Collections

Art Bus 2024
To help bring public art into a variety of areas and communities throughout the city, Calgary Arts Development invited artists to use a public transit bus as their canvas for a new original artwork. This spring, a call went out to artists to submit their qualifications to wrap a public transit bus with art. During the selection process, we identified an opportunity to wrap two additional buses, bringing the total to seven. These buses will be in service for 12 weeks in the fall of 2024, and will be seen by an estimated 76 per cent of Calgarians seven times, for a total of 10.3 million impressions. In addition to the exterior bus wrapping, panels on the inside of the bus will share information about the artist and show some of their pre-existing artworks. Selected artists were asked to make an original artwork in response to one of the following themes that consider the multiple contexts of Calgary/Mohkinsstsis and the communities the buses will connect with: Honour Indigenous stories and perspectives Public transit as social space Share stories of your community Bring beauty, joy, whimsy and hope This temporary public art project provides opportunities for artists, offers an engaging visual art experience for citizens, and celebrates Calgary’s cultures, communities, histories, geography and diversity.
Art Bus 2025
The Art Bus program helps bring public art into a variety of areas and communities throughout the city by inviting artists to use a public transit bus as their canvas. This temporary public art project provides opportunities for artists, offers an engaging visual art experience for citizens, and celebrates Calgary’s cultures, communities, histories, geography and diversity.
Artist-Initiated Public Art Microgrants
BUMP Murals
Beyond Making: Stories Crafted in Art
Beyond Making: Stories Crafted in Art features six makers from Fuse33 Makerspace whose work blends craftsmanship with personal storytelling. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the narratives behind each creation — from woodturning and mixed-media sculpture to weaving, painting, and conceptual paper art. This exhibition was featured in the Rotary Park Mini Galleries from February 1 to April 30, 2025.
Bridgeland Benches
Bridgeland Riverside Community Art
CMLC's Art in the Public Realm
One of the East Village Master Plan’s key placemaking strategies, CMLC’s Art in the Public Realm program strives to create engaging spaces that surprise, delight and provoke connection and memorable interaction for residents and visitors through temporary and permanent art installations. Since 2010, the program has brought dozens of sculptures, murals and other installations to the neighbourhood.
Community-Run Public Art Microgrants
The Community-Run Public Art Microgrant Program provides a platform for communities to initiate and lead public art projects that reflect their unique identities and values. Recognizing that impactful public art often begins as grassroots ideas, this program encourages community-led organizations in Calgary/Mohkinstsis to create public art experiences in collaboration with local artists. Successful applicants receive up to $15,000 in funding to bring their artistic visions to life while engaging local artists. This initiative encourages communities to explore themes such as Indigenous stories, social change and local histories, fostering a sense of connection and pride through public art.
Embracing Change: Art on the Cusp
Art on the Cusp features six artists from Artpoint Gallery & Studios Society. The exhibition explores the relationship between landscape cycles and internal transitions, presenting works inspired by nature’s rhythms and phases of human experience. This exhibition was featured in the Rotary Park Mini Galleries from November 1 to December 31, 2024.
Gone Forever Houses
Six century-old Gone Forever Houses from Jackie Ramsey’s 100 Storeys project were featured in the Rotary Park Mini Galleries from May 1 to June 30, 2025.
HOME/LAND - Northeast Mini Galleries Exhibition
As an artist whose practice primarily focuses on the written and spoken word, I found the process of curating the Northeast Mini Galleries both humbling and inspirational. The poignant submissions presented from a diverse and passionate group of artists challenged me to look at the bigger picture of what it means to call a place and a land “home.” It also caused me to look inwards into my place here in Mohkínstsis as an Indigenous person who, through colonialism, has been displaced from my roots. I hope that this collection of work holds you while asking you to dig deeper: What does “homeland” mean to you? At what point does a new land become your home? Or perhaps, greater still – how do we reconcile calling a place “home” when we know that the land we live on was taken by force? Each artwork chosen for this exhibition reflects the artist’s deep connection to the northeast portion of our ever sprawling city, and their clear commitment to supporting and uplifting the communities where so many distinct voices in this city live, work and create. The artworks range from seemingly small moments of joy, like a leisurely bike ride on your favourite path or a shared meal with newcomers in need of a reminder of family meals left behind, to larger conversations about diaspora, reconciliation and identity. The immense efforts these artists have put into not only their work, but also their way of being, shows us that we can carve new paths forward while still honouring our often-complex histories. Viewing these works, one can’t help noticing how individual moments begin to weave themselves together into a larger narrative of the many ways a person can define” Home.” It would be understatement to say we are in turbulent times, and those in the margins often carry the weight of keeping others afloat, perhaps because survival has become second nature. I wish I never had to use the word resilient again, yet the work submitted by these artists is undoubtedly that. That and so much more — I hope this body of work greets you like a love letter, a light left on, or familiar voice calling as the door creaks open: Welcome Home. — Cobra Collins
Inglewood Community Art
Kensington Community Art
North Central BRT Shelter Art Installations
The North Central Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Shelter Art Installations project enhances Calgary’s public transit spaces by installing reproductions of 32 artworks created by 19 local artists across 16 new BRT shelters. Reproductions of two artworks will be printed on glass at each shelter — installation is planned for spring 2025 and is expected to be complete in summer 2025. Part of The City of Calgary’s larger North Central BRT development, this project continues the commitment to integrate public art into transit infrastructure. Through this initiative, Calgary Arts Development and The City of Calgary provide a highly visible platform for artists, fostering connections between local artists, the public and the city. The project aims to enrich the daily commute for thousands of Calgarians while celebrating the diverse cultural and artistic perspectives represented in the artworks.
The Bison and The Dragon: Untold Tales
This public artwork displayed in the Chinatown community incorporates animals that are important to the Niitsitapi people, most notably the bison and the golden eagle.
The City of Calgary Public Art Collection
The City of Calgary has an art collection of over 1300 works including outdoor sculptures located in parks and plazas, installations integrated into infrastructure, monuments, memorials, environmental art, temporary projects, street art and functional objects.
Threads of Belonging - Northeast Mini Galleries Exhibition
As a first-generation immigrant, I’ve experienced firsthand the importance of finding a sense of belonging in a new city. Northeast Calgary, with its vibrant neighbourhoods, has become a place where newcomers and longtime residents alike can feel at home. The theme of this Northeast Mini Gallery Exhibition is “Belonging” and celebrates the connections that unite us — through shared stories, cultural roots and the creative expressions of artists who are linked to this dynamic community. The selected artworks reflect a range of experiences and perspectives. Some of the artists have lived in northeast Calgary for years, while others are connected to its neighbourhoods through their work, culture or memories. Together, their pieces create a rich tapestry of stories about identity, resilience and the relationships we build with our surroundings. Many of the works draw inspiration from personal experiences, cultural heritage and the local community. Karen Thompson’s piece sheds light on Indigenous perspectives through traditional beadwork that fosters understanding, dialogue and cultural representation. Anvita Bhatti’s artwork celebrates South Asian culture and beauty, resonating with the diverse population of the area. Others, like Firuze Avci’s reflection on migration, explore the journey of finding home and belonging, a theme that resonates deeply with northeast Calgary’s multicultural identity. The Mini Galleries provide a unique opportunity to showcase these pieces within the neighbourhoods they reflect. For example, Jamie Kim’s journey finds a fitting home in Winston Heights-Mountview, while Gurpreet Brring’s Garden of Trust celebrates themes of community, trust and collaboration in Falconridge/Castleridge. These thoughtful placements create a connection between the art and its environment, inviting viewers to see their own community in a new light. Phoenix Ning’s Me and My Bestest offers an intimate perspective on identity and relationships in Beddington Heights Park, providing visitors with a moment of reflection and connection to their surroundings. At its core, this exhibition is about connection — between the artists, the neighbourhoods and the people who call northeast Calgary home. It celebrates the stories that make each community unique while reminding us of the shared threads that unite us all. I hope this exhibit inspires conversations, reflections and a deeper appreciation for the vibrant spirit of northeast Calgary. — Mao Kun Chen
Unbreakable - Northeast Mini Galleries Exhibition
Unbreakable is an exhibition curated by AJ Kluck for the Northeast Mini Galleries, located in communities throughout Calgary’s northeast quadrant. Calgary or Moh’kinstsis or Wicispa Oyade or Guts’ists’i has a complicated history. A history that has seen colonization and broken treaties, a history that has seen love and joy, floods and droughts, creation and destruction. We are all Treaty people here in Treaty 7. We all have a responsibility, and the ability to create a relationship with the land. We have a responsibility to make this world a little bit of a better place. We have the responsibility to ask ourselves: How do we show up in reciprocity? How do we show up in caring and thoughtful ways? How do we take care of each other, ourselves, the water, the rocks, the plants and animals? The answer lies in the relationships we build. We develop deep and long-standing relationships through small daily efforts — we must ground ourselves and find our strength in these. The artists chosen in this exhibition are living these truths in clear and actionable ways. Leading in their own style. The artists’ identities and experiences encompass a wide and vibrant range of realities. In this collection of artworks there are artists who are Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, people who are guides in childbirth, people who are disabled, people who are immigrants, people who are teaching art classes to their communities, people who grew up loving and memorizing their streets, people who rescue and foster animals, queer people, people who are celebrating their culture with vulnerability and care — everyone shares a beautiful history of having a meaningful relationship to the northeast. Artists have the job of explaining the world around them. Their job is to communicate their experience, to show their experience of life through art. This exhibition is a glimpse into the deep, and diverse reality of people living in community, as neighbours, as Treaty people. It is about connection and support and care. It is a celebration. It is a small representation of the lives of those who are bound to a place, the northeast and, ultimately, bound to each other. lim̓lm̓t — AJ Kluck
Utility Box Public Art Program
Since 2010, more than 200 utility box public artworks have been created by local artists, students and community partners throughout Calgary. Temporary works of art add interest and creativity to our street corners. They create a sense of place and identity for communities and help prevent graffiti.