In 2008 the visual arts community saw the revitalization of several organizations and brimmed with politically charged energy. The city was booming, arts and culture were on the agenda at city hall (finally!) and a burgeoning core of emerging artists used the city as a blank canvas.

• Taking Care of Business by Immoney Men (Montreal), 809 Gallery, and Swell by Lissa Robinson (Saskatoon), Carpet ’N Toast Gallery — These two indie spaces sprung up and really came into their own in the last year. With an exhibition or event just about every month, these domestic gallery spaces run by Tyler Los Jones and friends and Shelley Ouellet, respectively, are a welcome return to old-style artist-run hospitality. Make no mistake: this is the stuff that community is built on.

• In Which They Find Themselves Between Here and There by Dave & Jenn (Calgary), SKEW Gallery — The first solo exhibition by emerging painting-duo Dave & Jenn sparkled with magic. Their jewel-toned paintings hover in translucent panes of poured resin. The artists are charting a new direction for contemporary landscape painting.

• Old Sun by Adrian Stimson (Saskatoon), TRUCK Gallery — Ex-pat Albertan Adrian Stimson returned home for the final appearance of his performance alter-ego Buffalo Boy. Stimson’s work achieves a layered mix of sharp wit, deepened awareness and aboriginal cultural healing. One of the most thought-provoking exhibitions of the year.

• Parallax by Bettina Hoffmann (Montreal), TRUCK Gallery — With just two projection works, Bettina Hoffmann commanded the entire gallery space with her vertigo-inducing videos. The tableau vivant was meticulously staged and beautifully photographed. Her mastery of cinematic devices and technical sleight of hand let the series of tense narratives unfold with an absorbing sense of dread and fascination.

• Sundogs by Gunnarsdottir, Klingenberg, Jonsdottir, Banine, Kjartansson & Sigurdardottir (Iceland), curated by David Diviney, TRUCK Gallery — Sundogs was a return to the spirit of risky, riotous programming that’s been a hallmark of artist-run culture for over three decades. Experimental, controversial and quickly assembled for maximum impact, the show was fuelled by the efforts of six Icelandic artists, a performance by an ad-hoc local band The Stimulators and a massive dose of culture shock. This is the kind of programming that gets people talking and the kind that we shouldn’t be afraid to support wholeheartedly.

• Run Glenbow Museum by the Movement Movement (Toronto), Glenbow Museum and Mountain Standard Time Performative Art Festival — Only the most curmudgeonly could resist the thrill of running the Glenbow with artist-organizers Jessica Rose and Jenn Goodwin. M:ST festival director Nicole Burisch launched a strong program of participatory, event-based artworks for the October festival, with the Movement Movement’s approachable mini-marathon in the name of art leading the charge.

• Glenbow Museum — The Glenbow has finally (thankfully) re-entered the city’s contemporary art scene with guts and determination, not to mention controversy. Partnerships with Sled Island and M:ST signalled that contemporary art is again welcome at the museum, with full-tilt efforts to generate new audiences by featuring active, engaging and quirky works. The behind-the-scenes story is the acquisition of several new artworks by Calgarians, including emerging artist Sarah Holtom’s much-loved series of 100 portraits of Calgary artists.

• Lesbian National Parks and Services, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan (Winnipeg), Walter Phillips Gallery — The restaging of Dempsey and Millan’s essential Lesbian National Parks and Services performance brought the work to a new generation.

• Mall Bear by Chris Friel (Calgary), (Im)permeable by Annie Martin (Lethbridge), and Towers by Scott Rogers (Calgary), The New Gallery — The New Gallery settled into their new space in Eau Claire Market with a strong group of exhibitions that addressed their seemingly strange environs. Chris Friel, Annie Martin and Scott Rogers were responsive to the social, economic and political conditions of the downtown shopping mall with witty, insightful and ambitious exhibitions.

• The Nakusp Narratives by Wendy Toogood (Nakusp), Stride Gallery — There’s no doubt that Wendy Toogood is a powerhouse artist who changed the face of contemporary art in Calgary. After relocating to the interior of British Columbia, she completed a series of 100 autobiographic textile collages using sewing, embroidery and appliqué to reproduce little drawings about her new life. These lively postcards were a welcome update from a much-loved mentor and friend.

• Touch Paper Once: Selected Documents from the Walter Phillips Gallery Archive 1976 – 2007 by Micah Lexier (Toronto), Walter Phillips Gallery — This fall, a small corner of the WPG was a haven for art nerds and snoops alike, as Lexier carefully laid out scraps, documents, photos and correspondence from the gallery’s history. The behind-the-scenes look revealed the process of making exhibitions that arts administrators, curators and gallery staff know all too well, but is rarely acknowledged by broader audiences. I, for one, was heartened to see that someone bothered to archive handwritten faxes, slides, Polaroids and other charming relics of the past.

Anthea Black is an artist and cultural worker based in Alberta.