Fibre: Cultural Connectivity sits on 13 sites, situated in the blocks slightly north and south of 33rd Avenue SW, in the community of Marda Loop. The curatorial view of this iteration of the Calgary Arts Development Utility Box Program considers the function and significance of the boxes themselves. The underlying theme highlights a link between the fibrous material that carries electrical signals across city distances and the textile media used by artists and craftspeople to express ideas and create useful objects. The artworks emphasize the hidden web of power and telecom systems beneath the street — and how they surface in these utility boxes. The work of repairing and controlling networks at these boxes mirrors how textile artists shape and guide fibres.
Artist Tayler Schenkeveld’s practice uses simplified line-work in paint to depict images of meaningful woven garments. The traditional Métis sash, la Ceinture Fléchée, stands out as a cultural motif in her work and is part of her own history. Her handling of the subject matter highlights how linear elements interact to form a whole. For Fibre: Cultural Connectivity Tayler utilizes her visual language to transform what is woven, knitted, and stitched with flexible fibres into a monochromatic treatment in white lines on black backgrounds.
Community members provided significant input for this project , with engagement sessions creating space for an important dialogue. Individuals and businesses in the neighbourhood with a meaningful connection to fibre arts, craft technique and the business of garment care and sales are the entry point to get to know Marda Loop. Tayler’s treatment of the utility boxes becomes an invitation to stories of neighbourhood activity and culture, accessible at all times, in all weather, to all viewers.