Photo: Trudie Lee, courtesy of Three Left Feet

HOW DO ARTS HELP BUILD A CITY?

Large-scale and small, traditional and cutting-edge, amateur and professional, once-in-a-lifetime and part of daily life—all of these aspects combine into a vital arts ecosystem that helps a city thrive. At Calgary Arts Development, we believe that arts build our city by:

Making

Connections

Arts build community and enhance well-being, through our personal enjoyment of participation and creative expression, along with the connections we make with artists and each other through artistic experiences.

Boosting

Economy

Arts contribute to our economy, both as a sector and in making Calgary a great place to make a living and to make a life.

Shaping

Identity

Arts shape our city’s character, reflecting our diversity of experiences and voices, and attracting businesses, workers and visitors.

Inspiring

Youth

Arts develop essential skills in our youth, such as creative thinking, confidence, team-building, discipline and social interaction.

This report provides a snapshot of all of these benefits in action. For each area, you’ll find data that captures how Calgarians are currently engaging with arts, as well as a few representative stories (which were difficult to select—there are hundreds to choose from!). We’ll share updated data and new stories annually.

Whether you’re looking for information or inspiration, we hope you’ll find it here. More importantly, in the 364 days between updates, we hope you’ll recognize the many ways that arts build our city and celebrate the presence that arts have in your own life.

Patti Pon, President & CEO
Dean Prodan, Chair
Calgary Arts Development