NE public art projects
About the initiative
Several public art projects are in the works for Calgary’s northeast communities. These include functional artworks such as a bench, a bike rack and a picnic table, mini galleries showcasing local artists’ work, a sculpture for the Genesis Centre, murals on the pedestrian bridge crossing over Metis Trail, and several short documentary films highlighting how northeast community members were engaged to inspire the artists working on their designs.
This initiative aims to build amazing spaces for people to come together and provides opportunities for local artists to showcase their talent while celebrating the diversity of art forms, people and cultures represented in northeast Calgary.
Art and artists
Local, talented and enthusiastic artists have been selected for the following projects. Each of these artists brings a unique perspective and is committed to working with community members to create meaningful artworks.
Murals
Calgary artist Sydonne Warren has completed her work on the show-stopping mural on the pillars, titled Origin Stories, supporting the 64 Avenue NE pedestrian bridge over Métis Trail and has already been overwhelmed with the volume of supportive comments on her striking artwork.
“Since I started working on the mural on site, people have been stopping or commenting on my Instagram feed. As it got closer to completion I received more and more positive feedback,” says Warren, who was hired as the lead artist and worked with emerging artist Mide Kadiri on the community engagement and design.
The roughly 7-metre piece consists of images and scenes reflective of Warren’s interpretation of the community's past, present and future all accomplished in a super-hero graphic style.
The northeast means so much to me, and it was crucial for me to really capture the essence of the neighbourhood. My family immigrated to the area from Jamaica when I was very young, and many of my friends growing up were also new Canadians or brought other languages and food to my world. It wasn’t uncommon for us to learn phrases in Mandarin or any language of our friends or eat food that was new to us; in my experience the Northeast is really a place of interchanging and embracing many different cultures.
Warren found out she was successful in her bid to be part of the project in May of this year. Part of the intricate process of preparation included engaging with community members and youth across the northeast to get a solid sense of how best to represent the community. While the conversations gave Warren the ideas she needed to get the project off the ground, it was one encounter with a local Blackfoot elder in particular that informed her work in a powerful way.
“(The elder) had attended a residential school and had been profoundly negatively impacted by that but he was so committed to making sure the youth in his midst were not weighed down by his experience,” reflects Warren. “He kept emphasizing that his mission was to support youth in new opportunities and to shield them from having anger in their hearts. I was particularly moved by that and wanted the mural to embody a spirit of vibrancy and hope.”
City of Calgary public art project manager, Toyin Oladele says the bridge mural project is a bold symbol of celebration of the flavour of northeast Calgary.
We created a whole Northeast Public Art initiative to address what we found was a lack of public art in the northeast compared to other parts of the city, and this bridge mural project really nails it in terms of capturing the essence of community and the fact that the northeast has become synonymous with people from all different cultures living together in a colourful way.
Photos by Samuel Obadero @ Motif Photography
Sydonne Warren
A visual artist originally from Jamaica and raised in Calgary, Sydonne is known for her vibrant and expressive portrait paintings. She studied Architectural Technologies and Graphic Design at SAIT and went on to major in Graphic Design at AUARTS. Sydonne has been honing her craft since 2013 and has recently expanded into public art, creating works in public spaces over the past three years. Her artistic abilities have been recognized with Diversity magazine’s Artist of the Year Award and her work has been featured in various local media outlets. Sydonne’s portraits often feature black women and incorporate geometric elements, with bright contrasting colours, drips and splatters, adding depth and conveying her cultural experiences.
Mide Kadiri
Mide Kadiri worked with lead artist, Sydonne Warren on the community engagement and design of the mural project entitled Origin Stories.
Sculpture
Sumer Singh
Sumer Singh operates his creative practice at the intersection of design, engineering, architecture and fabrication. Sumer Singh Studio was established in 2013 to create objects based on artistic expression and has grown into a full-scale design and materials research lab with in-house fabrication.
Sumer Singh’s family name is Matharu, meaning sword hilt maker going back to 500 years of artists, blacksmiths, poets, and authors from Punjab in Western India. His background in art, engineering and architecture allows Sumer to focus on technical yet free exploration of ideas, which are propelled forward by material science and applied research http://www.sumersingh.com/
“I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as the sculpture artist for the Genesis Centre due to my inherent connection to this area, and my passion for building community as an artist. I lived in Martindale near the Sikh temple for many years since moving to Calgary in 2008 and my artist studio is located in the NE Greenview Industrial Area. I have also been a member of the YMCA and Saddletowne library at the Genesis Centre, which laid the foundations of my journey as an artist. I’m eager to start speaking with community members and explore ways in which this piece of public art might promote cultural diversity, beauty and historical significance to the land.”
Sumer Singh. Sumer will be creating a sculpture for the Genesis Centre.
Mini galleries
Artworks by up to 36 local artists will be showcased in mini galleries at 10 northeast community centres and in the municipal building atrium throughout 2023. New artworks will be on display from January to April, May to August and September to December in the following locations:
- Municipal building atrium (800 Macleod Trail SE)
- Beddington (55 Bedridge Way NE)
- Crossroads (735 Matador Crescent NE)
- Falconridge (95 Falshire Dr NE)
- Livingston (1248 Livingston Way NE)
- Marlborough Park (6021 Madigan Dr NE)
- Martindale (110 Martin Crossing Park NE)
- Rundle (2409 50 St NE)
- Temple (167 Templegreen Rd NE)
- Thorncliffe Greenview (5600 Centre St N)
- Winston Heights (520 27 Ave NE)
Mini gallery exhibitions are curated by Katrina Ali and Morgan Black.
Katrina Ali
Katrina Ali has a BA, Spanish major from UBC, Vancouver. She is fluent in French and Spanish and is deeply inspired by diversity. Following graduation from university, she taught English in the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador until she recently returned to Calgary, her native city. Katrina is the co-founder of Small Space Gallery which offered a humble, curated art-centered space to a wide variety of local creatives from March 2018 to April 2020 in Kensington, Calgary. Currently, Katrina is a Communications Specialist for The Knowledge Society, as well as offers art curation/advisory services. She is passionate about the arts and the urban development movement in the city of Calgary and wishes to contribute to this movement in a meaningful and proactive way.
Morgan Black
Morgan Black is a Ts’kw’aylaxw First Nations multi-disciplinary artist and curator residing in Mohkinstsis on Treaty 7 territory. Her/their practice includes exploring Indigenous identity through relationship to materials, sustainability, the senses, time and place, while drawing inspiration from the land. Her curatorial practice involves approaching the role from a decolonial lens that empowers diverse/marginalized artists to take up space in the contemporary fine arts world. Her/their methodology privileges visibility, representation, and respect that honours artists and their visions.
January to April 2023 mini gallery exhibits
Title: Grizzly
Location: 6021 Madigan Dr NE
Year: 2022
Artist: Michelle Atkinson
Bio: Michele Atkinson is an internationally awarded multidisciplinary artist and designer creating contemporary artwork based on her own evolving relationship with the land which she stewards. She is inspired by the stunning beauty of our natural vistas but also how humankind has altered the landscape and the consequential ripple effect of our actions. She strives to better her own carbon footprint by optimizing her art process and utilizing recycled materials whenever possible. The result being multiple levels of meaning through the work for those who wish to analyze not only the visual manifestation of the work, but also the process behind it.
Title: Mor - Life
Location: 110 Martin Crossing Park NE
Year: 2022
Artist: Anmol Basra
Bio: Anmol Basra is a Canadian-Punjabi with deep roots in the Calgary NE. Anmol is an accounting student aspiring to get her CPA with an immense passion for the Arts especially paintings on a canvas. Anmol’s work is inspired by her Punjabi heritage,She uses different elements from her culture to create her work. Anmol creates multi-medium paintings and likes to use bold and vibrant colors which are reminiscent of her culture. Anmol aspires to share her work with everyone as an effort to stay connected to her roots.
Mor-life. Mor is a Punjabi/ Hindi word for peacock. Peacock is a symbol of enlightenment, peace, royalty and beauty and can be found throughout South- Asia in different art forms such as paintings, sculptures, dances, murals and engravings.
Title: A New Day
Location: 95 Falshire Dr NE
Year: 2022
Artist: Clerie Eugene
Bio: Clerie Eugene is a Northeast based Calgary artist. Growing up in the Northeast area introduced her to a diverse world full of vibrancy and life, which is reflected in her digital portraiture and figure work, with bold colours and diverse features. A self-taught artist, Clerie aims to uplift women whose features are not often depicted in media and the visual arts, along with exploring themes of mental health and identity. Clerie Eugene is currently working on an exhibit exploring the different forms of emotion.
Title: Alberta winter: featuring chinook winds, dark days and cozy company
Location: 5600 Centre St N
Year: 2020
Artist: Mary Haasdyk Vooys
Bio: Mary Haasdyk Vooys is a Calgary-based illustrator, working in editorial, publishing and public art. She brings a fresh perspective with her emotive and playful illustrations, and enjoys the challenge of finding unexpected visual solutions. Clients include New York Times, Washington Post and Canadian Geographic.
Title: Interwoven Stories
Location: 55 Bedridge Way NE
Year: 2022
Artist: Alisha Ingbrigtson
Bio: Alisha Ingbrigtson is a public high school art teacher, who enjoys making artwork in a variety of mediums. Recently, she has been involved in projects with both the Crossroads Community Association and the City of Calgary. In 2021, she designed the mural located on the 8th Avenue flyover bridge as part of Unite the Heights Initiative; at that time this was the second largest community mural in Calgary. This is her second public artwork, titled Interwoven Stories and was made specifically for the City of Calgary's Northeast Mini Gallery Exhibition.
May to August 2023 mini gallery exhibits
Title: The Seamstress
Location: 800 Macleod Trail SE
Year: 2023
Artist: Zanjeel Anees
Bio: My name is Zanjeel and I am a current communications and design student at University of Calgary. I have recently completed an apparel technology diploma at Olds College and aspire to work in design in the near future. I currently design/construct garments and models for both professional and personal use. Most of my work tries to combine my South Asian roots with sustainable approaches.
Title: open skies, wild spaces
Location: 1248 Livingston Way NE
Year: 2023
Artist: Jem Arcueno
Bio: I am a digital designer and illustrator based out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada but have been lucky to live out of the Philippines and Singapore on my journey towards the True North. I have been drawing on walls since 3 years old, moved to drawing with pastel as a medium from ages 4 to 15, digital from 16 to present. I do full time digital graphic design/UX work as a career and draw big bold illustrations on the side as a passion. I am also a wife and a mom to two little ones!
Title: Stormy Deep
Location: 520 27 Ave NE
Year: 2023
Artist: Brittany Baccari (Ivy Voltage)
Bio: Ivy Voltage is an Italian Metis, Calgary-based, multi-dexterous artist. She built her skills for her career path in animation and media production by dipping her fingers in many medias. Book binding, performance art, leather work, sculpting, event production, furniture restoration, painting and jewellery making. Art was used since childhood as a coping mechanism and snowballed into an obsession to learn new skills, and is an everyday way of life.
Title: Smile - we will be okay
Location: 735 Matador Cres NE
Year: 2023
Artist: Yiting Hui
Bio: Yiting Hui, born in Hong Kong, now resides in Calgary. She is an artist deeply inspired by both the majesty and the delicacy of nature, and a storyteller with a passion to reveal the magic of the beautiful ordinary. Yiting obtained her master's degree in Architecture from McGill University and has been practicing as an Architectural Designer. Combining her sensitivity to design and her passion for art and illustration, she has been commissioned for various mural works, and selected for several public art projects in Alberta. With the Japanese amine and Hong Kong comic influence, her works have whimsical qualities and illustrative style to them. The quiet competency and the tranquil power of nature is Yiting's biggest motto. Through her practice, she is interested in investigating the power of visual storytelling. She strives to create works, like nature, that would silently tell a story directly to one’s heart. Yiting’s most used mediums are watercolour and acrylic, however ceramics and wood model making are other ways she loves to use to express herself.
Title: Unnoticed Series 2/6”
Location: 5600 Centre St N
Year: 2013
Artist: Yirang Kim
Bio: Yirang Kim was born in Seoul, South-Korea, and has spent half of her life in Korea and the other half in Calgary, Canada. She started her artistic life when she was very little. She couldn’t talk until she was 4, and she wasn’t much interested in learning about the new world she was born into, only interested in drawing and painting all day. She realized that imagery is the best form of language for sharing and documenting her thoughts, and that art is the only way to freely express her inner world.
September to December 2023 mini gallery exhibits
Title: "remembrance duty"
Location: Thorncliffe Community Association
Year: 2023
Artist: Yutaka Asmara
Bio: Yutaka Shobir Isa Asmara is an Indonesian-Canadian high schooler with a passion for the arts. Asmara loves working traditionally with graphite and pencil crayon, including some recent forays into acrylic painting. Asmara tends to explore themes of reflection and intimacy, inspired by artists like Anthony Cudahy and Jenny Holzer. This work, titled Remembrance Duty, is a layered, multimedia piece of built-up pencil crayon and acrylic washes, and was made specifically for the City of Calgary's Northeast Mini Gallery Exhibition.
Title: "Dragonfly- A rebirth“
Location: Falconridge
Year: 2019
Artist: Jamie Benjamin
Bio: Jamie Benjamin is a multi-media artist and resident of Falconridge for over 20 years. Formerly trained in graphic design, Jamie has worked heavily with textile art for over 10 years, acrylic paints for 25 years, and enjoys incorporating other mediums such as clay, driftwood and beads into her art. Nature is her favorite muse and she enjoys walks in Calgary’s many parks and hikes in the mountains nearby. In her Dragonfly - A rebirth, Jamie emphasizes "dragonflies are reminders that we are light and can reflect light in powerful ways if we choose to do so." More of her work can be viewed on Instagram: @fiery_wings_creative
Title: "All of us are Stardust"
Location: Municipal building atrium
Year: 2022
Artist: Dell Conagher
Bio: My name is Dell and I am a 21-year-old trans artist utilizing mainly digital mediums to create and portray a wide variety of emotions.
Title: "All My Relations"
Location: Winston Heights Mountview Community Association
Year: June 2023
Artist: Michelle Dinunzio
Bio: Michelle is a self-taught glass artist, painter, craftsperson, cake decorator and mother. Born and raised in Calgary by her Cree father and Scottish mother, Michelle says the mixing of cultures is often an integral influence in her work. Michelle's father was a professional Indigenous wood and stone carver as well as a painter and she recalls her father's home being filled with artists collaborating on different projects. Michelle was further influenced by her parents taking her to many art galleries and live performances in and around Calgary. Growing up in a creative environment inspired Michelle to become a hobby illustrator at a young age, preferring pencil and ink and occasionally oil pastels. Currently Michelle works as a part-time as a social media manager and serves as one of the board members of the CIF Reconciliation Society, an Indigenous led non-profit organization, dedicated to honouring the children of the past, the present & future generations.
Title: “The Women”
Location: Rundle
Year: 2022
Artist: Veronica Funk
Bio: Veronica Funk was raised in northern Manitoba, studied Art & Design at Red Deer College and is currently working towards a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literature. Funk is a juried Member of the Alberta Society of Artists, the recipient of the Federation of Canadian Artists Tinyan Chan Award, Fortis Alberta Professional Artist Award, AAW Vitreous Amazing Cultural Ambassador Award, and has been recognized for her contributions to arts and culture in Alberta through the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist and Soul of Airdrie nominations. With the backdrop of her home studio nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Funk draws inspiration from the urban and natural environments around her, as well as cherished memories of her youth, to craft a compelling visual narrative. Using a vibrant palette, symbols, and imagery, she weaves together her tales, employing a variety of techniques to create multilayered stories that aim to elicit emotions and encourage conversation. Funk's artistic focus has shifted toward storytelling, with a particular emphasis on celebrating the lives and stories as well as highlighting the challenges and accomplishments of women through portraiture.
Bench, bike rack and picnic table
Apiow Akwai
Apiow Akwai is an emerging visual artist based in Calgary. She discovered her passion for arts at the age of six. What started as a creative and emotional outlet led to her deep respect and appreciation for the arts.
Her work primarily consists of portraits, landscape, and human figures that are created in oils and acrylics on canvas. Apiow uses deliberate compositions and symbolism to shed light on the dark and beautiful chaos of emotions that is intentionally portrayed across all her work. The use of art therapy and the correlation between mental health and self discovery are tools Apiow uses as inspiration when creating a new body of work.
Day Pajarillo
Day Pajarillo is a Filipino immigrant who arrived in Canada in 2008 as a food service worker.
Day is a visual artist, fashion designer and educator who took a year of an architectural course at the Far Eastern University Manila in 1985 and a fashion design course at Slim’s Fashion and Arts School in Makati, Philippines in 1986. Day graduated from the University of Santo Tomas, UST in Manila with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a Painting major in 1992.
She also attended the advanced fashion design class in 2001, held by the late Danilo Franco, a well-known celebrity fashion designer in the Philippines. Her interests are human figures and movements, facial expressions, everyday life, history of arts, cultural arts and dances of the world. https://daypajarillo.wordpress.com/
“My current practice is modern art, contemporary painting, leaning to impressionism and cubism with people as my main subject. I am happy when I paint human figures, movements and portraits. There is an infinite availability of subjects to paint in different approaches, which makes it more interesting when I just let my imagination guide me and be surprised with the outcome.”
Vikram Johal
Vikram Johal has a diverse background in creating through different mediums including video production, sound engineering, fashion, and graphic design. His focus is predominantly on experiential design using the combination of these mediums.
Vikram holds a Masters in Architecture from the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape and an undergraduate degree in Biomechanics from the University of Calgary. Vikram’s passions include Muay Thai in which he has trained since the age of 11 and has competed in both locally and internationally. https://viqdesign.ca/
"Being born and raised here in NE Calgary, my connection to this part of this city runs deep. I have always been a creative that looks for different ways to connect emotionally as humans through art and expression. I am beyond excited for the opportunity to use my knowledge and experience in architecture and design to help tell the stories of our communities in an authentic way."
Documentary films
Samuel Obadero
Samuel Obadero's journey into the arts began in theatre in Lagos, Nigeria, where he was born. As both an actor and stage director, he directed several plays and performed on many stages in Nigeria before immigrating to Canada in 2018. He is also a multi-award winning photographer and one of his proudest moments was winning the Art Champion award at The City of Calgary's Mayor's Launch in 2019. He achieved a life goal when he opened Calgary's first Black-owned photography studio, where he now mentors other young artists.
With his first degree in Information Technology, Samuel helped develop the IT infrastructure at the largest YMCA in the world, but art has always been close to his heart. https://www.instagram.com/samuelobadero/
Inspired by community
What we’ve heard so far
In 2021 we asked for your ideas on what kind of public art should be created, where it should be located and what stories the public art should tell. Your thoughtful contributions helped us to build the overall project plan and issue artist calls.
In 2022 we hired local artists to create a bench, a bike rack, a picnic table and a sculpture. Northeast community members provided input on what they would like to see incorporated in the artists’ concepts. The artists are now working on design and fabrication and these first four projects are expected to be installed in Calgary in 2023.
Upcoming artist engagement
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