ABOUT THE PROJECT

The City is moving forward with plans to transition the public art program to an external organization, and we’re seeking input from Calgarians to help shape the future of public art in Calgary.

Moving to an external organization will allow the public art program to connect more closely with the community and be more nimble when commissioning public art for Calgarians. A future public art program with simplified and more streamlined processes would engage a more diverse range of artists and allow art in more varied locations throughout Calgary.

Calgarians are very passionate about art and continuing to make Calgary an inviting and vibrant place to live and visit. It’s important we understand the expectations and priorities of Calgarians when it comes to this new direction for public art in our city.

Calgarians can participate in an online survey until June 30. For those who’d like to go a little more in depth, our consultants ART+PUBLIC UnLtd are hosting online engagement sessions on June 16, 17, 18 and 22.

Insights collected from Calgarians and the arts community will help us find the best external organization to operate Calgary’s future public art program. We expect to release a procurement document in early fall 2020, and a final decision to be made by the end of the year.

For more information on the new direction of Calgary’s public art program visit Calgary.ca/publicart.

Artwork at the top of this page by Joe O'Connell and Blessing Hancock, Chinook Arc. City of Calgary Public Art Collection.

You can participate in two ways.

1) Join us for an online engagement session

We want to hear from you: What makes a successful public art program?

As part of the next chapter in Calgary’s public art program, we are hosting online community engagement sessions and we hope you can join us. Our goal for these sessions is to have conversations on how to create a thriving and successful public art program for Calgarians.

These online sessions will be interactive with focused exercises about the values and priorities for public art in Calgary. These sessions are an opportunity for us to share information about the new direction for public art, the work that’s underway and how your valuable input will help shape the future public art program.

Please preregister for one of five sessions. Space is limited and registrations will be received on first come, first served basis. Registrants will receive background information to review before we meet and the sign-in process via an Eventbrite reminder email.

Available sessions:
June 16 from noon to 1 p.m.
June 17 from 5 to 6 p.m.
June 18 from 9 to 10 a.m.
June 22 from 11 a.m. to noon
June 22 from 5 to 6 p.m.

We will be addressing some of your questions in the session. Send us your questions in advance of the session to sagan.macisaac@artpluspublic.com.

2) Take our survey to share your ideas

Please take a few minutes to fill out our online survey. Your input will help us find the best external organization to operate Calgary’s future public art program. Your responses are anonymous and confidential. Thank you in advance for your time and insights.