Contemporary Kids: Flute Toot-torial

October 4

1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM
Workshop

Join us for a special flute workshop with Jiajia Li. For its simplicity, flute is one of the oldest instruments since the dawn of civilization. In this workshop, award-winning flutist Jiajia Li will guide us on how to make a DIY “flute”, teach some basic playing techniques, and show the beauty of the instruments connecting different cultures.

No experience required—just bring your curiosity! This workshop is led by the artist and will run for 75 minutes.

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 20 children, with one guardian per child.

Contemporary Calgary Educational Programs are often photographed. This photography includes the participants, parents or guardians and their creations. If you wish not to be photographed, please let Contemporary Calgary education staff know upon arrival, and they will assist you.

Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

The same workshop is offered in two sessions on October 4 for your convenience. Please choose the session that best suits your schedule.

Sunday, October 4
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, October 4
3:00-4:30 PM

About the Artist

Jiajia Li
(she/her)

Classically-trained flutist Jiajia Li is being praised as "one of the city's finest and most adventurous flautists”. She was the 2019 recipient of the “Stingray Classical Artist in Residency” at National Music Centre, 2025 Juno Award Nominee and 2026 Calgary Folk Music Award Nominee. Since finishing school in Germany and moving to Calgary in 2014, Jiajia has forged her identity through music and performance, cutting across a wide range of modern musical experimentations and traditions. Her wide interests in music have taken her on a journey from concert hall appearances with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra to improvised shows with the experimental concert series, “Bug Incision”, to directing a traditional Chinese ensemble, “Gai Lan Ensemble” and forming her latest fusion band, “Ginger Beef”.

Website: www.jiajiamusic.com
Instagram: @legato_gelato

About our Education Facilitators

Teaghan Fetherstonhaugh
(she/her)

TD Education Facilitator

Teaghan Fetherstonhaugh graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Illustration and Character Design. She is a digital artist whose practice revolves around celebrating Queer experiences through comics and sequential art. She also loves to explore the stories of strange and wonderful characters in worlds that feel imaginative and nostalgic. Teaghan shares her comics online and has built an audience that resonates with her work and her message.Beyond her personal practice, Teaghan is a passionate facilitator who loves delivering fun and engaging programs to connect with her community. Still early in her career, Teaghan embraces opportunities to learn, grow, and evolve. When she’s not drawing, Teaghan enjoys spending time at home with her cats while reading a good book.

Vicky Xingyu Gu
(she/her)

TD Education Facilitator

Vicky Xingyu Gu is a Chinese animator who holds a BFA in Animation from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA in Digital Arts & Animation from the University of Southern California. During her studies, she explored narrative, documentary, and experimental forms of animation. Her works draw inspiration from cultural conflicts, emotional struggles, and societal issues, while experimenting with both digital and traditional media to create layered, hybrid, and provocative forms of storytelling. Since relocating to Calgary, she has become an active participant in the local arts community. She has been teaching various forms of animation with Quickdraw Animation Society and enjoys guiding participants of all ages through creative practices such as drawing, collage, mixed media, and visual storytelling. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and baking, watching animated movies, and playing horror games.

Supported by

Supported by

Free First Thursday

October 1
5-9 PM

Join us for Free First Thursday at Contemporary Calgary, celebrating the opening of Obsession, an exhibition presented in partnership with Ninetimes.  

Obsession brings together more than 250 rare skateboards from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, exploring skateboarding culture through graphic design, collecting and nostalgia. The collection belongs to Kevin Lowry, whose lifelong fascination with skateboarding and skateboard graphics has grown into an extensive collection featuring boards from iconic brands and influential artists.

For one night, the exhibition becomes a meeting point for art, skate culture, music and Calgary’s skate community.

What's happening

SEE — Obsession
Explore the exhibition and get a closer look at the stories, artists and graphics behind Kevin Lowry’s collection.

WATCH — Skate Videos
Head to the Heather Edwards Theatre for a continuous programme of skate videos curated by Kevin Lowry.

MAKE — Skate-Inspired Art
Get creative with skate-related art activities in the Atrium, with activities designed for both children and adults and inspired by skate culture.

SHOP — Art & Skate Books
Discover a new collection of artist publications, photobooks, and zines exploring the rich intersection of contemporary art and skate culture. 

MOVE — Skate Feature
Look out for a special skate activation (weather permitting). Please bring your own helmet to participate.

HEAR — Music
Enjoy a soundtrack curated to accompany Obsession and the skate-video era.

Grab a drink at the bar and enjoy popcorn while you explore the galleries and programming.

Art for All – FREE with registration.

On view:

• Obsession

• Curtis Talwst Santiago: worlds, worlds, worlds

• Jane Jin Kaisen: Burial of This Order

• Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

• Adelita Husni Bey: Agency

Pokaiks: The Children — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30
11:00–5:30 PM

Join Pokaiks Reconciliation Society at Contemporary Calgary on September 30 for a day of community, culture, learning and reflection in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Now in its 10th year, Pokaiks’ annual gathering brings people together through Indigenous arts, culture and community programming, creating opportunities to learn, connect and take part in meaningful reconciliation.

The day begins with the annual Pokaiks Reconciliation Walk, departing from River Hall at 11:00 AM and making its way to Contemporary Calgary, followed by opening ceremonies.

From 12:00 PM, explore programming throughout the gallery, including an Indigenous artisan market, community organizations, live performances, Tipi Talks, Indigenous games, family activities, workshops, films and a drum circle. Visitors can also enjoy Indigenous food, food trucks and a coffee cart throughout the afternoon.

There will be opportunities for both participation and reflection, including a quiet area hosted by Calgary Public Library and a dedicated Elder’s Niche.

The afternoon will conclude with closing ceremonies at 5:00 PM.

Everyone is welcome.

Event Schedule

• 11:00 AM — Pokaiks Reconciliation Walk departs from River Hall (311 8 St SW, next to the 10th Street Bridge), ending at Contemporary Calgary.

• 12:00 PM — Opening Ceremonies.

• 12:00–5:30 PM — Performances, artisans, community organizations and family programming.

Please note: For all programming taking place inside Contemporary Calgary, only service animals are permitted in the building.

Programming and schedule details are subject to change.

Presented by Pokaiks Reconciliation Society in partnership with Contemporary Calgary.

FRESH FRAMES

September 26
2-4 PM | Heather Edwards Theatre

Join us for FRESH FRAMES as we celebrate Quickdraw's youth animation filmmakers, with a selection of colourful, creative, and sometimes ridiculous films made in our classes, workshops and camps. Directly following the youth filmmaker screening, we'll also be sharing a selection of kid-friendly films by local and international professional animators taken from our GIRAF4YOUTH showcase. Come for one or both screenings and enjoy an afternoon of wildly imaginative animation!

Free with registration.

Art Book Club | Developing Corbin Union OSOSO: Publishing as an Artist Collective

September 23
6 PM

Join us for thoughtful conversations about art books - a dynamic format where artists continue to push boundaries, considering the book not just as an object but as a portal into their creative practices. As pioneering curator Seth Siegelaub insightfully stated, “Books and exhibitions are not separate, but extensions of the same idea.” Our Art Book Club embraces this philosophy, bridging the worlds of exhibitions and publications.

Led by Beth Kane, Visitor Experience Manager, each session offers fresh perspectives and deeper engagement with contemporary art and publishing. This is a book club for curious minds - readers, artists, and art lovers who view books as both inspiration and artistic practice. 

What to Expect:

• Four sessions per year featuring guest speakers from the art and publishing worlds

• A welcoming community of art book enthusiasts

• A space for artists exploring the book as part of their own work

• Opportunities to deepen your connection to contemporary art and/or publishing

• Rich conversations with others passionate about art and ideas

Registration Fee:

• $70/year includes three remaining sessions (#2-4), a welcome gift featuring items from the Contemporary Calgary Bookshop. All those in the Art Book Club community receive a 10% discount in the shop.

• $30 for individual sessions. Attendees may register for each individual session but this option does not include the welcome gift, book, or shop discount.

Session 2: Developing Corbin Union OSOSO: Publishing as an Artist Collective

September 23
6 PM

Corbin Union, a collective of artists, writers, and curators, including core founding members Miruna Drăgan, Jason de Haan, and Warren McLachlan, has gathered annually in the former coal-mining town of Corbin, British Columbia since 2012 to produce a variety of collaborative and individual works. Guided by a conceptual framework of excavation and entombment, mirroring and refraction, one outcome of this ongoing practice is OSOSO, a series of exhibitions and publication projects.

Speakers Miruna Drăgan and Jason de Haan will discuss the collective’s approach to publishing and collaborative artistic production. They will trace the OSOSO publication (published by Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver) from initial concept through design and print, reflecting on how publishing becomes a valuable extension of the exhibition beyond the gallery space.

Session 3: Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Encompass the Galaxy: From Studio to Publication 

Fall (date tbc.)
6 PM

Join acclaimed artist Simone Elizabeth Saunders, one of Canada’s most compelling contemporary textile artists, as she shares the creative journey behind her recent publication Encompass the Galaxy, published by Contemporary Calgary. This book showcases 40 works from 2020–2023, highlighting Saunders’ vibrant hand-tufted textiles and exploring themes of Black womanhood, ancestral memory, and resistance. Through her practice, Saunders transforms fibre into a language of strength, storytelling, and survival. This session offers insight into how artists can expand their work into print, engaging audiences through narrative, design, and materiality.

Session 4: Zine-Making Workshop & Program Celebration

December 9
6 PM

Artist Blake McLeod leads a hands-on workshop exploring zines as dynamic tools for self-expression and storytelling. Participants will create their own small publications and celebrate the culmination of the program with an informal sharing session.

Blake (they/them) is the Creative Director and founder of CINIC Studio, a creative practice and studio space born from a desire for safety, freedom, and collaboration. Working across drawing, writing, illustration, photography, videography, screen printing, and digital design, Blake centers storytelling as a means to connect, heal, and share experiences. Through CINIC Studio, they bring together techniques, insights, and practices to support others in building confidence, fostering belonging, and exploring creative expression.

Perspective Film Series:

Godzilla (1954), dir. Ishirō Honda

September 20

5:30 PM | Dome Theatre

The 1954 classic Gojira (Godzilla) is a haunting, allegorical horror film in which American nuclear testing awakens and mutates a prehistoric sea creature, unleashing destruction on Tokyo. Beyond its terrifying spectacle, the film explores the consequences of humanity’s technological hubris, the ethical dilemmas of scientific discovery, and the lingering fears of nuclear devastation, reflecting postwar anxieties in a society grappling with the power – and peril – of atomic energy.

Country: Japan

96 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Disclaimer: This film contains some difficult subject matter, including violence and nudity, 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.

About Perspective Film Series

Curated by associate curator Muriel N. Kahwagi, the 2026 edition of Perspective is conceived as a sustained meditation on disaster in its broadest and most resonant terms. While ecological catastrophe remains a central point of reference, the series extends beyond literal scenarios of environmental collapse or speculative visions of planetary ruin, approaching disaster as a condition that permeates both collective structures and private lives, unfolding across social, political, and emotional terrains. In this sense, disaster is understood not only as a single event, but as an ongoing state – slow, uneven, and often normalized through systems of power, habit, and belief. The films in this series examine how moments of crisis reshape perception and behaviour, revealing fractures in meaning, and reflecting on the ways in which hope may persist long after the moment of rupture has passed.

About the Curator

Muriel N. Kahwagi ((she/her)) 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.

Contemporary Kids: Let Your Light Shine

September 20

1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM
Workshop

With the Mid-Autumn Festival just around the corner, join us for a special lantern-making workshop to celebrate this beloved season and its traditions. Inspired by the moon and autumn stories, kids will design and craft their own lanterns to light the way for the season ahead.

What to expect: We will begin the session with a story-sharing circle about the fall season followed by a demo and workshop dedicated to lantern-making.

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 25 children, with one guardian per child. 

Contemporary Calgary Educational Programs are often photographed. This photography includes the participants, parents or guardians and their creations. If you wish not to be photographed, please let Contemporary Calgary education staff know upon arrival, and they will assist you.

Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

The same workshop is offered in two sessions for your convenience on September 20. Choose one session that suits your schedule best. 

Sunday, September 20
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, September 20
3:00-4:30 PM

About our Education Facilitators

Teaghan Fetherstonhaugh
(she/her)

TD Education Facilitator

Teaghan Fetherstonhaugh graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Illustration and Character Design. She is a digital artist whose practice revolves around celebrating Queer experiences through comics and sequential art. She also loves to explore the stories of strange and wonderful characters in worlds that feel imaginative and nostalgic. Teaghan shares her comics online and has built an audience that resonates with her work and her message.Beyond her personal practice, Teaghan is a passionate facilitator who loves delivering fun and engaging programs to connect with her community. Still early in her career, Teaghan embraces opportunities to learn, grow, and evolve. When she’s not drawing, Teaghan enjoys spending time at home with her cats while reading a good book.

Vicky Xingyu Gu
(she/her)

TD Education Facilitator

Vicky Xingyu Gu is a Chinese animator who holds a BFA in Animation from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA in Digital Arts & Animation from the University of Southern California. During her studies, she explored narrative, documentary, and experimental forms of animation. Her works draw inspiration from cultural conflicts, emotional struggles, and societal issues, while experimenting with both digital and traditional media to create layered, hybrid, and provocative forms of storytelling. Since relocating to Calgary, she has become an active participant in the local arts community. She has been teaching various forms of animation with Quickdraw Animation Society and enjoys guiding participants of all ages through creative practices such as drawing, collage, mixed media, and visual storytelling. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and baking, watching animated movies, and playing horror games.

Supported by

Supported by

Contemporary Conversations:
Noa Bronstein in conversation with Mona Filip

September 19
3:30 PM | Heather Edwards Theatre

To mark the opening of Jane Jin Kaisen’s solo show Burial of This Order, please join us for a conversation with Guest Curator Noa Bronstein and Chief Curator Mona Filip. The conversation will reflect on the three video works presented in the exhibition, exploring their central themes that underscore Kaisen’s ongoing interests in ritual, collectivity, and the potential of social and political transgressions. 

The conversation will be followed by a Q&A with the public.

Free with registration.

This program is supported by RBC Foundation as part of the Contemporary Conversations Series.

About the Artist

Jane Jin Kaisen
(she/her)

Jane Jin Kaisen (b. 1980 Jeju Island, lives in Copenhagen) is known for her visually striking, multi-layered, performative, poetic, and multi-voiced feminist works concerning memory, migration, and borders, conceived at the intersection of lived experience and larger political histories. Other long-term commitments revolve around nature and island spaces, alternative cosmologies, sustainability and the preservation of intangible cultures. Kaisen represented Korea at the 58th Venice Biennale and is the recipient of various recognition grants and awards. Recent exhibitions include the 13th Berlin Biennale, the 13th Seoul Media City Biennale, the Hawaii Triennial 2025, and the Korea Artist Prize 2024 at MMCA Korea. 

About the Guest Curator

Noa Bronstein
(she/her)

Noa Bronstein is a writer and curator based in Toronto whose practice is often focused on the social production of space, and thinking through how artists disrupt and subvert systems including those registering across social, political and economic structures. Bronstein has previously stewarded two leading artist-run centres through her role as the Executive Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography and Gallery TPW, and in 2018 held the position of Senior Curator for the City of Mississauga. Noa has curated and programmed projects/exhibitions at institutions across Canada, including at the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), The Rooms (St. John’s), Doris McCarthy Gallery (Toronto), and The New Gallery (Calgary). Her writing has appeared in publications including Artforum, Border Crossings, C Magazine, Canadian Art, esse art + opinions, PUBLIC Journal, and The Journal of Curatorial Studies. Bronstein is currently the Assistant Director of the Art Museum at the University of Toronto.

About the Chief Curator

Mona Filip
(she/her)

Mona Filip (she/her) is Contemporary Calgary’s Chief Curator. Her curatorial career spans two decades of developing critical visual art programs, supporting the production of new works, and introducing national and international artists to new audiences through first local exhibitions. Filip’s projects have explored the intersections of collective memory, place, and belonging, examining artistic strategies that redress sidelined histories, restitution and repair, and storytelling as world-building. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Filip holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC, and an MFA from SUNY at Buffalo.

Vethro Zero One: Performance Lecture

In conjunction with Curtis Talwst Santiago: worlds, worlds, worlds

September 19
2 PM | Flanagan Family Gallery

At first glance, it could be a person. It wears the uniform, moves through the shift like anyone else on the line. But something is off. What the station was for has always been uncertain, marked in history yet never quite understood, perhaps never fully known even then. All anyone knows it by is Vethro Zero One. 

When the station was abandoned, Vethro Zero One resigned itself to a new task, one with no end date, to guide visitors through what remains. It has been doing this ever since. 

Vethro Zero One moves between roles without warning, one moment a tour guide reciting what little is known, the next something stranger, something that seems to slip out of its own uniform entirely. It pushes a cart of tangled electronic devices everywhere it goes, wires and machines whose purpose is never explained. 

It leads groups toward each chapter of the exhibition, then steps back, letting them wander, look closely, get near. It watches. It responds. 

Communication here moves through many channels at once, speech, static, rhythm, echo, mirroring the exhibition’s own scenography of horns, pipes and circuitry, an operative field where meaning is generated, disrupted and redirected in real time. Long after visitors leave, the station keeps humming. 

Free with registration.

About the Artist

Curtis Talwst Santiago (he/him)

Curtis Talwst Santiago puts entire worlds inside jewellery boxes. The dioramas, intricate handbuilt scenes no larger than a palm, are where his practice began and where it remains anchored, even as it has expanded into painting, sculpture, public art, and film.

Santiago was born in Edmonton and raised in Sherwood Park, Alberta, to Trinidadian immigrant parents. He grew up between two worlds, Caribbean household, Canadian suburb, and that double consciousness never left him. It shows up in the work: a barbershop scene beside a migration crisis, a basement dance party next to a border. Nothing in the Infinity Series stays safely in one world for long.

He came up through music. As a teenager he performed in an a cappella group, opened for Usher by 18, and earned a CBC Star Maker award at 23 before co-founding the funk band HI PHONIQS. His most recent solo full-length was recorded with Grammy Award winning producer Illangelo. Visual art eventually took over, but the musical foundation never disappeared, rhythm, resonance, and interruption run through everything he makes.

Art had always been there, in Vancouver it just took over. Friends who saw the work convinced him it belonged in galleries and museums, and he started to believe them. A flea market street vendor handed him his first ring box, setting the Infinity Series in motion. A knock on the right studio door led to a three-year mentorship with renowned First Nations artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. He later moved to New York, where a solo exhibition at the Drawing Center marked his arrival on the international stage.

His work is held in permanent collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Lenbachhaus Munich. He is represented by Uffner & Liu, New York, and Martina Simeti, Milan, and lives and works in Potsdam, Germany.

Contemporary Connections: Punjabi Tour

September 18
Ring Gallery | 12-1 PM

Contemporary Connections is a guided tour series designed to make art accessible and engaging for Calgary’s diverse communities. These events create a welcoming and inclusive space for participants to explore our exhibitions and connect with others, fostering meaningful relationships through the shared experience of contemporary art.

Admission: Free with advance registration; walk-ins welcome, space permitting

Exhibition Tour: Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

Duration: 30-minute guided tour, followed by a post-tour conversation and optional mini mixer

Guide: Harpreet M Dayal is an author, poet, community convener, and believer in the power of the arts to connect and heal. Harpreet works with numerous non-profit, settlement, and arts organizations and collaborates with local businesses in Calgary through her platform. 

She founded 'Love Notes,' an event that gathers artists from across disciplines to create a performative love note to Calgary and beyond. Since its inception in 2017, Harpreet has collaborated with Arts Commons to bring Love Notes to their Amplify Cabaret Series, Moonlight Market, and cSpace. Her work has featured in HuffPost, Avenue Magazine, CBC, CTV, and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

We welcome your suggestions for future tours in other languages! Email us at info@contemporarycalgary.com

Contemporary Connections is supported by program partner Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI)

This event is part of Calgary Culture Days, a city-wide celebration of arts, culture and community happening throughout September.

Learn more at calgary.ca/CultureDays.

Contemporary Connections: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਟੂਰ

ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ, 18 ਸਤੰਬਰ | ਦੁਪਹਿਰ 12-1 ਵਜੇ | Ring Gallery

ਕੰਟੈਂਪਰੇਰੀ ਕਨੈਕਸ਼ਨ ਇੱਕ ਗਾਈਡਡ ਟੂਰ ਲੜੀ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਕੈਲਗਰੀ ਦੇ ਵਿਭਿੰਨ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਲਾ ਨੂੰ ਪਹੁੰਚਯੋਗ ਅਤੇ ਦਿਲਚਸਪ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਤਿਆਰ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਦਰਸ਼ਕਾਂ ਦਾ ਹਾਰਦਿਕ ਸੁਆਗਤ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਇਕ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਖ਼ਾਸ ਸਥਾਨ ਹੈ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਉਹ ਸਾਡੀਆਂ ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਨੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਨ ਅਤੇ ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਮਿਲਜੁਲ ਕੇ ਇਸ ਆਧੁਨਿਕ ਕਲਾ ਦੇ ਸਾਂਝੇ ਅਨੁਭਵ ਦਾ ਅਹਿਸਾਸ ਕਰ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਨ।  

ਦਾਖਲਾ: ਐਡਵਾਂਸ ਰਜਿਸਟ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਨਾਲ ਮੁਫ਼ਤ; ਜਗ੍ਹਾ ਦੀ ਉਪਲਬਧਤਾ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ, ਬਿਨਾਂ ਰਜਿਸਟ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਦੇ ਵੀ ਆਉਣ ਦਾ ਸੁਆਗਤ ਹੈ।

ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਨੀ ਟੂਰ: ਗ਼ਜ਼ਾਲੇਹ ਅਵਾਰਜ਼ਾਮਾਨੀ: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

ਮਿਆਦ: 30 ਮਿੰਟ ਦਾ ਟੂਰ, ਉਸ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਅਤੇ ਜੇ ਚਾਹੋ ਤਾਂ ਥੋੜ੍ਹਾ ਮੇਲ-ਮਿਲਾਪ ਵੀ ਕਰ ਸਕਦੇ ਹੋ। 

ਗਾਈਡ:  ਹਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਐਮ ਦਿਆਲ ਇੱਕ ਲੇਖਕ, ਕਵੀ, ਅਤੇ ਕਲਾ ਦੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝਦੀ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਆਰਟ ਰਾਹੀ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਜੋੜਨ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਕਤੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਸ਼ਵਾਸ ਰੱਖਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਹੈ। ਉਸਨੇ 'ਲਵ ਨੋਟਸ' ਦੀ ਸਥਾਪਨਾ ਕੀਤੀ, ਇੱਕ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਜੋ ਕੈਲਗਰੀ ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਇੱਕ ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਨਕਾਰੀ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਪੱਤਰ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਵਿਸ਼ਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਕਲਾਕਾਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਕੱਠਾ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। 2017 ਵਿੱਚ ਇਸਦੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂਆਤ ਤੋਂ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਹੁਣ ਤੱਕ ਹਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਨੇ ਲਵ ਨੋਟਸ ਨੂੰ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੀ ਐਂਪਲੀਫਾਈ ਕੈਬਰੇ ਸੀਰੀਜ਼ (Amplify Cabaret Series), ਮੂਨਲਾਈਟ ਮਾਰਕੀਟ (Moonlight Market), ਅਤੇ ਸੀ-ਸਪੇਸ (cSpace) ਵਿੱਚ ਲਿਆਉਣ ਲਈ ਆਰਟਸ ਕਾਮਨਜ਼ ਨਾਲ ਸਹਿਯੋਗ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ। ਹਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਨੇ HuffPost, Avenue Magazine, CBC, CTV, ਅਤੇ ਕੈਨੇਡੀਅਨ ਮੈਂਟਲ ਹੈਲਥ ਐਸੋਸੀਏਸ਼ਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਿਤ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕਾ ਹੈ।

ਅਸੀਂ ਹੋਰ ਭਾਸ਼ਾਵਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਭਵਿੱਖ ਦੇ ਟੂਰਾਂ ਲਈ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਸੁਝਾਵਾਂ ਦਾ ਸੁਆਗਤ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਾਂ! ਸਾਨੂੰ info@contemporarycalgary.com ਤੇ ਈਮੇਲ ਕਰੋ। 

ਇਹ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ, ‘ਕੰਟੈਂਪਰੇਰੀ ਕਨੈਕਸ਼ਨ’ ਵੱਲੋਂ, ਇਮੀਗ੍ਰੈਂਟ ਕੌਂਸਲ ਫਾਰ ਆਰਟਸ ਇਨੋਵੇਸ਼ਨ (ICAI) ਦੀ ਸਪੋਰਟ ਨਾਲ ਹੋ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। 

Exhibition Opening
Curtis Talwst Santiago + Jane Jin Kaisen

September 17
6-9 PM

Please join us on Thursday, September 17, from 6-9 PM, as we celebrate the opening of two solo exhibitions, Curtis Talwst Santiago: worlds, worlds, worlds and Jane Jin Kaisen: Burial of This Order.

Building toward a landmark moment in Contemporary Calgary's evolution—marked by the Centennial Planetarium's highly anticipated transformation—this new exhibition season explores notions of change and world-building throughout all aspects of our lives: social, political, environmental and psychological. Prominent Canadian and international artists engaged in the upcoming projects bring generative perspectives and expansive ways of thinking through our fraught historical moment where ruptures and crises have the potential to lead to new possibilities and ever-evolving realities. 

Meet Curtis Talwst Santiago and take home his work! From 6:30–7:00 PM, Curtis will be meeting with visitors and personalizing his limited-edition 11 × 17 fine art prints. Signed and numbered as part of an edition of 100, prints are available for $70 in limited quantities. Don’t miss this special opportunity to meet the artist and make your print your own.

• Doors
  6:00 PM

• Meet the Artist and Personalize Your Print 
  6:30-7:00 PM | Flanagan Family Gallery Hallway 

• Remarks
  7:00 PM | Atrium

• Galleries Close
  9:00 PM

FREE to the public. No registration is required. 

About the Artists

Curtis Talwst Santiago (he/him)

Curtis Talwst Santiago puts entire worlds inside jewellery boxes. The dioramas, intricate handbuilt scenes no larger than a palm, are where his practice began and where it remains anchored, even as it has expanded into painting, sculpture, public art, and film.

Santiago was born in Edmonton and raised in Sherwood Park, Alberta, to Trinidadian immigrant parents. He grew up between two worlds, Caribbean household, Canadian suburb, and that double consciousness never left him. It shows up in the work: a barbershop scene beside a migration crisis, a basement dance party next to a border. Nothing in the Infinity Series stays safely in one world for long.

He came up through music. As a teenager he performed in an a cappella group, opened for Usher by 18, and earned a CBC Star Maker award at 23 before co-founding the funk band HI PHONIQS. His most recent solo full-length was recorded with Grammy Award winning producer Illangelo. Visual art eventually took over, but the musical foundation never disappeared, rhythm, resonance, and interruption run through everything he makes.

Art had always been there, in Vancouver it just took over. Friends who saw the work convinced him it belonged in galleries and museums, and he started to believe them. A flea market street vendor handed him his first ring box, setting the Infinity Series in motion. A knock on the right studio door led to a three-year mentorship with renowned First Nations artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. He later moved to New York, where a solo exhibition at the Drawing Center marked his arrival on the international stage.

His work is held in permanent collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Lenbachhaus Munich. He is represented by Uffner & Liu, New York, and Martina Simeti, Milan, and lives and works in Potsdam, Germany.

Jane Jin Kaisen
(she/her)

Jane Jin Kaisen (b. 1980 Jeju Island, lives in Copenhagen) is known for her visually striking, multi-layered, performative, poetic, and multi-voiced feminist works concerning memory, migration, and borders, conceived at the intersection of lived experience and larger political histories. Other long-term commitments revolve around nature and island spaces, alternative cosmologies, sustainability and the preservation of intangible cultures. Kaisen represented Korea at the 58th Venice Biennale and is the recipient of various recognition grants and awards. Recent exhibitions include the 13th Berlin Biennale, the 13th Seoul Media City Biennale, the Hawaii Triennial 2025, and the Korea Artist Prize 2024 at MMCA Korea. 

National Gallery of Canada’s Annual Public Meeting

September 14
5-6 PM

You are invited to attend the National Gallery of Canada’s 2026 Annual Public Meeting, held this year at Contemporary Calgary (AB).

Paul C. Genest, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Jean-François Bélisle, Director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada, will share insights on Canada’s museum scene and highlights of upcoming initiatives, followed by a presentation of the Gallery’s new 2026–2031 strategic plan. A question-and-answer period will follow.

Please note that this is a hybrid event. Participants may attend onsite (5:00–6:00 p.m. MDT in Calgary) or online (7:00–8:00 p.m. EDT). The meeting will be followed by a reception for onsite guests. 

Bilingual event. Simultaneous interpretation available in English and in French. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will also be provided.

Free First Thursday

September 3
5-9 PM

Join us for a creative evening celebrating Pride! Enjoy a free, all-ages evening with music from a live DJ, and hands-on art-making activities for all ages. 

Please join us as we play the card game Re/Turn: A Gifting Game, conceived and developed by the Play, (Re)Design, and Learn Group at the University of Calgary. Inspired by Ghazaleh Avarzamani's solo show Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return, Re/Turn: A Gifting Game gives players an opportunity to counter the hostile reality of imposed rules and competitive society. It's a collaborative card game where players constantly change rules and goals to gather and share resources within the community and beyond. Centered on communication, collective decision-making, and reciprocity, the game reminds players that individual and collective actions within the community could resist and impact dominant structures.

Explore our exhibitions, make something of your own, and connect with friends, family, and community in a fun and welcoming atmosphere. Come as you are and celebrate through art, music, and togetherness.

Enjoy free admission from 5–9 PM, a curated bar featuring wine, craft beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, and an evening of art, design, and community. All ages are welcome.

Art for All - FREE with registration.

Exhibition tour:

• At 6 PM, gather outside the Ring Gallery for a guided tour of Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return.

On view:

• Jane Jin Kaisen: Burial of This Order

• Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

• Adelita Husni Bey: Agency

Perspective Film Series:

A Clockwork Orange (1971), dir. Stanley Kubrick

August 23

5:30 PM | Dome Theatre

Stanley Kubrick’s iconic A Clockwork Orange (1971) follows Alex, a charismatic but ultraviolent teenage delinquent in dystopian future Britain, who leads his "droogs" in drug-fueled crime sprees, narrating in futuristic slang (Nadsat). After being caught and imprisoned for murder, he undergoes the controversial Ludovico Technique, a psychological aversion therapy that conditions him to feel physically ill at the thought of violence, effectively removing his free will. Released as a "cured" citizen, he faces societal rejection and political manipulation, asking us to question the ethics of state control, the nature of free will, and whether true morality can exist without the freedom to choose.

Country: UK, US

136 minutes, in English

Disclaimer: This film contains some difficult subject matter, including violence and nudity, 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.

About Perspective Film Series

Curated by associate curator Muriel N. Kahwagi, the 2026 edition of Perspective is conceived as a sustained meditation on disaster in its broadest and most resonant terms. While ecological catastrophe remains a central point of reference, the series extends beyond literal scenarios of environmental collapse or speculative visions of planetary ruin, approaching disaster as a condition that permeates both collective structures and private lives, unfolding across social, political, and emotional terrains. In this sense, disaster is understood not only as a single event, but as an ongoing state – slow, uneven, and often normalized through systems of power, habit, and belief. The films in this series examine how moments of crisis reshape perception and behaviour, revealing fractures in meaning, and reflecting on the ways in which hope may persist long after the moment of rupture has passed.

About the Curator

Muriel N. Kahwagi ((she/her)) 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.

A Long Dramatic Pause

August 16
Grotto | 2-2:30 PM

A Long Dramatic Pause is a live performance that explores strategies of resistance against ultranationalism and far-right politics through the languages of photography and theatre. Performed by Cindy Ansah and co-developed with artist Erdem Taşdelen, the narrative comprises twelve dramatic scenes that describe a photographic image, never showing it directly but rather bringing it to life through re-enactment and visual analysis.

At the heart of the photograph being described is a young woman, a figure of solidarity and defiance with whom the audience can identify. As the performer moves between observing and embodying this antifascist figure, the narrative gradually implicates the audience as if they had been unknowing protagonists in the image all along. With this, their focus shifts away from the performer towards their own agency and collective presence.

A Long Dramatic Pause is a process-based project developed anew with each staging. Every version emerges from a collaboration between the artist and a new performer, guided by a set of graphic scores created specifically for the work.

The first staging of A Long Dramatic Pause took place in London (UK) in September 2025. This second staging at Contemporary Calgary marks the performance’s Canadian premiere.

About the Artists

Cindy Ansah (she/her) is a storyteller, a vibrant embodiment of culture. A multidimensional creative, she embodies multiplicity as a dance artist, actress, filmmaker, writer, fashion visionary, and muse, dialoguing in Mohkínstsis (Calgary) and across Turtle Island. Since 2020, Cindy has been devoted to her role as Artistic Director of Not Another Political Playground Y’all (N.A.P.P.Y.), which has produced two acclaimed seasons. She co-founded the all-Black contemporary arts collective with collaborator Tiara Matusin, with the shared aspiration to champion Black artistry and collectivity in all its breadth, depth, and nuance.

Erdem Taşdelen (he/him) is an artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. Through the use of diverse materials and media, he constructs semi-fictional narratives that incorporate unique historical figures, events and texts to implicate contemporary sociopolitical realities. His projects over the past 15 years have explored themes such as life under authoritarian rule; the theatricality and public spectacles of political discourse; migration, displacement and the haunting presence of the past in contemporary contexts; and the possibilities for self-expression and the limits of authorship within culturally learned forms. Taşdelen has exhibited at venues including The Power Plant, Aga Khan Museum and Mercer Union in Toronto; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; VOX Centre de l'image contemporaine, Montréal; Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg; and Pera Museum, Istanbul. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Foundation and Studio Voltaire, London; Hangar, Lisbon; Rupert, Vilnius; and KulturKontakt, Vienna. He was awarded the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Visual Arts by the Canada Council in 2016, the Charles Pachter Prize by Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2014, long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2019, and selected as a finalist for the Taoyuan International Art Award in 2025.

Contemporary Connections: Spanish Tour

August 8
Flanagan Family Gallery | 12-1 PM

Contemporary Connections is a guided tour series designed to make art accessible and engaging for Calgary’s diverse communities. These events create a welcoming and inclusive space for participants to explore our exhibitions and connect with others, fostering meaningful relationships through the shared experience of contemporary art.

Admission: Free with advance registration; walk-ins welcome, space permitting

Exhibition Tour: Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens: Stacking Crates to Reach a Banana and Erdem Taşdelen: Wounded in Three Acts

Duration: 30-minute guided tour, followed by a post-tour conversation and optional mini mixer

Guide: Eglantina Miranda is a Gallery Attendant at Contemporary Calgary. Passionate about connecting with visitors and encouraging conversation around contemporary art. As a native Spanish speaker, Eglantina is excited to lead this tour, offering participants the opportunity to experience the exhibitions.

We welcome your suggestions for future tours in other languages! Email us at info@contemporarycalgary.com

Contemporary Connections is supported by program partner Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI)

Contemporary Connections: Tour en Español

8 de agosto | 12-1 PM | Flanagan Family Gallery

Contemporary Connections es un programa de tours guiados diseñado para hacer que el arte sea accesible y atractivo para las diversas comunidades de Calgary. Estos eventos crean un espacio acogedor e inclusivo para que los participantes exploren nuestras exposiciones y se conecten con otros, fomentando relaciones significativas a través de la experiencia compartida del arte contemporáneo.

Admisión: Gratuita con registro anticipado; también se aceptan asistentes sin registro, según disponibilidad de espacio

Tour por las exposiciones: Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens: Stacking Crates to Reach a Banana y Erdem Taşdelen: Wounded in Three Acts

Duración: Recorrido guiado de 30 minutos, seguido de una conversación posterior y un mini mixer opcional

Guía: Eglantina Miranda es Asistente de Galería en Contemporary Calgary. Apasionada por conectar con los visitantes y fomentar la conversación en torno al arte contemporáneo. Como su lengua madre es español y su pasión es el arte contemporáneo, para Eglantina es un honor liderar este recorrido, ofreciendo a los participantes la oportunidad de apreciar y entender las exposiciones.

¡Nos encantaría conocer tus sugerencias para futuros recorridos en otros idiomas! Escríbenos a info@contemporarycalgary.com

Contemporary Connections cuenta con el patrocinio del programa Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI).

Free First Thursday

August 6
5-9 PM

Join us at Contemporary Calgary for Free First Thursday, featuring a special interactive art activation by Calgary artist Michelle Atkinson alongside exhibitions and programming presented by d.talks to kick off Design Week Calgary.

Created exclusively for Free First Thursday, Michelle Atkinson's interactive activation invites visitors to engage with her contemporary art practice, which explores weather, environmental data, and abstraction. 

Throughout the evening, choose from one of three original designs and watch as the artwork is heat-pressed live onto a limited-edition tote bag, creating a unique keepsake to take home. Part artist demonstration and part participatory experience, the activation offers a behind-the-scenes look at Michelle's creative process while giving visitors the opportunity to leave with an original artwork.

Explore Contemporary Calgary's current exhibitions and discover Design Week Calgary installations and activations throughout the gallery, including Lost & Found—a collaboration with Six Degrees and the festival’s flagship installation, which invites visitors to slow down and attune themselves to their surroundings, its ambient sounds, shifting light, and collective movement.

Pop by Design Week Calgary’s interactive workshop Cycles: Rework & Upcycle pop-up by Jonas. An up-cycling space to create, connect, and practice sustainability. Here you will find a clothing swap/donation bin, a Jonas themed photo op area, a hands-on workshop, and good conversation. 

Bring something pre-loved from your closet to donate, swap, or get reworked;and get hands-on at the workshop booth.

Enjoy free admission from 5–9 PM, a curated bar featuring wine, craft beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, and an evening of art, design, and community. All ages are welcome.

Art for All - FREE with registration.

Exhibition tours:

• At 6 PM, gather outside the Flanagan Family Gallery for a guided tour of Stacking Crates to Reach a Banana by Quebec-based artist duo Richard Ibghy and Marilou Lemmens

• At 8 PM, gather outside the Flanagan Family Gallery for a guided tour of Erdem Taşdelen’s exhibition Wounded in Three Acts

On view:

• Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

• Adelita Husni Bey: Agency

• Haig Aivazian: You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light

• Erdem Taşdelen: Wounded in Three Acts

• Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens: Stacking Crates to Reach a Banana

Historic Calgary Week: Exhibition Tours and Performance

August 2
12-3 PM

Please join us for a curator-led tour of five solo shows by Canadian and international artists at Contemporary Calgary, reflecting on notions of belonging, power, resistance, evolving social dynamics, and speculative futures.

The tour will be followed by a A Long Dramatic Pause, a performance co-developed by Cindy Ansah and Erdem Taşdelen, one of the exhibiting artists, and performed by Ansah. The performance explores strategies of resistance through the languages of photography and theatre.

Exhibitions on view include Erdem Taşdelen: Wounded in Three Acts; Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens: Stacking Crates to Reach a Banana; Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn, and Then Return; Haig Aivazian: You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light; and Adelita Husni Bey: Agency.

Free with registration.

A Long Dramatic Pause

August 2
Grotto | 2-2:30 PM

A Long Dramatic Pause is a live performance that explores strategies of resistance against ultranationalism and far-right politics through the languages of photography and theatre. Performed by Cindy Ansah and co-developed with artist Erdem Taşdelen, the narrative comprises twelve dramatic scenes that describe a photographic image, never showing it directly but rather bringing it to life through re-enactment and visual analysis.

At the heart of the photograph being described is a young woman, a figure of solidarity and defiance with whom the audience can identify. As the performer moves between observing and embodying this antifascist figure, the narrative gradually implicates the audience as if they had been unknowing protagonists in the image all along. With this, their focus shifts away from the performer towards their own agency and collective presence.

A Long Dramatic Pause is a process-based project developed anew with each staging. Every version emerges from a collaboration between the artist and a new performer, guided by a set of graphic scores created specifically for the work.

The first staging of A Long Dramatic Pause took place in London (UK) in September 2025. This second staging at Contemporary Calgary marks the performance’s Canadian premiere.

About the Artists

Cindy Ansah (she/her) is a storyteller, a vibrant embodiment of culture. A multidimensional creative, she embodies multiplicity as a dance artist, actress, filmmaker, writer, fashion visionary, and muse, dialoguing in Mohkínstsis (Calgary) and across Turtle Island. Since 2020, Cindy has been devoted to her role as Artistic Director of Not Another Political Playground Y’all (N.A.P.P.Y.), which has produced two acclaimed seasons. She co-founded the all-Black contemporary arts collective with collaborator Tiara Matusin, with the shared aspiration to champion Black artistry and collectivity in all its breadth, depth, and nuance.

Erdem Taşdelen (he/him) is an artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. Through the use of diverse materials and media, he constructs semi-fictional narratives that incorporate unique historical figures, events and texts to implicate contemporary sociopolitical realities. His projects over the past 15 years have explored themes such as life under authoritarian rule; the theatricality and public spectacles of political discourse; migration, displacement and the haunting presence of the past in contemporary contexts; and the possibilities for self-expression and the limits of authorship within culturally learned forms. Taşdelen has exhibited at venues including The Power Plant, Aga Khan Museum and Mercer Union in Toronto; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; VOX Centre de l'image contemporaine, Montréal; Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg; and Pera Museum, Istanbul. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Foundation and Studio Voltaire, London; Hangar, Lisbon; Rupert, Vilnius; and KulturKontakt, Vienna. He was awarded the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Visual Arts by the Canada Council in 2016, the Charles Pachter Prize by Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2014, long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2019, and selected as a finalist for the Taoyuan International Art Award in 2025.

A Long Dramatic Pause

July 25
Grotto | 2-2:30 PM

A Long Dramatic Pause is a live performance that explores strategies of resistance against ultranationalism and far-right politics through the languages of photography and theatre. Performed by Cindy Ansah and co-developed with artist Erdem Taşdelen, the narrative comprises twelve dramatic scenes that describe a photographic image, never showing it directly but rather bringing it to life through re-enactment and visual analysis.

At the heart of the photograph being described is a young woman, a figure of solidarity and defiance with whom the audience can identify. As the performer moves between observing and embodying this antifascist figure, the narrative gradually implicates the audience as if they had been unknowing protagonists in the image all along. With this, their focus shifts away from the performer towards their own agency and collective presence.

A Long Dramatic Pause is a process-based project developed anew with each staging. Every version emerges from a collaboration between the artist and a new performer, guided by a set of graphic scores created specifically for the work.

The first staging of A Long Dramatic Pause took place in London (UK) in September 2025. This second staging at Contemporary Calgary marks the performance’s Canadian premiere.

About the Artists

Cindy Ansah (she/her) is a storyteller, a vibrant embodiment of culture. A multidimensional creative, she embodies multiplicity as a dance artist, actress, filmmaker, writer, fashion visionary, and muse, dialoguing in Mohkínstsis (Calgary) and across Turtle Island. Since 2020, Cindy has been devoted to her role as Artistic Director of Not Another Political Playground Y’all (N.A.P.P.Y.), which has produced two acclaimed seasons. She co-founded the all-Black contemporary arts collective with collaborator Tiara Matusin, with the shared aspiration to champion Black artistry and collectivity in all its breadth, depth, and nuance.

Erdem Taşdelen (he/him) is an artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. Through the use of diverse materials and media, he constructs semi-fictional narratives that incorporate unique historical figures, events and texts to implicate contemporary sociopolitical realities. His projects over the past 15 years have explored themes such as life under authoritarian rule; the theatricality and public spectacles of political discourse; migration, displacement and the haunting presence of the past in contemporary contexts; and the possibilities for self-expression and the limits of authorship within culturally learned forms. Taşdelen has exhibited at venues including The Power Plant, Aga Khan Museum and Mercer Union in Toronto; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; VOX Centre de l'image contemporaine, Montréal; Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg; and Pera Museum, Istanbul. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Foundation and Studio Voltaire, London; Hangar, Lisbon; Rupert, Vilnius; and KulturKontakt, Vienna. He was awarded the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Visual Arts by the Canada Council in 2016, the Charles Pachter Prize by Hnatyshyn Foundation in 2014, long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2019, and selected as a finalist for the Taoyuan International Art Award in 2025.

Contemporary Connections: Tagalog Tour

July 24
Ring Gallery | 12-1 PM

Contemporary Connections is a guided tour series designed to make art accessible and engaging for Calgary’s diverse communities. These events create a welcoming and inclusive space for participants to explore our exhibitions and connect with others, fostering meaningful relationships through the shared experience of contemporary art.

Admission: Free with advance registration; walk-ins welcome, space permitting

Exhibition Tour: Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

Duration: 30-minute guided tour, followed by a post-tour conversation and optional mini mixer

Guide: Sophie Garcia is a Filipino educator and curator living and working in Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7 Territory. Originally from Manila, she immigrated to Canada in 2019 and draws on her lived experience as a newcomer in both her art and teaching practice. She is passionate about sharing diverse voices within the Canadian art landscape through community-rooted work in educational and artistic spaces. She has facilitated art workshops for children, newcomers, and older adults alongside non-profit organizations and has organized exhibitions across Calgary. Her curatorial work explores how belonging, memory, and identity are shaped by and rooted in the land. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Education with a minor in Museum & Heritage Studies from the University of Calgary, and currently teaches with the Calgary Board of Education.

We welcome your suggestions for future tours in other languages! Email us at info@contemporarycalgary.com

Contemporary Connections is supported by program partner Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI)

Contemporary Connections: Tagalog Tour

Biyernes, Hulyo 24 | 12-1 PM | Ring Gallery

Ang Contemporary Connections ay isang serye ng guided tour na ginawa upang gawing mas inklusibo ang sining para sa iba’t ibang komunidad sa Calgary. Layunin nitong magbigay ng pagkakataon sa mga kalahok na tuklasin ang aming mga eksibisyon at makipag-ugnayan sa iba sa pamamagitan ng kontemporaryong sining.

Pagpasok: Libre sa pagparehistro nang maaga; tumatanggap ng walk-ins kung may available na espasyo.

Titulo ng Kurator at ng Exhibition Tour: Ghazaleh Avarzamani: Churn, Earn, Burn and then Return

Tagal: Tatlumpung minutong (30 minutes) guided tour, na may kasunod na kuwentuhan at opsyonal na mini mixer.

Gabay: Si Sophie Garcia ay isang Pilipinang guro at kurator na naninirahan at nagtatrabaho sa Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7 Territory. Mula sa Maynila, lumipat siya sa Canada noong 2019 at ginagamit niya ang kanyang karanasan bilang bagong dating sa kanyang sining at pagtuturo. Mahilig siyang magbahagi ng iba’t ibang pananaw sa sining sa Canada sa pamamagitan ng mga proyektong pangkomunidad.

Siya ay nakapag-organisa ng mga art workshop sa mga bata, mga bagong dating, at mga senior kasama ng mga non-profit na organisasyon. Siya rin ay nakapag-organisa ng mga eksibisyon sa Calgary tungkol sa kung paano tayo nauugnay sa lupain, sa ating mga alaala, at sa ating pagkakakilanlan.

Nagtapos siya ng Bachelor of Fine Arts at Bachelor of Education na may minor sa Museum and Heritage Studies sa University of Calgary. Siya ngayon ay isang guro sa Calgary Board of Education.

Tinatanggap namin ang inyong mga mungkahi para sa mga susunod na tour sa iba pang mga wika! Mag-email sa amin sa info@contemporarycalgary.com.

Ang Contemporary Connections ay sinusuportahan ng program partner na Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI).

Perspective Film Series:

A Separation (2011), dir. Asghar Farhadi

July 19

5:30 PM | Dome Theatre

A Separation (2011) follows Nader and Simin, whose marriage dissolves when they disagree on emigrating. When Nader hires a religious woman to care for his Alzheimer's-stricken father, a chain of lies and a tragic incident lead to an intense legal battle that explores class, faith, and morality in modern Iran.

Country: Iran

123 minutes, in Farsi with English subtitles

Disclaimer: This film contains some difficult subject matter, including violence and nudity, 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.

About Perspective Film Series

Curated by associate curator Muriel N. Kahwagi, the 2026 edition of Perspective is conceived as a sustained meditation on disaster in its broadest and most resonant terms. While ecological catastrophe remains a central point of reference, the series extends beyond literal scenarios of environmental collapse or speculative visions of planetary ruin, approaching disaster as a condition that permeates both collective structures and private lives, unfolding across social, political, and emotional terrains. In this sense, disaster is understood not only as a single event, but as an ongoing state – slow, uneven, and often normalized through systems of power, habit, and belief. The films in this series examine how moments of crisis reshape perception and behaviour, revealing fractures in meaning, and reflecting on the ways in which hope may persist long after the moment of rupture has passed.

About the Curator

Muriel N. Kahwagi ((she/her)) 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.