Calgary’s visual arts scene is exciting and innovative. Local artists are talented, raw and experimental. The city’s galleries not only showcase local gems, but bring in internationally renowned artists.

So, why aren’t more people celebrating our visual artists and the institutions that show their work? In a cover story in the August 6 issue of Fast Forward Weekly, Wil Murray, a painter who now calls Montreal home, had this to say: “Calgary seems like a place that is continually trying to assert itself to remedy the idea that it's not a cultural place.”

It’s impossible to capture the entire year and all of the deserving exhibitions and festivals — Rising Talents at Stride, featuring the work of up-and-comers selected by members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts; Jon Pylypchuk at the Art Gallery of Calgary; Art City’s always impressive festival lineup; or the mid-century architecture photography exhibition at Triangle, to name a few.

That said, here’s an incomplete list of highlights and news from 2009.

Neon God We Made – photo: Keith Murray

Walking into Truck: Contemporary Art in Calgary during local multi-disciplinary artist Keith Murray’s show was a shock. Gone were the white walls and proper lighting. Instead, it was a wonderland of black walls, black lights and glowing neon queer craziness.

While a video on one wall looped a hermaphroditic Murray singing “I Will Always Love You,” the floor was littered with glowing religious icons, and an animated, flashing drawing of a trans-Christ figure featured prominently in another realm of the gallery space. This was a mind-blowing show and my favourite of the year.

Imaginary/Ordinary

It’s what? A community mapping project? Wait, is this art?

Imaginary Ordinary was one of those projects that intrigued from the beginning. The “storefront” hosted vegetarian potlucks and a lecture series cheekily titled “Tell it Like it Isn’t,” where locals share experiences, or “Kids Talk to Sharks,” where children took the spotlight.

Participants could sign out kits, including Guerilla Gardening, the Romantic Drink Kit or the Birdwatching Kit to help facilitate exploration and adventure.

This one gets a nod for ditching the gallery and making engagement the focus of the project.

When Women Ruled the World – Photo Birth Series by Judy Chicago

Judy Chicago is more about the history of feminist art rather than one of its current flag bearers. Her impressive, large woven tapestries of birth and female forms descended on Calgary in an exciting show at the Art Gallery of Calgary. Included in the exhibition was Calgarian Wednesday Lupypciw’s video K2tog: video knitting coven and Seasons — a vibrant pink fabric installation of intertwined rope work and knots depicting specific moments in the artist’s life.

Real Life – photo: Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck’s hyper-realistic sculptures are a favourite of Internet types. Images of his work litter the digital landscape, but don’t do it proper justice. His work is so detailed and so real, it would be hard to distinguish it from the everyday if it wasn’t for the scale. A huge, newborn baby girl, the gigantic head of another baby and a miniature, dying old woman laying in bed are impressive.

Although Mueck is the headliner of Real Life, and the name that brought crowds to the Glenbow, it was Guy Ben-Ner’s playful videos and installation that had the most depth. Tied to Mueck only by the fact that they both play with perceptions of reality, Ben-Ner’s video of home life taking place in an Ikea, or his swashbuckling tale of adventure, set in his kitchen with his young daughter, are charming, thought-provoking and just plain fun.

Where did Jeffery Spalding go? No image

The year started off with a shocker. After a year at the helm of Glenbow, Jeffrey Spalding was unceremoniously let go as president and CEO. Nobody knew what happened, and it’s still just mostly rumour.

Spalding had made it his mission to collect and show more contemporary art at Glenbow and his sudden departure left the arts community wondering if that mandate would continue. Time will tell.

TNG on the move again. No image

Staff at The New Gallery are hoping to finally put an address on gallery letterhead. Calgary’s oldest artist-run centre was turfed from its location on Ninth Ave. S.W. in 2007 and moved into the surreal surrounding of Eau Claire Market, with mixed results.

Now, TNG is on the move again, but this time they’ll be in the heart of downtown, surrounded by other creative types. Check out the new digs in Art Central when the gallery reopens on January 7.