CentreCity

Stampede is almost here!

Olympic plaza picks up city's cultural torch

Here is a great article by Stephen Hunt from today's Calgary Herald:

One frozen night last February, Olympic Plaza transformed itself into a venue for the sold-out world premiere of NiX, a play staged in a domed theatre constructed out of snow and ice that bore a distant resemblance to Superman's fortress of steel.

During the final week of May, Olympic Plaza was filled again, this time with thousands of kids attending the Calgary International Children's Festival.

One Saturday in early June, the plaza found itself jammed again, this time for Carifest, a celebration of Calgary's Caribbean culture.

What's going on here? The plaza has been touted as Calgary's de facto town square for 20 years now, but it has struggled to shed its reputation as a haven for drug dealers and the homeless, which contributed to a sense of unease about the area as a leisure destination. Now, however, after several years of initiatives to clean it up, it's heading into a summer hosting more events than ever. And Calgarians seem to be following.

New Favourite Buskers

Since the restrictions on Buskers have been rolled back, it's been nice to see the increase in numbers and variety of buskers downtown.  These guys are a new favourite.

Riverwalk Video Released

 

Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) released a rendered video of the future Riverwalk in East Village on their website earlier this week. 

VIDEO

Enjoy!

Almost Stampede Time Again...

Here is this year's promotional video.   

Increased Transit security

 

Chinatown Outdoor Movie Nights

 Beginning this friday and running regularly throughout the summer, the Calgary Chinese Community Service Association (CCCSA) will be hosting free outdoor movie nights in Chinatown. 

Members of the Chinese Community will screen a variety of movies outdoors in Sien Lok Park, located in the heart of Calgary's chinatown, to showcase Calgary's chinatown and provide a taste of our vibrant Chinese culture.

Held in the evening, neighborhood residents will be able to gather in a public venue for the evening to enjoy classic Kung Fu and other Chinese language films (english subtitles are included).

Buskers' Blues

 

Q: What is your favorite piece of public art?

A: I am interested in art that challenges the viewer; art that, when displayed in public, is not necessarily immediately obvious as ‘public art’. In particular, I am fascinated by art that is intended by the artist to engage a public space, but perhaps only for a short period of time. One assumes that monuments or sculptures made to live in public space are somehow long lasting or permanent. But not all work being produced for public space today is intended to stick around. Call it interventionist in tone, or ephemeral by design, it is this kind of art that intrigues me. Perhaps it’s because I am a museum professional, charged with caring for collections in perpetuity, but I love it when you are engaged by the unexpected that might be there one day -- and gone the next.

A recent acquisition, generously donated by Canadian artist Kim Adams to the Glenbow’s collection, fits such a description. The work is intended to be displayed and interacted with, in public - beyond the walls of the gallery. The work is Curbing Machine, 1986. In conjunction with Calgary’s ArtCity Festival, the annual celebration of contemporary visual art, Glenbow displayed Kim Adam’s Curbing Machine at Olympic Plaza in September, 2008. Consisting of a utility trailer, a gas lawn mower engine and satellite dish, Curbing Machine invites spectators to stand in front of the dish as it spins. The artist accompanied the work and invited passersby to interact with the sculpture, transforming the work from sculpture to ride. Inserted into the context of street commerce and entertainment, the work questions our ideas about commodity and art. Kim Adams is an internationally recognized artist and this work was presented at the 2002 Sydney Biennale. I look forward to seeing its next iteration.

Kirsten Evenden, Glenbow Museum