Installed along the Jack & Jean Leslie RiverWalk in 2012 as part of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation’s (CMLC) Art in the Public Realm program, The Field Manual is a striking installation featuring a series of murals and sculptural works by the Calgary-based artist collective Light & Soul (Daniel J. Kirk, Ivan Ostapenko, and Kai Cabunoc-Boettcher). Selected through an open call for proposals, the project was commissioned to help shape East Village’s identity and inspire connection, curiosity, and conversation in the public realm.
Through bold visuals and layered symbolism, The Field Manual explores East Village as a site of confluence—where the Bow and Elbow Rivers meet, and where histories and futures collide. Drawing on personal stories and shared memory, the artists reflect on what East Calgary once was and imagine what it might become. The result is a playful, thought-provoking interpretation of place—one that invites Calgarians to see their city in new and surprising ways.