restored version screened 40 years later at the 52nd Berlinale Forum.

This screening marks the Canadian premiere of the restored 2K version of the film.

Sunday, May 12

Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM

FREE for members. Non-members: $10—your ticket to this screening includes admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM for viewing prior to attending the program.

This film is Arabic with English subtitles.

The 2024 edition of Perspective is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary. The series will feature monthly screenings that amplify voices from the Global South, deconstructing broader moving-image practices through an anti-colonial framework. In particular, this year's Perspective will focus on filmic works from the Caucasus, as well as Southwest Asia and North Africa, a region that continues to grapple with the enduring legacies of colonial violence.

About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi (she/her)

Muriel N. Kahwagi is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.

Supported by

 
 
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LOOK: THE DADA BALL
May
25
5:00 PM17:00
Events

LOOK: THE DADA BALL

 

LOOK: THE DADA BALL

MAY 25, 2024

Join us at The Dada Ball on May 25, 2024. An avant-garde evening where the art meets the unexpected. Proudly presented by Rogers.

You think you’re going to another gala? Think again. Embark on a unique experience like no other as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of LOOK with The Dada Ball. Born in 2014, LOOK has evolved from a visionary concept into a vibrant reality, supporting Calgary's modern and contemporary art scene. 

Inspired by the Dada art movement, the night will be a mind-stretching pastiche of captivating entertainment, fashion, art experiences and one of the most coveted art auctions in the country. Join us for an unforgettable night where palpable energy and community spirit converge to make a lasting impact on Contemporary Calgary's programs and exhibitions.

The LOOK 2024 theme embodies innovation and creativity, drawing inspiration from both Contemporary Calgary and the Dada art movement. While we embrace the avant-garde, expect the unexpected and prepare to be surprised. Join us for a night of unparalleled creativity, celebration, and support for the thriving art community in Calgary. Welcome to The Dada Ball.

Every gala ticket includes a complimentary 1-year membership to Contemporary Calgary. This is an 18+ event.

LOOK 2024 Committee

Contemporary Calgary’s LOOK 2024 committee is made up of a diverse group of individuals, all of whom have one thing in common: their support of arts and culture. Contemporary Calgary and their commitment to making LOOK 2024 the gala of the year. Thank you to all of our committee members for your ideas, your time, your energy, and your enthusiasm.

Honorary Chairs

Morris & Ann Dancyger
Marcel Dzama
Faye HeavyShield

LOOK 2024 Chair

Kelly Streit

Vice Chairs

Kim Berjian
Elizabeth Middleton

Steering Comittee

Bruce Kuwabara OC, Chloe Streit, Ellen Parker, Elizabeth Middleton, Ernest Hon, Jade Davis, Kelly Streit, Kim Berjian, Lauretta Enders, M. Carol Ryder, Matthew Grieve, Michael Meneghetti, Michelle Lazo, Raechelle Paperny PHD, Samara Felesky-Hunt, Tara Cowles, Usman Jutt, Walker McKinley & Jeannie McKinley

Auction Committee

Alexandra Burroughs, Chethan Lakshman & Heather Dunn, Glenda Hess, Heather Edwards, Margaret-Jean Mannix, Michael Simmonds, Steven Wilson, Todd Towers, Tony Hailu

Art Auction Chair

Kanika Anand

Auctioneer

Stephen Ranger

Artists

Vikky Alexander, Dick Averns, Ronald Bloore, Nancy Boyd, Kevin Boyle, Billie Rae Busby, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Nathan Eugene Carson, Michael Corner, Douglas Coupland, Chris Cran, DaveandJenn, Kim Dorland, Amy Dryer, Megan Dyck, Marcel Dzama, Ben Eine, Joe Fafard, Rhys Douglas Farrell, Chris Flodberg, Anton Ginzburg, Joann Godenir, Ted Godwin, Mikel Greco, Angela Grossmann, Julya Hajnovczky, Maggie Hall, Tia Halliday, Greg Hardy, Bradley Harms, Marcia Harris, Aron Hill, Mark Holliday, Jennifer Hornyak, Neshka Krusche, Bryce Krynski, Paul Kuhn, William Kurelek, Marie Lannoo, Derek Liddington, Zachari Logan, Robert Marchessault, Sondra Meszaros, Amy Modahl, Mark Mullin, Yvonne Mullock, Erik Olson, Walter J. Phillips, Darija S. Radakovic, Anthony Redpath, Nick Rooney, Sylvia Safdie, Carol Sawyer, Aaron Sidorenko, Michael Smith, Lucy Sparrow, David Thauberger, Diana Thorneycroft, Todd Towers, Winnie Truong, Carl White, John Will

Supporters

 
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Market Collective | MC Sweet 16
Jun
7
to Jun 16
Events

Market Collective | MC Sweet 16

 

Market Collective

June 7-9 + 14-16

Friday 5 PM-9 PM • Saturday 10 AM-6 PM • Sunday 10 AM-4 PM

Market Collective exists to showcase the works of artists, artisans, designers, and musicians and to strengthen the community of Calgary. We strive to provide a successful platform for local creatives and to host events and initiatives that are inclusive, multi-generational, warm and engaging. Our events are accessible to all. We are celebrating our 16th birthday this year and are proud to say that we have always stayed true to our passion - fostering connection through the arts. We are thrilled to partner with Contemporary Calgary to host the MC Sweet 16, an organization that shares in our mission to enrich the lives of Calgarians through arts and culture. 

Contemporary Calgary, 701-11 St SW, Calgary. AB
Friday 5pm-9pm • Saturday 10am-6pm • Sunday 10am-4pm
$7 for the weekend (market only) • Kids 12 and under free 
#marketcollective 

Supported by

 
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Perspective Film Series: The body remembers when the world broke open (2019)
Jun
30
5:30 PM17:30
Film, Events

Perspective Film Series: The body remembers when the world broke open (2019)

 

Perspective Film Series:

The body remembers when the world broke open (2019), dir. Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Maija Tailfeathers

June 30 | 5:30 PM

2019 | Canada| 105 mins

Taking its title from an essay by Billy-Ray Belcourt, The body remembers when the world broke open (2019) follows two Indigenous women from different backgrounds as their worlds collide on a Vancouver sidewalk.

Áila (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) stumbles upon a pregnant young woman, Rosie (Violet Nelson), and soon discovers that she has just escaped an assault by her abusive boyfriend. Áila brings Rosie into her home and, over the course of the evening, the two women navigate the after-effects of this traumatic event.

Mostly shot as a single, continuous long take, The body remembers when the world broke open reflects on the ways in which political violence is inscribed onto the body; and on the visceral nature of the personal and collective memory of those who came before us.

Sunday, June 30

Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM

FREE for members. Non-members: $10—your ticket to this screening includes admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM for viewing prior to attending the program.

The 2024 edition of Perspective is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary. The series will feature monthly screenings that amplify voices from the Global South, deconstructing broader moving-image practices through an anti-colonial framework. In particular, this year's Perspective will focus on filmic works from the Caucasus, as well as Southwest Asia and North Africa, a region that continues to grapple with the enduring legacies of colonial violence.

About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi (she/her)

Muriel N. Kahwagi is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.

Supported by

 
 
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Holt Renfrew Presents: A Shopping Experience Where Fashion and Art Unite in Support of Contemporary Calgary
Apr
25
10:00 AM10:00
Events

Holt Renfrew Presents: A Shopping Experience Where Fashion and Art Unite in Support of Contemporary Calgary

 

Holt Renfrew Presents: A Shopping Experience Where Fashion and Art Unite in Support of Contemporary Calgary

April 25

Step into the intersection of fashion and art at Holt Renfrew, in support of Contemporary Calgary's annual fundraiser, LOOK: The Dada Ball—an avant-garde evening where the art meets the unexpected, proudly presented by Rogers. On April 25th, patrons can shop at Holt Renfrew during regular store hours, knowing that 10% of their purchases will directly benefit Contemporary Calgary.

Immerse yourself in a Fashion + Art Activation during the lunch hour from 12-1:30 PM. Later, join us for a special Cocktail Celebration from 5-7 PM, where models will showcase the fusion of fashion and art, complemented by captivating artworks from our LOOK Live & Silent Auction. Savour artisanal cocktails, mingle with fellow art and fashion enthusiasts and soak in the vibrant energy of the afternoon and evening.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to shop for a cause! Join us in fostering meaningful conversations, exploring new ideas, and embracing the transformative power of art.

Location: Holt Renfrew, 510 8 Ave SW

Itinerary:

  • Shopping for a Cause: 10 AM-7 PM

  • Fashion + Art Activation: 12-1:30 PM

  • Cocktail Celebration: 5-7 PM 

No registration is required.

Supporters

 
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SOLD OUT—Archiving the living: A workshop on native plants
Apr
21
2:00 PM14:00
Events

SOLD OUT—Archiving the living: A workshop on native plants

 

SOLD OUT

Archiving the living: A workshop on native plants

April 21
2:00-3:30 PM

How have native plants been used and protected across Blackfoot history and territory? How is this knowledge being preserved? In what ways has settler colonialism impacted food systems for Indigenous peoples? How are foraging practices, and the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge around native plants more generally, an act of resistance/resilience and (self-)preservation?

In this workshop led by Niitsiitapi artist Star Crop Eared Wolf, Star will draw on her current research on native plants in Blackfoot territory, sharing insights into her own plant collection, and the ways in which her connection to the land has influenced her practice. The workshop will reflect on the role of oral history in preserving historical knowledge around these plants, and the ways in which this knowledge is practiced, transmitted, and sustained.

The workshop will be preceded by a tour of Star’s exhibition Niitoyis, the culmination of a year-long research that she conducted as the 2022-2023 Ksahkomiitapiiks resident artist. Ksahkomiitapiiks is an annual residency featuring dynamic public programs and responsive artworks that interrogate and nurture our relationships with the land.

About the artist

Star Crop Eared Wolf (she/her)

Star Crop Eared Wolf is a Niitsiitapi multidisciplinary artist and member of the Kainai Nation. She graduated from The University of Lethbridge with a BFA in Native Art and Museum Studies. Working across painting, sculpture, photography, video, and beading, her practice explores themes centred around land, culture, and ongoing sociopolitical issues impacting Indigenous peoples.

Supporters

 
 
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Let’s Talk About… Home
Apr
11
6:00 PM18:00
Workshop, Events

Let’s Talk About… Home

 

Let’s Talk About… Home

April 11

6-10 PM | Auditorium + Atrium

The current housing crisis has been decades in the making. Housing is about more than mere shelter; it is a deeply personal and highly political reflection of what (and who) we value. Governments, scholars, professionals, and citizens continually try to shape cities into their own visions of 'home.' Many of these visions exclude Indigenous peoples, poor, racialized, and other marginalized communities. The consequences and systemic inequities of these housing policies are still being lived today, and exacerbated by the convergence of other crises: affordability, health care, climate change, and social and political polarization.

On April 11, join our panellists as they discuss the need for housing as part of a healthy and equitable society, and explore ideas to tackle these challenges alongside communities and governments.

Panellists

Speaker: Ryan Hall - Ecottrust / Siksika Nation Housing

Speaker: Dustin Couzens - Principal MODA Architecture

Speaker: Dr. Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike - Writer & Poet

Speakers: Cruz Garcia and Nathalie Frankowski - WAI Architecture Think Tank

Moderator: Alicia Ta

Let’s Talk About… Home

Thursday, April 11, 2024
6-10 PM
Location: Auditorium + Atrium

FREE with registration.

Let’s Talk About… Home

April 4-18, 2024

Atrium at Contemporary Calgary

What does home mean to you? Is it a place you dwell, a cherished emotion, a loved one, or a treasured keepsake? Engage in our immersive art installation at the Atrium Space at Contemporary Calgary, where your reflections become part of a collective exploration. Join us in celebrating the diverse perspectives and interpretations of home.

Free to the public for viewing.

Supporters

 
 
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Exhibition Opening | Winnie Truong + Derek Liddington
Apr
10
6:00 PM18:00
Events

Exhibition Opening | Winnie Truong + Derek Liddington

 

Exhibition Opening
Winnie Truong + Derek Liddington

April 10
6:00-9:00 PM

Please join Contemporary Calgary on Wednesday, April 10 from 6-9 PM, for the opening of two solo exhibitions, Winnie Truong: Curious Nature and Derek Liddington: the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust.

  • Doors
    6:00 PM

  • Remarks & In-Conversation with artists Winnie Truong + Derek Liddington
    6:30 PM | Flanagan Family Gallery

  • Galleries Close
    9:00 PM

FREE to the public. No registration is required.

Seating for In-Conversation with artists Winnie Truong + Derek Liddington will be first come, first served.

Winnie Truong
Curious Nature

April 10, 2024—August 25, 2024

Curious Nature expands on the intersectionality of the feminine form within landscapes, both real and imagined. The exhibition features Truong’s characteristic dioramas alongside new sculptural forms, stop motion animations and a site-specific ephemeral wall installation.

Taking place on simultaneously fertile and treacherous grounds, the works explore harmony, conflict, and play between a figure and its environment, as well as the tension that arises when the natural world traverses the supernatural. Intertwining these two realities opens up opportunity for transgression and for the creation of new realms from which we can consider a subversion of the idea of a natural order and its narrow perceptions of women’s bodies and identities. Evolving the medium of drawing beyond the conventional static image, and teasing the limits of scale are Truong’s ongoing explorations in ephemera and animation. In the manner of pressed flower collections, her wall installations are composed of individual elements of cut paper pinned delicately along a vast space, allowing viewers to explore an uncanny codex of figures, botanicals and creatures. The same hand-drawn floral and figurative collages are laboriously moved frame-by-frame to produce looping meditative large-scale projections. Both these topographies of expanded practice venture beyond the container of the frame and respond to their setting while championing new ways of physically engaging with drawing-based work unfettered by space and time for a fully immersive viewing experience.

Troung’s work provides the imaginary viewpoint of a feminist natural historian from another realm, one who undertakes their labour with great detail and care to depict the part-flora, part-creature figures by observing them in their natural environments devoid of the male presence or familiar social or biological guidelines. As these unashamed subjects shun the viewer’s gaze; they are given their own notions of agency, beauty, sensuality and purpose. These figures are seen contorted, frolicking, consuming, nurturing, conquering, and entangled in environments where you are unsure where limb ends and leaf begins.

Derek Liddington
the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust

April 10, 2024—August 25, 2024

the trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust features a recent body of work by Derek Liddington in which the genre of landscape is the central focus. Having turned away from performance and drawing in recent years to explore the medium of painting, Liddington examines how we experience the landscape rather than how we see it. He challenges the material limitations of the canvas with strategies that seek to capture transformation and movement. By doing so, he confronts the historical canon of painting as a way to reconsider its legacy.

Liddington’s dense canvases visually translate the idea of immersion in a forest so dense, our sense of orientation is hindered. Forests are worlds formed of multiple layers, not unlike the artist’s painting process. In his compositions, there are no visual clues to prioritize important elements; the rules of perspective that usually guide our gaze are discarded in favour of emphasizing the surface. As such, the essential character of each part of the composition is emphasized, from the most imposing to the most humble. In nature, a forest’s height and depth are organized according to an invisible logic: the ground’s humus contains complex life forms that are essential to the regeneration of an ecosystem that is also built up in layers, with old growth forests literally growing on the edge of one another. It’s difficult to locate oneself spatially and temporally in this type of environment because the logic that governs it is beyond our comprehension. Imagining ourselves in the forest involves the question of scale: the body and the temporality of human life become standards of measurement that allow us to put this world into perspective in order to better understand it and our relationship to it.  But perspective—something these paintings don’t rely on in a traditional way—requires stepping back to visually embrace the scene as a whole and capture its spirit. The experience of a forest hampers this reflex, or at least complicates it by reminding us that we live in an all-encompassing and interconnected world in which self-abstraction is impossible, other than to delude ourselves.

As a representation, the forest translates a relationship to the world that is the opposite of gazing out from the shoreline to the infinite horizon of the sea. Although the sight of such vastness might feel vertiginous, a certain sense of authority comes from having one’s feet firmly planted on the ground. But at the heart of a forest, reference points become blurred, perceptions are confused, fears are awakened. What’s that shape over there? Is it an animal or just the shadow from the canopy of trees? And is that a foot I see between the leaves, or just the outline of hills in the distance? Liddington plays with these illusions by revealing the artifice behind his paintings’ construction, the way they assert their flatness and bring us back to their material nature. By imagining ourselves outside of the forest, separate from the ecosystem that supports us, we adopt the viewpoint of someone who asserts their independence at a remove from their surroundings. It means that we avoid questioning the logic of extraction that has guided us until now and that has caused environmental consequences we’ve only just begun to understand. By systematically bringing us back to the surface, to what is closest to us, under our nose, Liddington shows that proximity isn’t always synonymous with clarity; it can often lead to disintegration and abstraction. Perhaps this is a comment on our current times, where decisions are often seemingly made with only short-term effects in mind because considering the bigger picture is so complex that it feels paralyzing. 

The trees weep. The bodies rust. The mountain, still, seems imperturbable. And yet, what is this camouflaged giant if not a sign of imminent danger, of the insatiable appetite of the capitalist system we have created? Like a fable, this exhibition weaves a narrative whose uncertain outcome hints at the chaos of moral disorder. We’ve been warned. 

Text by Anne-Marie St-Jean-Aubre

Produced and circulated by the Musée d'art de Joliette

 

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Contemporary Kids: Dimensions, Mixed-Media and Sculpture
Apr
7
to Apr 14
Contemporary Kids, Events

Contemporary Kids: Dimensions, Mixed-Media and Sculpture

 

Contemporary Kids
Dimensions, Mixed-Media and Sculpture

April 7 + 14
1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM

For children ages 5-12.

Exhibition Tour and Mixed-Media Sculpture Workshop inspired by the Exhibition Surface, by Anton Ginzburg.

Inspired by Surface by Anton Ginzburg, this hands-on Mixed-Media Sculpture workshop invites kids to explore the fun of making mix media sculpture, while considering ideas related to different dimensions, feelings and how our brain can work as an algorithm.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities. 

Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child.Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

The same workshop is offered in four sessions for your convenience: two sessions on Sunday, April 7 and two sessions on Sunday, April 14. Choose one session that suits your schedule best.

Sunday, April 7
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, April 7
3:00-4:30 PM

Sunday, April 14
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, April 14
3:00-4:30 PM

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

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Drag Me to the Movies - Queer Prom Edition, Presenting: Grease 2 (1982)
Apr
5
7:00 PM19:00
Events

Drag Me to the Movies - Queer Prom Edition, Presenting: Grease 2 (1982)

 

Drag Me to the Movies - Queer Prom Edition

Presenting: Grease 2 (1982)

Spring has finally arrived and what better way to celebrate the changing of seasons than with a little spring formal? That's right gather your tiaras, gowns, suits and sashes because this April we're hosting a little spring formal of our own: Queer Prom Night!

We'll be screening a high school camp classic, Grease 2, a perfect compliment to your wildest Prom Night fantasies. Drag Me to the Movies creator Weird Alice will be here once more with special guest Smokey Waters!

Didn't make it to our last event & are thinking to yourself "What is Drag Me to the Movies?" Why, it's only the best way to view a film! There will be drag performances, movie bingo, a mini vendor market, bingo prizes, hilarious commentary, beer from Annex Ale Project, cocktails from Sugar Water, and of course, a fabulous campy movie to enjoy! 

If you require mobility assistance or would like to request wheelchair seating in the theatre please reach out to jamie@contemporarycalgary.com

Want to attend but worried about the ticket cost? No problem! Send us an email at jamie@contemporarycalgary.com, and we will work out a ticket price that is suitable to your needs.

The Details

When: April 5th, 2024, 6pm-late
Where: Contemporary Calgary, 701 11st SW
Doors: 6:00pm
Performance times: 7:00pm
Film starts: 7:20pm (1h 55min runtime)

About the host:

Comprised mostly of TV static and a faint memory of late-night feverish movie viewing, Weird Alice is an award-winning queer camp drag artist and film aficionado, and host/curator of the monthly interactive screening series Drag Me to the Movies.  They are also the programmer for other film series including Sleaze Factory, and Evil Women. Weird Alice combines their art and love of cinema to take you on journeys of pastiche, queer kitsch, and anything in poor taste.

Performers

Weird Alice @dragmetothemovies
Smokey Waters @kingsmokeywaters

Bingo prizes + Vendors

STAY TUNED FOR VENDOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sponsors

Annex Ale Project @annexales
Sugarwater @sugarwater
Lawrence Interior Design @lawrence_interiordesign

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April | Open Studio for 55+
Apr
5
to Apr 26
Workshop, Events

April | Open Studio for 55+

 

Open Studio for 55+

April 2024
Fridays | 1:00-4:00 PM | Workshop

Join Contemporary Calgary at our Open Studio for 55+ on Fridays in April.

Participants are invited to bring projects they are currently engaged in, or ideas and materials for projects they’d like to start. This collaborative space offers registrants the opportunity to work with the support of peers and a facilitator with a background in visual art.

This program is in partnership with Kerby and the Centre of Lifelong Learning.

For adults age 55+
FREE with registration.

Open Studio for 55+

April 2024
Fridays, 1:00-4:00 PM

Location: Workshop

FREE with registration.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

April 5: Open Studio Session

April 12: Open Studio Session

April 19: Open Studio Session

April 26: Contemporary Calgary Gallery Tour & Open Studio Session


*If you have questions about this workshop please reach out to TD Educational Coordinator Yilu Xing at yilu@contemporarycalgary.com

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Film Screening | Sight and sound collide!
Apr
4
7:00 PM19:00
Events

Film Screening | Sight and sound collide!

 

Film Screening
Sight and sound collide!

April 4
7 PM | Dome

Sight and sound collide! Join Contemporary Calgary for a free experimental short film screening at the opening night of Artifact Film Festival. Be among the first to see the premiere of short films crafted in the National accessArt Centre’s innovative Sounds of the Silver Screen class, where participants shoot Super 8mm film and create their own unique soundtracks. After the screening, engage in a discussion with talented local filmmakers who are preserving the legacy of film in Calgary through their captivating moving image art. 

This screening takes place in conjunction with FREE First Thursdays (5-9 PM). Dive into the dynamic world of contemporary art as we extend our hours, inviting you to explore our galleries, discover the d. talks installation “Let’s Talk About…Home,” and enjoy thoughtfully crafted beverages by Sugar Water Bar.

Thursday, April 4

Film begins: 7 PM
Q+A to follow.

Location: Dome

Joins us before the screening for FREE First Thursdays, from 5-9 PM.

FREE with registration.

Please contact info@contemporarycalgary.com to request accommodations. Advance notice is suggested to arrange for some accessibility needs.

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FREE First Thursdays
Apr
4
5:00 PM17:00
Events

FREE First Thursdays

 

FREE First Thursdays

April 4
5:00-9:00 PM

Join us on April 4 at Contemporary Calgary for FREE First Thursdays, offering complimentary admission from 5-9 PM! Dive into the dynamic world of contemporary art as we extend our hours, inviting you to explore our galleries, discover the d.talks installation Let’s Talk About…Home, stop by the exhibition opening of Living Map, watch “Sight and sound collide!” a free experimental short film screening for the opening night of Artifact Film Festival, enjoy curated beats by local DJs while indulging in thoughtfully crafted beverages by Sugar Water Bar.This is an all-ages event.


FREE with registration.

We hope to see you there!

Separate registration is required to secure your seat for Sight and sound collide! — Register Here. 

Sight and sound collide!

7 PM | Dome Theatre

On April 4 join Contemporary Calgary for a free experimental short film screening at the opening night of Artifact Film Festival. Be among the first to see the premiere of short films crafted in the National accessArt Centre’s innovative Sounds of the Silver Screen class, where participants shoot Super 8mm film and create their own unique soundtracks. After the screening, engage in a discussion with talented local filmmakers who are preserving the legacy of film in Calgary through their captivating moving image art. 

Separate registration is required to secure your seat. 

 

Jessica Kowalski, Getting Up in The Morning, 2024.

Living Map

April 4–May 5, 2024

Living Map showcases diverse artists offering distinct and personal interpretations of their daily experiences with shared spaces. Developed during a residency at Contemporary Calgary, this collection explores how disabled artists' lives intertwine with their environments, focusing on places that reveal their sensitivities, showcase their resilience, and illustrate their interactions with the world around them. 

 Translated into sculpture, painting, performance, and sonic explorations, the works are a journey through the emotional depth and valuable insight of each artist's experiences. From mundane bus rides to strolls through familiar neighbourhoods, everyday experiences transform into spaces where intricate stories, small wonders, and unexpected developments coexist, blending dark humour, intimate moments, and shared sensations while navigating a city. 

Artists: Alison Cherer, Ash, Andre Paradis, Anil Singh, Anosha Bill, Brad McCaul, David Oppong, Eve M. Johnson, Jessica Kowalski, Jodi Roll, Laura LaPeare, Lucas Kayseas, Mark Bedford, Mark Henry, Paul Brain, Rachel Harding, Sherrine Fox. 

 

Let’s Talk About… Home

April 4–18, 2024

What does home mean to you? Is it a place you dwell, a cherished emotion, a loved one, or a treasured keepsake? Engage in our immersive art installation at the Atrium Space at Contemporary Calgary, where your reflections become part of a collective exploration. Join us in celebrating the diverse perspectives and interpretations of home.

Location: Atrium

FREE to the public for viewing April 4-18.

FREE First Thursdays Partners

Sugar Water Bar

Kyo-Jean Chung started Sugar Water in 2015 as a way of exploring his love for finely crafted cocktails. He has a curiosity for powerful elixirs that percolate ideas and bring people to common ground. His knack for befriending talented people in all realms of culinary arts, mixology, and event planning helps him cultivate fresh ideas and inspired service. He has managed to find the perfect balance between friendliness, professionalism, and lightness throughout his life as an entrepreneur.

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NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers
Apr
4
4:00 PM16:00
Events

NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers

 

NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers

April 4

4:00-5:00 PM | Auditorium + Ring Gallery

NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers, led by Michelle “Magic” Bennie, applies unconventional narratives and storytelling to Contemporary Calgary's current exhibition, Resistance & Respiration, curated by Amanda Cachia. Following a four-week residency immersed in the exhibition, Bennie will take lead participants on a stimulating exhibition tour to foster new themes and connections. 

Michelle Bennie, born in 1979 in Calgary, has been with the National accessArts Centre since 2017. Her artistic practice primarily involves creating her "stained glass" images with markers on paper, exploring themes like family, nature, society, and architecture. Each work starts with a title, followed by a particular process of applying pencil, black marker, and colour combination. Michelle's art curation work, including innovative approaches to exhibition organization, was showcased at the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation's Improv Festival in 2021. 

This program provides a unique opportunity to view art from a different angle, guided by an artist who combines the creation and curation of art with storytelling. 

Join us following the tour for FREE First Thursdays offering complimentary admission from 5-9 PM!

April 4

4:00-5:00 PM

Location: Auditorium + Ring Gallery

FREE with registration. Let us know you’re joining!

Please contact info@contemporarycalgary.com to request accommodations. Advance notice is suggested to arrange for some accessibility needs.

About the Speaker

Michelle “Magic” Bennie (she/her)

Michelle “Magic” Bennie (born 1979) is a Canadian artist raised in Calgary, Alberta attending the National access Arts Centre since 2017. Bennie is a prolific artist, drawing since she could hold a pencil. Most often working in marker on paper, Bennie has produced thousands of works exploring repeated themes of her children, grids, animals, social events, and architecture. She begins each work with a title and layers pencil, black marker, and colour.  Her experimental and emerging curatorial practice has been featured in the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation’s Improv Festival (2021).  

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Living Map
Apr
4
4:00 PM16:00
Exhibitions

Living Map

 

Jessica Kowalski, Getting Up in The Morning, 2024.

Living Map

April 4–May 5, 2024

Living Map showcases diverse artists offering distinct and personal interpretations of their daily experiences with shared spaces. Developed during a residency at Contemporary Calgary, this collection explores how disabled artists' lives intertwine with their environments, focusing on places that reveal their sensitivities, showcase their resilience, and illustrate their interactions with the world around them. 

 Translated into sculpture, painting, performance, and sonic explorations, the works are a journey through the emotional depth and valuable insight of each artist's experiences. From mundane bus rides to strolls through familiar neighbourhoods, everyday experiences transform into spaces where intricate stories, small wonders, and unexpected developments coexist, blending dark humour, intimate moments, and shared sensations while navigating a city. 

Artists: Alison Cherer, Ash, Andre Paradis, Anil Singh, Anosha Bill, Brad McCaul, David Oppong, Eve M. Johnson, Jessica Kowalski, Jodi Roll, Laura LaPeare, Lucas Kayseas, Mark Bedford, Mark Henry, Paul Brain, Rachel Harding, Sherrine Fox. 

About the National accessArts Centre:   

Canada's oldest and largest multidisciplinary disability arts organization, the NaAC supports more than 300 artists living with disabilities through on-site studio support, professional track programs, workshops, and exhibition/presentation opportunities.    

 

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Trans Day of Visibility
Mar
31
6:00 PM18:00
Events

Trans Day of Visibility

 

Trans Day of Visibility

March 31

6 PM | Auditorium

Come celebrate the Transgender Day of Visibility at Contemporary Calgary on Sunday, March 31 at 6 PM. Working in partnership with Queer Citizens United, Skipping Stone, Calgary Pride, Calgary Queer Arts Society, Black Pride YYC, and Foria Clinic, we are proud to present an evening featuring two short films highlighting the Two-Spirit, Transgender, and Non-Binary communities. 

After some short speeches in support of the Gender Diverse Community, we will be showing:

Second Stories: Deb-we-win Ge-ken-am-aan - Our Place in The Circle Lorne Olson's short documentary presents a vision he had of two-spirited people dancing, laughing, and smiling. His vision spurs him to rediscover the strength of the past to better face the challenges of today. This funny and buoyant film documents his touching journey.

“TIERRA” is an experimental film piece directed by Fana Adjani. This story speaks about the recognition of the destruction, the transformation, the loss of territory, gender identity, ecofeminisms, and the relationship within the feminist struggle.

After the short films we invite guests to stay for a panel discussion on the importance of the International Day of Visibility.

Sunday, March 31
6:00 PM
Location: Auditorium

FREE with registration.

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The Politics of Breathing: a virtual panel discussion
Mar
27
12:00 PM12:00
Virtual Panel, Events

The Politics of Breathing: a virtual panel discussion

 

The Politics of Breathing: a virtual panel discussion

Wednesday, March 27
12 PM (MST)

With Darrin Martin, Liz Nurenberg, Dominic Quagliozzi, and Aislinn Thomas

Moderated by Amanda Cachia

How is disability art positioned in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic? How is the act of breathing crucial to our understanding of disability, and how does it reveal social structures of oppression?

Join us for a virtual panel discussion with Resistance & Respiration artists Darrin Martin, Liz Nurenberg, Dominic Quagliozzi, and Aislinn Thomas. Moderated by exhibition curator Amanda Cachia, the conversation will explore the four artists’ practices, and their relationship to breathing as artists with disabilities.

This conversation is programmed in conjunction with Resistance & Respiration,  curated by Amanda Cachia and on view at Contemporary Calgary until April 14, 2024.

March 27

+ Talk begins: 12:00 PM (MST)
+ FREE with registration.

Sign up for this virtual panel by clicking the button above.

About the Speakers

 Darrin Martin (he/they)

Darrin Martin engages the synesthetic qualities of perception through video, performance, sculpture, and print-based installations. Influenced by his own experiences with deafness, his projects consider notions of accessibility through the use of tactility, sonic analogies, and/or audio descriptions. His works have screened at the Museum of Modern Art (NY); Pacific Film Archive (CA); Impakt Festival (Netherlands); European Media Art Festival (Germany), among many others. His artworks and installations have exhibited at venues including Grand Central Art Center (CA), Moscow State Vadim Sidur Museum (Russia), McIntosh Gallery (Canada), Krannert Art Museum (IL) and, most recently, at the Ann Arbor Film Festival (MI) and the Saint Joseph’s Art Society in collaboration with Telematic Media Arts (CA). Martin occasionally curates, most recently selections from Electronic Arts Intermix through a crip lens in (Mis)Reading the Image. He is Professor and Co-Chair of the Art and Art History Department at the University of California, Davis. 

Liz Nurenberg (she/her)

Liz Nurenberg (b. 1978) is a Los Angeles based artist. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Grand Valley State University (2003) and a Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University (2010.) Liz is an Associate Professor in the Foundation department at Otis College of Art and Design. She is a member of Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles. Liz was awarded a fellowship to Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist Residency, a Helen B. Dooley Fellowship at Claremont Graduate University, and received a California Community Foundation Emerging Artist Grant. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally at such venues as the Holter Museum (Helena, Montana), Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts (Pasadena, CA), Elephant Art Space (Los Angeles, CA), HilbertRaum Gallery (Berlin, Germany), Galleri CC (Malmo, Sweden), and the Torrance Art Museum (Torrence, CA).

Dominic Quagliozzi (he/him)

Dominic Quagliozzi received an MFA in Studio Arts from Cal State University, Los Angeles and a BA in Sociology from Providence College. His work is in the permanent collection at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. He has exhibited work in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Providence, Denmark and at Casula Powerhouse Art Centre in New South Wales, Australia. In 2018, he was on the Keynote patient panel at the Nexus Summit for interprofessional care and education at the University of Minnesota. He is on the Arts Council for Creative Healing for Youth in Pain and has given workshops and lectures at the Rhode Island School of Design, UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine, Chapman University, Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Long Beach.

Aislinn Thomas (she/her)

Aislinn Thomas is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice includes video, performance, sculpture, installation, and text. She culls material from everyday experiences and relationships, creating work that is by turns poignant and absurd. Many of Aislinn’s recent projects respond to disability and standard approaches to access–or the lack thereof. She gratefully works alongside and in the legacy of so many who treat access and survival as spaces for creative acts. Aislinn is a white settler of Ashkenazic and mixed European descent. She is grateful to live and work in Unama’ki, part of Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq covered by the Peace and Friendship treaties.

About the Curator/Moderator

Amanda Cachia (she/her)

Amanda Cachia has an established career profile as a curator, consultant, writer and art historian who specializes in disability art activism across intersectional axes of difference, including gender, race, and sexuality. She is the tenure-track Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Masters of Arts in Arts Leadership Graduate Program at the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at the University of Houston, where she also serves as Coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Museum and Gallery Management, and the Graduate Certificate in Arts and Health. She is a 2023 grantee of the Creative Capital | Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for her second monograph, Hospital Aesthetics: Rescripting Medical Images of Disability. Her first book, The Agency of Access: Contemporary Disability Art and Institutional Critique, is forthcoming with Temple University Press (2024). Cachia is also the editor of Curating Access: Disability Art Activism and Creative Accommodation (2022) published by Routledge, which includes over 40 international contributors. She has a PhD in Art History, Theory & Criticism from the University of California San Diego. Cachia has curated approximately 50 exhibitions, many of which have traveled to cities across the USA, England, Australia and Canada. Cachia previously taught art history, visual culture, and curatorial and exhibition studies at Otis College of Art and Design, California Institute of the Arts, California State University Long Beach, California State University San Marcos and San Diego State University.

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Perspective Film Series: Persepolis (2007)
Mar
24
5:30 PM17:30
Film, Events

Perspective Film Series: Persepolis (2007)

 

Perspective Film Series:

Persepolis (2007)
dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

March 24 | 5:30 PM

2007 | France / Iran | 96 mins

Referencing the historical city of Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2007) is an animated film based upon her autobiographical graphic novel of the same name.

Set against the backdrop of the growing tensions in Iran in the 1970s and 1980s, this coming-of-age film traces Satrapi’s life in pre-and post-revolutionary Iran, as she grows into a punk-loving teenager in Iran. This tender and poignant story intertwines the personal with the political as we see members of her liberal-leaning family detained and executed, all the while bearing witness to the devastating repercussions of the Iran/Iraq war.

FREE for Members. Non-members: $10—your ticket to this screening includes admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM for viewing prior to attending the program.

The 2024 edition of Perspective is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary. The series will feature monthly screenings that amplify voices from the Global South, deconstructing broader moving-image practices through an anti-colonial framework. In particular, this year's Perspective will focus on filmic works from the Caucasus, as well as Southwest Asia and North Africa, a region that continues to grapple with the enduring legacies of colonial violence.

Sunday, March 24

Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM

Non-members: $10 / FREE for members.

This film is French with English subtitles.

About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi (she/her)

Muriel N. Kahwagi is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.

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Contemporary Kids: Landscape, City and Collage
Mar
24
to Mar 31
Contemporary Kids, Events

Contemporary Kids: Landscape, City and Collage

 

Contemporary Kids
Landscape, City and Collage

March 24 + 31
1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM

For children ages 5-12.

Exhibition Tour and Collaborative Collage Workshop inspired by the Exhibition Surface, by Anton Ginzburg.

Inspired by Surface by Anton Ginzburg, this hands-on collage workshop invites kids to explore the fun of collaborative collage, while considering ideas related to composition, landscape in city planning, and how we relate to the city in which we reside.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities. 

Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child.Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

The same workshop is offered in four sessions for your convenience: two sessions on Sunday, March 24 and two sessions on Sunday, March 31. Choose one session that suits your schedule best.

Sunday, March 24
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, March 24
3:00-4:30 PM

Sunday, March 31
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, March 31
3:00-4:30 PM

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

Supported by

 

Supported by

 
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Calgary on Purpose: An Evening of Conversation and Connection
Mar
19
7:00 PM19:00
Events

Calgary on Purpose: An Evening of Conversation and Connection

 

Calgary on Purpose

March 19 | 7:00-8:30 PM

Please join us for the first of the 2024 Calgary on Purpose + Contemporary Calgary "Evenings of Conversation and Connection."

We see kindness, curiosity and compassion as the shared core values of Calgarians. In that spirit, we delight in the skills, stories, aspirations and goodwill of our remarkable neighbours on this land. 

We begin with a few extraordinary creative Calgarians showing brief examples of their work, who the inimitable Dave Kelly will then interview. Following this, Dave will engage all of us in the audience in conversation. The program will finish by 8:30 PM but the bar will be open for those who wish to stay and chat further.

We take great pride in our presenters on March 19. Fast-rising pop star Kuzi Cee will bring his dancers and DJ, dancer and figure skater Meg Ohsada will join us fresh from her performance at the Special Olympics ( she won two silver medals for Canada at the Special Olympics in Korea) and Lee Crowchild, speaker, advisor and thought leader. Dave will then share a new "Dave Story" and engage all of us in conversation about our city

Thanks to the generous support of Contemporary Calgary, volunteers and Calgary Arts Development, the event is free to the public. However, we kindly request that you RSVP to ensure your seat. Feel free to invite friends and colleagues, but please ask them to RSVP as well.

The intent of this evening is to stimulate curiosity about and appreciation for our neighbours on this land. Do join us in sharing and celebrating our concerns, hopes and dreams for our beloved city!

Tuesday, March 19

7 PM
Dome Theatre

Please note our ticketing system includes an option to donate to Contemporary Calgary. The donation option is not connected to this evening but you're welcome to contribute to the gallery should you wish.

About the Speakers

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Grand Opening of the Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery and Exhibition Opening of Anton Ginzburg: Surface
Mar
13
6:00 PM18:00
Events

Grand Opening of the Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery and Exhibition Opening of Anton Ginzburg: Surface

 

Grand Opening of the Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery and Exhibition Opening of Anton Ginzburg: Surface

Wednesday, March 13 | 6:00-9:00 PM

  • Doors
    6:00 PM

  • Grand Opening of the Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery and Inaugural Exhibition Preview 
    6:30 PM | Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery

  • In-Conversation with Anton Ginzburg
    7:30 PM | Auditorium

  • Galleries Close
    9:00 PM

We are delighted to invite you to the grand opening of Contemporary Calgary’s newest exhibition space. Housed on the third floor of the gallery, the Morris & Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery provides a space for dialogue and contemplation, with responsive and timely programming aimed to both foster and expand conversations. We are excited to create another level of engagement for and with our Calgary community.

Thanks to the generosity of Morris and Ann Dancyger, Calgary Foundation, and the City of Calgary, we are pleased to formally open the space on March 13th with the compelling inaugural exhibition Surface by Brooklyn-based artist Anton Ginzburg.

Anton Ginzburg’s Surface is a reflection on the use of technology as it relates to cultural labour, data aesthetics and machine learning. The three bodies of work presented, deliberate on surfaces that range from the architectural to the digital screen and beyond, and are especially relevant to the growing conversations around the role and ethics of AI.

 The artist and curator will be in attendance this evening and the show runs from March 13 to June 2, 2024.

 We hope to see you at this evening's celebration.

FREE to the public. No registration is required.

Seating for In-Conversation with Anton Ginzburg will be first come, first served.

Anton Ginzburg: Surface

March 13—June 2, 2024

Anton Ginzburg: Surface is a reflection on the use of technology as it relates to cultural labour, data aesthetics and machine learning. By employing algorithms to expand on the formal elements of art, its consumption, and transmutation, Ginzburg underlines the ever-evolving meaning of representation, data visualization and automatization in our digital age. The three bodies of work presented, deliberate on surfaces that range from the architectural to the digital screen and beyond, and are especially relevant to the growing conversations around the role and ethics of AI.

The 2D paintings in the Yerevan series, the 3D sculptural forms in Film Forms and the 4D (moving image) generated video in ML CRSH, all use algorithms to comment on the role and agency of algorithms themselves. And in so doing, they articulate the patterns and relationships that define what we now know as ‘algorithmic culture.’ What are the hierarchies and narratives that these systems perpetuate and grow, and what do they reveal about larger data networks within which they play a part.

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FREE First Thursdays
Mar
7
5:00 PM17:00
Events

FREE First Thursdays

 

FREE First Thursdays

Thursday, March 7
5:00-9:00 PM

Join us on March 7 at Contemporary Calgary for FREE First Thursdays, offering complimentary admission from 5-9 PM! Dive into the dynamic world of contemporary art as we extend our hours, inviting you to explore our galleries, discover Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins’ exhibition Three Dimensions before its departure on March 17, and enjoy curated beats by DJ P.C.A. & DJ Kidd “BONKERS”  while indulging in thoughtfully crafted beverages by Sugar Water Bar.

This is an all-ages event.
FREE with registration.

We hope to see you there!

FREE First Thursdays Partners

DJ P.C.A.

P.C.A. aka Prairie Chola Ayatollah aka Punjabi Cowgirl Association is a musical swinger hailing from the Chinook arch over the foothills. Undecided on style & dependent on discarded sounds, her sets range from 50’s rock n roll to reggae & handbag house. Guaranteed to get the uptight toe-tapping, P.C.A. is the ideal selector for Bar Mitzvahs, faux Irish Pubs & mixed martial arts competitions.

DJ Kidd “BONKERS” 

DJ Kidd "BONKERS" is a dynamic multi-genre DJ and producer who has energized Calgary's music scene for 9 years. Known for hosting vibrant events and delivering memorable performances, he keeps audiences dancing with his high-energy sets. BONKERS remains committed to his craft, constantly bringing life to the party as he continues his journey in music.

Sugar Water Bar

Kyo-Jean Chung started Sugar Water in 2015 as a way of exploring his love for finely crafted cocktails. He has a curiosity for powerful elixirs that percolate ideas and bring people to common ground. His knack for befriending talented people in all realms of culinary arts, mixology, and event planning helps him cultivate fresh ideas and inspired service. He has managed to find the perfect balance between friendliness, professionalism, and lightness throughout his life as an entrepreneur.

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March | Open Studio for 55+
Mar
1
to Mar 22
Workshop, Events

March | Open Studio for 55+

 

Open Studio for 55+

March 2024
Fridays | 1:00-4:00 PM | Workshop

Join Contemporary Calgary at our Open Studio for 55+ on Fridays in March.

Participants are invited to bring projects they are currently engaged in, or ideas and materials for projects they’d like to start. This collaborative space offers registrants the opportunity to work with the support of peers and a facilitator with a background in visual art.

This program is in partnership with Kerby and the Centre of Lifelong Learning.

For adults age 55+
FREE with registration.

Open Studio for 55+

March 2024
Fridays, 1:00-4:00 PM
Location: Workshop

FREE with registration.

Register for March sessions by clicking the button above.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

March 1: Open Studio Session

March 8: Printmaking Demo & Open Studio Session

March 15: Open Studio Session

March 22: Contemporary Calgary Gallery Tour & Open Studio Session

March 29: Good Friday—NO Open Studio Session


*If you have questions about this workshop please reach out to TD Educational Coordinator Yilu Xing at yilu@contemporarycalgary.com

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Perspective Film Series Presents: Get Out (2017)
Feb
25
5:30 PM17:30
Film, Events

Perspective Film Series Presents: Get Out (2017)

 

Perspective Film Series Presents:

Get Out (2017)
Dir. Jordan Peele

Sunday, February 25
5:30-7:30 PM

2017 | USA | 144 mins

Perspective Film Series returns to Contemporary Calgary with a screening of Jordan Peele's Get Out (2017) in celebration of Black History Month.

The film follows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), who agrees to meet the family of his white girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) for the first time. As the weekend progresses, their relationship unravels as he uncovers a series of increasingly unsettling discoveries.

Jordan Peele's Get Out subverts classical horror tropes, delivering a scathing social commentary. Equal parts horror and satire, the film is a trenchant critique of neoliberal racism in post-racial America, which casts a shadow over the colonial roots of violence towards people of colour.

This screening will be followed by a moderated conversation and Q&A with Sue-Shane Tsomondo.

This screening is free with $10 admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5pm for viewing prior to attending the program.

The 2024 edition of Perspective Film Series is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary. The series will feature monthly screenings that amplify voices from the Global South, shedding light on historically marginalized communities.

Sunday, February 25

Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM
Q&A to follow.

FREE with $10 admission to Contemporary Calgary. FREE for members.

+ Non-Members: $10
+ Members: FREE

About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi (she/her)

Muriel N. Kahwagi is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.

About the Speaker:
Sue-Shane Tsomondo (she/her)

Sue-Shane Tsomondo is a poet, writer, educator, and the creator of Sue's Stokvel, a multidisciplinary platform that is creating space for Black and African storytelling. In academia, Tsomondo studied International Relations focusing on Sub-Saharan African institutions in governance at the University of Calgary. After adding a minor in English to her course load, she realized her deepest passion was for writing and literature and it has grown into a well-rounded artistic practice that she is using to uplift her communities.

 
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Contemporary Kids: Air, Lungs, and Balloon Paint
Feb
25
to Mar 3
Contemporary Kids, Events

Contemporary Kids: Air, Lungs, and Balloon Paint

 

Contemporary Kids
Air, Lungs, and Balloon Paint

February 25 + March 3
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

For children ages 4-12.

Join us for an Exhibition Tour and Balloon Paint Workshop inspired by the Exhibition of Resistance & Respiration, curated by Amanda Cachia.

Inspired by the Resistance & Respiration curated by Amanda Cachia, this hands-on balloon painting workshop invites kids to practice breathing and explore the fun of collaborative balloon painting while considering ideas related to mark making, colour choices, storytelling and how we breathe air in and out of our lungs.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities. 

For children ages 4-12. Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child.
Snacks and workshop supplies will be provided.

Please make sure to arrive on time as this workshop is scheduled outside our regular gallery operational hours. The front entrance will be locked after 10:15 am. We appreciate your punctuality. Thank you!

Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

This workshop is offered on two Sundays for your convenience: February 25 and March 3. Please choose a session that suits your schedule best. 

Sunday, February 25
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Sunday, March 3
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

Supported by

 

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Aesthetic Self-Medication: Bob Flanagan and Sheree Rose’s Sick Art, a Talk by Jean-Thomas Tremblay
Feb
22
7:00 PM19:00
Events

Aesthetic Self-Medication: Bob Flanagan and Sheree Rose’s Sick Art, a Talk by Jean-Thomas Tremblay

 

Aesthetic Self-Medication:
Bob Flanagan and Sheree Rose’s Sick Art

A Talk by Jean-Thomas Tremblay

February 22 | 7:30 PM | Dome

This talk, stemming from Tremblay’s book Breathing Aesthetics, tracks adaptations to changing respiratory conditions in the performance art and life writing of Bob Flanagan (1952–1996) and Sheree Rose (b. 1941). In so doing, the talk tells a story about the ways breathing as an aesthetic practice gets caught up in breathing as an ordinary or exceptional effect of disability over the course—and, in Rose’s case, in the aftermath—of Flanagan’s experience with cystic fibrosis. The term “aesthetic self-medication” describes the process through which respiration’s patterns and rhythms are transcribed and dramatized to stage minimally coherent self-encounters amid crises. As Flanagan’s chronic illness worsens and the couple’s sadomasochistic dynamic no longer manages chronic pain, aesthetic self-medication structures laboured breathing into new genres of, or affective and libidinal relations to, pain, including boredom and musical humour.

This lecture is extended as a public program of Resistance & Respiration, curated by Amanda Cachia.

February 22

Doors: 7:00 PM
Talk begins: 7:30 PM
Q&A to follow.

Location: Dome

FREE with registration. Let us know you’re joining!

About the Speaker

 Jean-Thomas Tremblay (he/him)

 Jean-Thomas Tremblay is an assistant professor of environmental humanities at York University, in Toronto. He is the author of Breathing Aesthetics (Duke University Press, 2022) and, with Steven Swarbrick, a coauthor of the forthcoming Negative Life: The Cinema of Extinction(Northwestern University Press, 2024).

About Breathing Aesthetics

In Breathing Aesthetics Jean-Thomas Tremblay argues that difficult breathing indexes the uneven distribution of risk in a contemporary era marked by the increasing contamination, weaponization, and monetization of air. Tremblay shows how biopolitical and necropolitical forces tied to the continuation of extractive capitalism, imperialism, and structural racism are embodied and experienced through respiration. They identify responses to the crisis in breathing in aesthetic practices ranging from the film work of Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta to the disability diaries of Bob Flanagan, to the Black queer speculative fiction of Renee Gladman. In readings of these and other minoritarian works of experimental film, endurance performance, ecopoetics, and cinema-vérité, Tremblay contends that articulations of survival now depend on the management and dispersal of respiratory hazards. In so doing, they reveal how an aesthetic attention to breathing generates historically, culturally, and environmentally situated tactics and strategies for living under precarity.

About the Artists

Bob Flanagan (he/him) + Sheree Rose (she/her)

Bob Flanagan (December 26, 1952 – January 4, 1996) was an American performance artist and writer known for his work on sadomasochism and lifelong struggle with cystic fibrosis. Sheree Rose (born 1941) is an American photographer and performance artist. She is best known for her collaborative work with performance artist Bob Flanagan, and her photography documenting a wide range of Los Angeles subcultures, especially in relation to BDSM and body modification.

Bob Flanagan and Sheree Rose began their artistic collaboration during the late 1980s in the Los Angeles club and art scenes. Their performance, photography, and video integrate elements of BDSM, which culminated in the exhibition Visiting Hours at the Santa Monica Museum of Art and New Museum of Contemporary Art. After Flanagan died from cystic fibrosis in 1996, Rose continued to make artwork honouring his legacy and their collaboration. The final years of Flanagan's life, including his death, are the subject of the Kirby Dick documentary SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist. Flanagan's participation in the film was contingent upon his death being part of the completed project.

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NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers
Feb
14
4:00 PM16:00
Events

NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers

 

NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers

February 14

4:00-5:00 PM | Auditorium + Flanagan Family Gallery

NaAC Artist Tours: Storytellers, led by Michelle “Magic” Bennie, applies unconventional narratives and storytelling to Contemporary Calgary's current exhibition, Three Dimensions, by Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins. Following a four-week residency immersed in the exhibition, Bennie will take lead participants on a stimulating exhibition tour to foster new themes and connections. 

Michelle Bennie, born in 1979 in Calgary, has been with the National accessArts Centre since 2017. Her artistic practice primarily involves creating her "stained glass" images with markers on paper, exploring themes like family, nature, society, and architecture. Each work starts with a title, followed by a particular process of applying pencil, black marker, and colour combination. Michelle's art curation work, including innovative approaches to exhibition organization, was showcased at the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation's Improv Festival in 2021.

This program provides a unique opportunity to view art from a different angle, guided by an artist who combines the creation and curation of art with storytelling.

February 14

4:00-5:00 PM

Location: Auditorium + Flanagan Family Gallery

FREE with registration. Let us know you’re joining!

Please contact info@contemporarycalgary.com to request accommodations. Advance notice is suggested to arrange for some accessibility needs.

About the Speaker

Michelle “Magic” Bennie (she/her)

Michelle “Magic” Bennie (born 1979) is a Canadian artist raised in Calgary, Alberta attending the National access Arts Centre since 2017. Bennie is a prolific artist, drawing since she could hold a pencil. Most often working in marker on paper, Bennie has produced thousands of works exploring repeated themes of her children, grids, animals, social events, and architecture. She begins each work with a title and layers pencil, black marker, and colour.  Her experimental and emerging curatorial practice has been featured in the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation’s Improv Festival (2021).  

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Contemporary Kids: Air, Lungs, and Music
Feb
11
to Feb 18
Contemporary Kids, Events

Contemporary Kids: Air, Lungs, and Music

 

Contemporary Kids
Air, Lungs, and Music

February 11 + 18
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

For children ages 4-12.

Join us for an Exhibition Tour and Sound Workshop is inspired by Resistance & Respiration curated by Amanda Cachia.

Embark on a creative journey inspired by the vibrant Resistance & Respiration exhibition, where kids will discover the fascinating realm of art through the lens of breathing. Join us in crafting unique instruments that transform breathing into a dynamic and expressive expression. Through this workshop, children will explore how their lungs and breath can become powerful tools for creating art.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities. 

For children ages 4-12. Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child.
Snacks and workshop supplies will be provided.

Please make sure to arrive on time as this workshop is scheduled outside our regular gallery operational hours. The front entrance will be locked after 10:15 am. We appreciate your punctuality. Thank you!

Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

This workshop is offered on two Sundays for your convenience: February 11 and February 18. Please choose a session that suits your schedule best. 

Sunday, February 11
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Sunday, February 18
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

Supported by

 

Supported by

 
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Film Screening | CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion
Feb
9
5:00 PM17:00
Events

Film Screening | CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion

 

Film Screening
CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion

February 9 | 5 PM | Auditorium

Directed by Jenni Gold, this documentary goes behind the scenes of Hollywood to investigate the evolution of the portrayal of people with disabilities within the media.

Presented in partnership with the National accessArts Centre, join us for a screening and discussion to explore how the history of media affects inclusion today and ways we can improve for the future.

This screening is extended as a public program of Resistance & Respiration, curated by Amanda Cachia.

Curated by the NaAC Film Ensemble.

Friday, February 9

Doors: 4:30
Film begins: 5:00 PM
Q+A to follow.

Location: Auditorium

FREE with registration. Let us know you’re joining!

Please contact info@contemporarycalgary.com to request accommodations. Advance notice is suggested to arrange for some accessibility needs.

About the Director,
Jenni Gold (she/her)

Jenni Gold is considered a triple threat in the world of entertainment. Her advanced editing and screenwriting skills serve as a foundation for her directorial efforts, which have received multiple awards and have placed her among the best in her field as a director member of the Directors Guild of America. In addition to directing the 3-D comedy/horror feature film “Aaah! Roach!” which is currently in post, Jenni produced and directed the award-winning and star-studded feature documentary “CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion” which remains 100% on rotten tomatoes, premiered on Turner Classic Movies, and has been selected by the U.S. State Department to represent America around the globe in the AMERICAN FILM SHOWCASE. Additionally, Jenni directed the action feature film “Ready, Willing, & Able,” alongside a myriad of projects ranging from web series and corporate videos to short films, music videos, and PSAs. She also produced the feature films “Can I get a Witness Protection,” and “Tiger” starring Mickey Rourke. Ms. Gold has written and is developing several projects including the action film “Cutthroat,” the suspense thriller “Adrenaline,” the romantic comedy “Mr. December” and the family film “Lucky,” adapted from her children’s book of the same name. She has also written articles for New Mobility Magazine and Film Threat Magazine.

Jenni is a sought-after speaker, a thought leader for film/media inclusion, and an Advisory Board Member for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media as well as a co-chair for the Media Access Awards and a judge for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Her recent speaking engagements have included the Motion Picture Academy, Disney Studios, Universal Studios, Dreamworks, Duke University, University of Southern California, Arizona State University, University of Central Florida, and co-hosting Turner Classic Movies with Ben Mankiewicz. Jenni went to film school at the University of Central Florida where she graduated summa cum laude with two BA degrees, one in Motion Picture Production and another in Radio and Television Broadcasting. She has muscular dystrophy and has used a wheelchair since the age of seven. Jenni's dedication to the art and the craft of filmmaking along with her passion for storytelling and entertaining audiences is clearly evident in her work and achievements.

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Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on Healing Through the Arts
Feb
4
1:00 PM13:00
Events, Artist Talk

Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on Healing Through the Arts

 

Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on Healing Through the Arts

February 4 | 1:00 PM | Auditorium

The Exposure Photography Festival presents a brand-new series of conversations that respond to Exposure’s curated exhibitions and explore the significant topics the artists address through their work. These informal events will be held at Contemporary Calgary during the twentieth-anniversary edition of the festival.  

This conversation will be moderated by Autumn Whiteway (Night Singing Woman), Curator, Indigenous Art, Glenbow Museum, and will include presentations by Exposure Artists Pippa Healy (UK), Justin Carney (Indianapolis, USA) and Lisa McCarty (Boston, USA).

 FREE with registration.

 This event is supported by Calgary Arts Development, Contemporary Calgary, Trico Changemakers Studio, Elephant Artist Relief Society & CRATE Art Therapy.

Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on Healing Through the Arts

February 4
1:00 PM
Location: Auditorium

FREE with registration.

Let us know you’re joining!

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University of Calgary x Exposure Photography Festival: Arctic Imagination - Lecture with Louie Palu
Feb
4
1:00 PM13:00
Events, Artist Talk

University of Calgary x Exposure Photography Festival: Arctic Imagination - Lecture with Louie Palu

 

University of Calgary x Exposure Photography Festival: Arctic Imagination - Lecture with Louie Palu

February 4 | 3:30 PM | Auditorium

Photographer and filmmaker Louie Palu has been making work about the Arctic since 1993. His latest body of work Distant Early Warning provides a window into the state of the militarization in the Arctic, documenting the legacies of the Cold War. The changes in the region are exacerbated by the many unknowns the Arctic faces, among them the warming of the planet. What began as a Guggenheim Fellowship evolved into an assignment for National Geographic Magazine, multiple art installations, and more. Taken as a whole, the series examines the growing geopolitical tensions and changing life around Inuit communities in one of the planet's harshest climates.

 FREE with registration.

Presented by the University of Calgary Department of Art and Art History and Exposure Photography Festival.

February 4
3:30 PM
Location: Auditorium

FREE with registration.

Let us know you’re joining!

About the Speaker

Louie Palu (he/him)

Louie Palu is a photographer and filmmaker whose work has examined social political issues for 30-years. He is best known for hybrid approaches to creating work that incorporates art and journalism. Louie’s projects have been selected for a Guggenheim Fellowship and World Press Photo Award, and has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Dok Munich Film Festival. His work is held in numerous collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and National Gallery of Canada. His work has been exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art, US National Portrait Gallery and Brooklyn Museum. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and holds an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

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Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on the Family Archive
Feb
3
1:00 PM13:00
Events, Artist Talk

Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on the Family Archive

 

Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on the Family Archive

February 3 | 1:00 PM | Auditorium

The Exposure Photography Festival presents a brand-new series of conversations that respond to Exposure’s curated exhibitions and explore the significant topics the artists address through their work. These informal events will be held at Contemporary Calgary during the twentieth-anniversary edition of the festival.  

This conversation will be moderated by Beth Kane, Independent Curator and Festival Manager, Exposure Photography Festival, and will include presentations by Exposure Artists Rachel Nixon (British Columbia), Molly Steels (Ontario) and Raeann Kit-Yee Cheung. 

 FREE with registration.

This event is supported by Calgary Arts Development, Contemporary Calgary & Trico Changemakers Studio.

Exposure Photography Festival: Conversations on the Family Archive

February 3, 2024
1:00 PM
Location: Auditorium

FREE with registration.

Let us know you’re joining!

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Introduction to Clay 3D Printing Workshop
Feb
3
to Feb 4
Events

Introduction to Clay 3D Printing Workshop

 

Introduction to Clay 3D Printing Workshop

February 3 + February 4
12:00-4:00 PM | Workshop

Manufacturing with mud allows us to reintroduce traditional, sustainable local materials into our contemporary culture using design thinking and creative problem-solving to address quality, cost and efficiency issues in response to the global housing crisis.

Whether you’re a potter, an artist, a designer, or simply curious to get your hands wet with new material and technology, this workshop is an introduction to clay 3D printing for any background. At a prototype scale, experience the process of transforming clay from powder, to paste, to printed prototypes and the firing of clay into ceramic artifacts. Yes, you can keep your artifact! Discover and be inspired by traditional and modern clay architecture and product design, and learn about the unique technical and environmental factors that inform a 3D-printed object.

This weekend workshop consists of two modules, broken into two four-hour long days (Saturday and Sunday). The first module is an introduction to 3D modelling using computer software (download the free Rhino 7 trial to your laptop), focused on the optimal conditions and parameters for 3D printing with clay. The second module includes plug-and-play experiences of mixing clay, assembling an extruder, getting familiar with slicer software (free download of Prusa), and operating a Creality 3D printer using a modified CERA-1 extruder. You will print a prototype that will dry and be fired for you!

February 3 + February 4

12:00-4:00 PM
Location: Workshop
Registration fee: $300

Sliding scale pricing is available. Please reach out to me@lilitayefi.com.

This is a two-session workshop.

About the facilitator,
Lili Yas Tayefi (she/her)

Lili Yas Tayefi is an Iranian-born, Calgary-based multidisciplinary artist, designer and educator specializing in contemporary ceramic arts and robotic fabrication. With extensive experience in handcraft and a background in material science, her practice, LYT Studio, incorporates high-precision manufacturing in architecture using robotics to create beautiful and innovative ceramic sculptures. In 2022, she designed and instructed the University of Calgary School of Architecture’s (SAPL) first curriculum in 3D printing clay within an architectural setting, now established as an annual program.

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Kaffeeklatsch Hot Chocolate + Coffee Pop-Up
Feb
3
to Feb 25
Events

Kaffeeklatsch Hot Chocolate + Coffee Pop-Up

 

Kaffeeklatsch
Hot Chocolate + Coffee Pop-Up

February 3-25 
Saturday 12-7 PM + Sunday 12-5 PM

KAFFEEKLATSCH (COFFEE + GOSSIP): Where notable coffee meets unique locations, fostering social connections.

Join Kaffeeklatsch at Contemporary Calgary on Saturday 12-7 PM and Sunday 12-5 PM for a Hot Chocolate + Coffee Pop-Up.

Throughout February, cafes craft signature hot chocolates for a friendly competition. $1-$3 from each cup sold supports Calgary Meals on Wheels, ensuring nutritious meals for Calgarians.

Find them on our second level.
Does not require gallery admission. FREE access.

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