p PAGE 11 • SPRING 2011


CALGARY PUBLIC ART PROGRAM TOOLS FOR A CULTURAL IDENTITY


BY MASON RIDDLE & RACHAEL SEUPERSAD


THE CITY


Calgary is a city of contrasts. Heralded as a frontier town on the high prairie, it is also the gateway to the Canadian Rockies. It is a city of independent spirits, yet historically reserved in its outlook. The country’s energy capital for oil and gas, Calgary also hosts the internationally renowned Stampede. It is identified as Canada’s fastest growing municipality and claims an increasingly diverse population of 1.2 million. Significantly, burgeoning arts communities of theaters,


art galleries, museums, non-profit


spaces and performance events, are challenging its cowboy reputation. And contributing


to


its thriving cultural mix are dozens of public artworks either commissioned through the Calgary Public Art Program (the Program) or loaned from the city’s Civic Art Collection.


As with many urban centers, Calgary views public art as a tool for building its cultural identity, enhancing the environment, and making art a part of every-day life. It welcomes the fact that public art can spark dialogue about the city in particular and society in general. Calgary also values the public artist’s creative input on urban planning issues and the placemaking process, while interpreting complex ideas and experiences through their works.


The Program’s mission is to “guide the evolution of a distinct and vibrant artistic character for the city’s public places”, and its mandate is to “lead, facilitate and support the acquisition and stewardship of public art for the city of Calgary.” Its primary goal is to establish a cohesive vision across city departments while creating a city of remarkable and livable public places.


The Program is young. Its origins began in 1996 when Council identified a need for a framework for managing donations of art, commissioning artists to create works, acquiring existing works and installing artwork in public spaces. Within the municipal administration, the Program was situated within Arts and Culture, a division of Calgary Recreation.


Calgary city of contrasts


PuBliC art Program HiStory and POLICY


Since its inception in 2004 when city Council approved Calgary’s first Public Art Policy, the Program has commissioned local, regional, national and international artists to create works installed across the city. Amended in 2009 to increase efficiency and clarity in program management, the policy ensures that Calgary’s visual environment is as carefully considered as other city infrastructure systems.


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