Artcity opens eyes to Calgary's cultural environment
Exhibits, lectures and parties may change your perspective
PREVIEW
ARTCITY
September 19 to 29
Check listings
How often do we walk through the city and take our surroundings for granted? As we go about our daily lives, it's sometimes comforting to retreat inwardly from our environment, rather than opening our eyes and trying to see new elements of a familiar whole. Artcity aims to change all that.
With lectures, exhibits, installations and more, Artcity presents opportunities to discover and rediscover the cultural landscape of our city – in the process it has developed into one of the essential festivals that make Calgary's cultural life something to get excited about.
PARTY ARTY
This year, the festivities begin on Friday, September 20 with Bohemia, an opening night gala that encourages everyone to reinvent themselves for an evening. Imagine yourself in a world of cabarets and salons, exchanging revolutionary ideas with artists and writers of all stripes. Now stop imagining – it's right here at The Barron Building (612 - 8th Ave. S.W.), where a veritable who's who of arts movers and shakers will gather to kick off the festival in whatever style they choose.
INDEMNITY
While you're at The Barron Building, first admire its architecture, then take in the Artcity group show curated by Noel Bégin on the Third Floor. Indemnity: Intimate Efforts Made Dear (September 20 to 29) is a multimedia show that re-examines the idea of the litigious society and suggests that some losses cannot be repaid (see cover story on page 27).
THE BEAUTY OF STUTTERING
Some of Diane Colwell's manipulated photographic work will be exhibited in Indemnity, and you will be able to hear the artist speak about her practice on Tuesday, September 24 at noon, as part of ArtTalk – this year, the lecture series is devoted to themes of memory and identity. Colwell's lecture, The beauty of stuttering in time, nature and art, will explore her preoccupation with natural landscapes and the way they shape and are shaped by their constituents.
MEMORIES AND IDENTITIES
There are several other noteworthy lectures in the ArtTalk series, including those by painter William MacDonnell (September 21), Finnish architect Pentti Kareoja (September 24) and writer Yasmin Ladha (September 25), who is currently in Calgary finishing her latest book.
Also, Vancouver video artist Jin-Me Yoon will discuss her work, some of which is currently on display at The Glenbow Museum in counterpoint to the Group of Seven exhibit (September 25). Designer and critic Akiko Busch, a contributing editor of Metropolis magazine, will illuminate the "moral, physical and social" implications of her profession (September 26). And, finally, New York-based artist, architect and filmmaker Alfredo Jaar will speak about the inextricability of politics and art in his work (September 27).
LESS TALKIN', MORE WALKIN'
Once the artists have bent your ear, you'll want to take to the streets to tour the city's galleries and put your newfound perspectives to the test. One of the lynchpins of Artcity, ArtWalk takes place on September 28 and 29, offering an informal walking tour of numerous exhibits. Whether you try to cram in as much as possible or saunter your way through only a few shows, you're bound to be impressed by the quality and diversity of the works on display.
THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
Who – besides Gary Burns – says the Plus-15s aren't good for the city's cultural life? While you're walking from one gallery to the next, take advantage of the elevated shortcuts and give yourself the opportunity to see four installations designed by local architects with the express purpose of making us question our relationship to the urban environment.
Of particular interest is the installation that will be found in the Plus-15 between the Bay Parkade and Scotia Centre – The Elementary Particles, by id8 Design Group, is just one project worked on by recent Fast Forward cover boy Marc Boutin, and if the recent dialogues sparked by his comments in these pages are any indication, its attempt to show how the individual elements of the city fit together may initiate debate.
And, really, isn't that what art is all about? |
