Andy Nichols

As a city, Calgary could be tipped over the edge, into greatness, but too often there’s some damn thing holding it back. Every year, pronouncements are made and initiatives emerge to help the city reach “world-class” status, a vague term with almost as many meanings as there are cities on the planet. Despite the frustrations that come from living on the cusp, Calgary does possess the one ingredient vital to reaching that next level: inspired citizens determined to steer the city into the 21st century — or drag it kicking and screaming, if need be.

Throughout 2010, Fast Forward Weekly will be speaking and listening to Calgarians throughout the city, from artists to businesspeople and beyond. We’re by no means offering the definitive take on Calgary’s future, but we want to open the discussion on what Calgary can and should be. After all, whether the Stampede fills you with pride or embarrassment, whether the “Cowtown” tag makes you smile or cringe, we all have an opinion and a say in its future. It’s your town, too — so join the discussion.

ALISON KARIM MCSWINEY,

Executive director, International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone

What’s your idea of a great night out? My husband, Don McSwiney is a musician, so I don’t go out much. I’m at home with the kids. My night out would be going out for a lovely dinner, spending time with my husband and just drinking some nice wine and visiting.

Where were you born and raised? I was born in London, England and was raised in Calgary, and for a short period of my life, in Cambridge, Eng.

Do you feel old or young? Definitely young. When people ask me how old I am, I think, “I really don’t know, I have to think about that.” I don’t think I ever will grow up. That’s what makes life fun, when you look at what other people are doing and wanting to make it better.

International Avenue was on the Financial Times of London’s list of the next up-and-coming neighbourhoods. They were very interested in the boom in 2007 and they were looking at affordable neighbourhoods and what’s going on. When they phoned me to say they were doing this, I actually thought my husband was playing a joke on me. But they did it because it’s close to downtown, they have phenomenal views, huge lots, the infrastructure is here and it’s going to turn around.

We have some pretty cool stuff that we are doing. We’re talking about densifying the main corridor, so it will be storefronts and people living up and above; we’re talking about major gateways that will come into play; we’re going to encourage store facades that will reflect the ethnic character. We’re talking about making it a well-designed streetscape for general gathering spaces and green sustainable approaches in everything, so it will be LEED and green roofs.

We went to the University of Calgary’s environmental design faculty and we had a class called “Envisioning International Avenue.” We had everyone stop by and said, “This is what we were thinking of doing, what are your ideas.”

The only way we are going to make anything happen is if we have everyone involved. Everyone often said, “You can’t change this place.” But I’m very stubborn. Instead of homogenizing everything, we are essentially making it a place where people are what they are. Some of the stores may not be highbrow and flashy, but you can find some really cool things in them. I think that is something we should embrace because I don’t know any other street where there are so many different shops of ethnic make-ups — that makes it a really unique street.

The city certainly hears from me a lot. I definitely have our two aldermen on speed dial. I’m a squeaky wheel out here because I feel there’s been some injustices in this part of town and they need to be rectified. I think it has easily happened because it’s a lower-income area and people haven’t been as vocal and it’s a lot easier to ignore them. That’s the wrong attitude.

People here have kids, pay taxes and they are just as important, as well. People in the east should have as much rights as those in the west; it’s totally discrimination in my mind. Why is the infrastructure different here? Why is the LRT so damn ugly compared to the west? Why are the bridges here not so decorative? Why does Elbow Drive have 40 km/h zones when we have an elementary school on 17th Avenue that is not even a school zone? We have to be loud in order to get it.

— As told to Carol Harrington

CHRISTINE CHEUNG

Calgary-born visual artist

How did it feel to win the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award?

Wonderful and suprising! It was encouraging to see the establishment of an award which helps to raise the profile of the arts and the artists within the province. Hopefully this will lead to greater opportunities for artists in Alberta.

What's been your favourite city to live in? Wherever I’m living at the moment is my favourite. Right now I’m in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where vehicles are petrol- and diesel-free, and plastic bags are now banned, replaced with light coloured fabric bags. The hospitality is very warm.

How do people react when you tell them where you're from? The typical reactions range from "Is it anywhere near Toronto?" to "Ah, Winter Olympics '88" to "My cousin lives there."

My ‘Wow-I-can-actually-make-a-living-at-this’ moment was when I got my first grant. I realized that it was enough money for me to actually eat and sleep and take care of myself, even though it wasn’t extravagant compared to the wages people are making here in Calgary. Everyone thinks that you need so much money to be able to be independent, but in fact you don’t need that much. It’s a viral kind of attitude — although more affordable housing would definitely help the arts in Calgary.

Grants are critical for artists in Canada, and we’re lucky to have them, but it creates an unusual artistic scene. Commercially, some painters have work that appeals to the Calgary market, but for the majority of us, there’s a big gap with the general public in terms of knowledge of the visual arts, and I’m not sure whose responsibility that is. But there is a lack of awareness of what’s a poster versus what’s an original piece of art, what’s worth something and what isn’t. So the reliance on grants makes artists want to make work that gets funding, as opposed to making art that they want to make.

One thing I learned in countries that don’t have the infrastructure for funding, is how important it is to work with businesses and corporations, and work within the mainstream in order to be sustainable. Because it is a business and there could be a lot of great opportunities to open up galleries in places that are unconventional. In Linz, Austria, a contemporary museum partnered up with a video rental store, so you could get independent films and at the same time, you could go look at the art. I thought that was a great pairing of two different audiences.

Artists need to be more open-minded about corporate sponsorship. There’s a lot of money here, and a lot of desire, which you don’t find in places like Berlin. And also, there’s Calgary’s entrepreneurial spirit — which I hate to mention, because everyone always pushes that so much, but coming back, I see how that could be really beneficial if artists could take advantage of that.

Although, some friends of mine tried to put on a fashion show in a mall, and they couldn’t because it was stuff that wasn’t available to be purchased in the mall. So it isn’t just artists — business owners need to embrace a larger picture of what’s good for the community. Because what’s good for the community means more business for you in the long term. It gets more people in the mall.

The larger picture is quality of life for people. They need a place where they belong, and ways to grow as an individual. They need to know that they can do things that aren’t always about spending money, but also about spending time and getting to know people in their community, and just enjoying life. Europeans are really good at that. Calgarians are really good at working hard, but not so much at enjoying life.

— As told to Peter Hemminger

CHERI MACAULAY

Co-founder , CivicCamp

QUESTIONS

If a runaway truck was barreling down on a group of developers and a one-eyed puppy but you could only save one, which would you save? “I would choose the developers. It sounds cruel but those developers, and maybe this is selfish of me, they have a lot more ability to enact change in Calgary than that sweet little puppy. I’m sorry.”

What did you dream of becoming when you were a child? “There was a time when I wanted to be an architect and for whatever reason that went by the wayside. It’s still something that intrigues me and calls to me.”

Is there anyone currently on Calgary city council who you’d like to see run for mayor? “Druh Farrell. Am I going to get in trouble for that? I’ll get crucified for saying that.”

How do we build the kind of city we want for ourselves and our children? That was the question a handful of community leaders — I sit as a board member on the Brentwood Community Association — asked each other a year ago.

I responded to that question by saying this: We need to resurrect public spaces, build community hubs and get people into great public spaces. When you go around Calgary there are certain areas people seem to naturally gravitate to; the river pathways along the Bow River in the summer for example. People flock to public spaces when you make it possible for them to be used.

But look at how we’ve allowed our city to be developed: sprawling, low-density neighbourhoods that lack public transit, amenities and public spaces. They’re designed for cars, not pedestrians. People have no idea who their neighbours are or what activities are taking place in their areas.

To do that, we have to be more engaged on all levels of our communities. But I’ve noticed a shift in the conversations I was having with friends and neighbours — all revolved around the idea that we needed to do things differently in this city. Calgarians are hungry to have that conversation.

It’s like Calgary is learning how to become an adult. The boom-time years were definitely the partying college years with no responsibilities. Now that has ended and we’re coming to the realization that we have to become engaged and think about the impacts.

I think we need a new level of civil discourse in Calgary right now and a real debate and conversation about the issues. It’s almost like people have to relearn what it means to be in community.

Traditional organizations that are governed top-down haven’t really served us well over the last few years. CivicCamp is striving to be a real grassroots, inclusive group. We have great people who come from organizations in city planning, politics, teachers, and they bring a rich background to it.

We are citizens, not customers. We need people to talk and to be inspired to take action, be it holding an event in your community or speaking in front of council, people need to get re-engaged.

The Calgary Plan It meetings were a prime example. We gave people information on the issue, told them when the public hearings were happening, gave them pointers on how to present to council, and for three days, people got up and spoke in front of council in favour of Plan It. And they realized it’s a lot easier than it seems, they do have a voice and people will listen.

— As told to Trevor Scott Howell