CTrain Tour- The Public Art Along the Blue Line

Mary-Beth LavioletteCurator

7 stops · 26 min · 22.2 km

As curator, I began my examination of the city’s public art history with A Second Look at Calgary's Public Art, published in 1992 by Detselig Enterprises Ltd. In the preface, authors Barbara Kwasny and Elaine Peake describe the book as a “handy companion for walking tours of the city” and cite Joyce Chorny, then supervisor of Calgary's Cultural Services. “Since the early 1970s, Calgary Parks and Recreation has had a broad interest and involvement in the placement of artwork in the public domain.” This commitment continues today through the efforts of The City of Calgary and its partnership with Calgary Arts Development, which created an online Calgary Public Art Guide. This digital map features around 500 public artworks by 400 artists and art collectives. Drawing on this resource, I was invited to explore Calgary’s public art through my own curatorial lens. For this project, I chose to ride the CTrain to experience public art found along Calgary Transit’s Blue and Red LRT lines. This journey highlights initiatives such as the Northeast Public Art Initiative, which aims to bring more public art to the northeast, and BUMP Festival’s TRANSITWORKS program, which seeks to “infuse Calgary's urban landscape with creativity, culture and colour.” I selected eight public artworks, including murals and sculptures, that reflect the cultural diversity of commuters using the northeast Blue Line. These include artworks created through the Northeast Public Art Initiative: Vikram Johal's The In-Between (Saddletowne), David Dahlquist's Confluence (Martindale), Jim Hirshfield and Sonya Ishii's Recollections, Topiary and Topiary Quilts (McKnight-Westwinds), Day Pajarillo's Kaleidoscope Bench (Whitehorn), Karen Ho Fatt's Conversations (Rundle) and Cliff Garten's Luminous Crossings (between City Hall and Kerby Centre stations). From TRANSITWORKS: Mao Project's Found in Translation (Barlow/Max Bell) and Harvey Nichol Santos' Padayon, the Daydreamer (Marlborough).

Stops

1
The In-between
The In-between is a sculptural bike rack, to be installed at Saddletowne LRT Station, that invites viewers to reflect on the meaning of home through the lens of the immigrant experience.
This curated tour begins at the furthest northeast stop on the LRT Blue Line. (You can also begin the tour at Downtown-West Kirby and travel in the opposite direction to Saddletowne.) Exit the Saddletowne platform, proceed to the entrance gate. Immediately to the right is The In-between bike rack in black and gold, standing almost 1.5 metres (5 feet) high. The In-between reimagines an everyday bike rack as a work of public art. Inspired by traditional Punjabi ornamentation, the artwork reflects the cultural diversity of Saddle Ridge, where Punjabi and Urdu are among the most spoken languages. Created by artist Vikram Johal, the sculpture invites cyclists to park their bicycles directly within its curved form, making them part of the artwork itself. According to his Artist Statement on the City of Calgary’s website about its public art (https://www.calgary.ca/arts-culture/public-art/the-in-between.html): "Being born and raised here in northeast Calgary, my connection to this part of the city runs deep... I am beyond excited to use my knowledge and experience in architecture and design to help tell the stories of our communities in an authentic way." The In-between also explores the idea of Iiminal space where, for example, one exists between two cultures, as Vikram does. The artwork speaks to ideas of identity, belonging and home within Calgary’s multicultural communities. As bicycles are parked, they become a part of the sculpture’s ever-changing composition, reinforcing the connection between public art and everyday life. Vikram holds an undergraduate degree in biomechanics and a Master of Architecture, Planning and Landscape from the University of Calgary.
3 min · 2.1 km to next stop
2
Confluence
Weaving together the physical and symbolic connections of people and place, these two murals were designed by the artist and the community.
Step off the LRT at the Martindale platform. Look across the tracks at the steel “river” panels that stretch across the sound barrier wall. Walk along the platform to appreciate the white floral blossoms flowing across the barrier. A few white fish and birds are also included. At night, LED lighting illuminates the artwork, creating a striking visual effect. Confluence is a site-specific artwork stretching more than 162 metres (531 feet). Created by artist David Dahlquist, the installation draws inspiration from Calgary’s rivers and India's Ganges River. Located in a northeast Calgary suburb where a significant number of residents are of Punjabi heritage, the ‘steel’ river panels extend along the inbound/outbound sound barrier walls opposite the LRT platforms. This graceful artwork brings together physical and symbolic connections. At one end of the wall is a pair of hands making the offering. Throughout, the flowing lines represent the movement of water, and along the shoreline floating flower blossoms are a symbol of hope. Two community-based workshops were an important aspect in the creation of Confluence, making it a collaborative effort for nationally recognized public artist and teacher David Dahlquist. The artwork involved over 400 linear feet of steel ”river” panels combined with a terra cotta mosaic, pattern cut symbols and LED lighting, creating what the artist describes as "an experience that welcomes the residents and appears to move in concert with the train."
3 min · 2.1 km to next stop
3
Recollections
This public artwork is one of four installations at this LRT station.
Step off the LRT onto the McKnight-Westwinds platform. In the centre of the platform is an oval-shaped glass shelter featuring approximately 20 circular and oval forms with photographic images of Alberta farmers and ranchers, past and present. On the west side of the glass shelter, a grouping of blue, orange and beige-coloured circles appear on the glass like bubbles. Conceptually, according to the artists, these images celebrate the pride and independent spirit of Calgary’s communities. Next, head to the LRT station plaza to experience Topiary, a whimsical, rounded form inspired by nature. Continue to the station’s parking entrance to find Topiary Quilts, a series of 2 x 2.5 metre (7 x 8-foot) artworks created by layering painted perforated metal shapes over painted metal. Visually and conceptually linked, Recollections, Topiary and Topiary Quilts are three public artworks by Jim Hirshfield and Sonya Ishii located throughout McKnight-Westwinds Station. Together, they used photographs of Calgarians, etched glass imagery and sculpture to explore Calgary’s relationship with nature and its agricultural history. Recollections features historic and contemporary photographs of local farmers and ranchers contributed by community members and the Glenbow Museum Archives, while (Topiary) and (Topiary Quilts) draws inspiration from the ornamental practice of shaping shrubs and trees. According to the artists, the works reflect the idea that " nature and civilization go hand in hand in Calgary."
7 min · 6.1 km to next stop
4
Conversations
While you wait for the bus, take a seat on these vibrant and playful sofas that symbolize the community's hospitality.
To experience this crowd-pleasing trio step off the LRT at Rundle Station. Take the escalator or stairs to view Elucious at the top of the station, then continue through the doors onto the 36 Street NE overpass. One of the older stations on the Blue Line LRT, Rundle serves approximately 10,000 commuters each day. Walk towards Sunridge Mall and take the stairs to street level on 36 Street NE. Continue a few metres to the Rundle Station bus stop, Conversations awaits. Take a seat on one of the colourful benches and notice the sculptured metal cushions, designed to look like soft sofa pillows. One of the older communities along Calgary Transit’s Blue Line, Rundle Station is a busy transit hub serving more than10,000 commuters each day. As part of the station’s revitalization, Karen Ho Fatt transformed the familiar sofa into a work of public art. Installed as functional benches, the colourful steel sculptures reflect the textiles and patterns many immigrants brought with them to Canada. Geometric and arabesque motifs are cut into each backrest, reinforcing the sofa as a symbol of community, conversation and hospitality. At the entrance to the station, Elucious (2023) is a colourful pop surrealist mural by Dr. Stephanie Studzinski that is part of BUMP’s TRANSITWORKS program.
3 min · 2.6 km to next stop
5
Padayon, the Daydreamer
"Padayon, the Daydreamer" is a tribute to the extraordinary found within the ordinary, a celebration of the mundane evolving into the fantastic.
Manila-born, Calgary-based artist Harvey Nichol created Padayon, the Daydreamer as a tribute to the extraordinary moments found in everyday life. At the centre of the mural, a woman gazes calmly at passing commuters while a vibrant kaleidoscope of colours and shapes radiates from behind her head symbolizing creativity, imagination and the freedom to daydream., According to the Harvey, Padayon, the Daydreamer "invites commuters to pause, if only for a moment, and contemplate the extraordinary potential that exists within each of us." Drawing on Filipino Futurism, the mural presents an optimistic vision of the future rooted in hope and possibility. Harvey, a graduate of the Alberta University of the Arts with a major in sculpture, also works in storytelling, streetwear design, woodworking and digital art. He was a TRANSITWORKS 2023 artist.
3 min · 2.7 km to next stop
6
Found in Translation
Referencing classical ceramic forms, ornamental and pop cultural symbols, and combined with abstract painterly mark making, the mural provides a pluralistic vision indicative of our individual and shared experiences.
Exit the train at Barlow/Max Bell Station and head east toward the Max Bell Centre entrance. When the arena is quiet, walk through the entrance and down the ramp, passing a historic black-and-white photograph of the Bow River and downtown Calgary. Turn right at the exit. Outside, Found in Translation by Mao Projects spans the walls on either side of the entrance, hawks and eagles soar above. Formed in 2020, Mao Projects is a collaborative duo consisting of Mao (Kun Chen) and Chris (Savage). Drawing on Mao's Chinese heritage and their shared experiences in Canada, the pair create work that blends Chinese and Western artforms and symbols. At Barlow/Max Bell Station, Found in Translation transforms the station entrance with flowing floral forms in soft pinks and blues inspired by Chinese art and ceramics. Replacing an ordinary concrete wall with a vibrant mural, the artwork creates a welcoming entrance while helping to discourage graffiti. As the first artists to participate in the TRANSITWORKS program, Mao and Chris made a major leap from the artistry of their smaller-scale ceramics such as spoons, cups and saucers, to a large-scale public artwork. Their colourful visual language, influenced by contemporary Asian popular culture, invites moments of play, curiosity and joy.
7 min · 6.7 km to next stop
7
Luminous Crossings
This interactive public art installation consists of 20 components: two large-scale vertical sculptures, plus three hanging works, on four stations located at either end of the Seventh Avenue LRT line.
The free fare zone along Seventh Avenue ends at the Downtown West-Kerby Station platform across the tracks, closest to Kerby Centre. Across the intersection, Contemporary Calgary showcases contemporary art by local, national and international artists. Luminous Crossings is a landmark for downtown Calgary. The artwork consists of two large-scale stainless-steel towers, one located at each end of Calgary Transit's downtown free fare zone between City Hall and Downtown West-Kerby stations. Standing more than 7.6 metres (25 feet) tall, each tower is composed of hundreds of thin strips of brushed stainless steel and illuminated with LED lighting that responds to the arrival and departure of CTrains with a display of changing colours. Although each tower has a small footprint of just 91 centimeters (36 inches) wide, at the top its width is much larger, measuring 1.5 metres (five feet). This sculptural wizardry is the creation of Cliff Garten Studios, a California-based public art practice that has completed more than 50 civic public art projects across North America.