ARTS-LED CITY-BUILDING
There is an increase in the number of events, tables and initiatives we, and the arts, are invited to be part of. From participating in a cultural round table in Edmonton, to being on the Executive of Chinook Blast; from being invited to be part of the bid team for the North American Indigenous Games, to being part of the Downtown Strategy Champions Network, we are finding that our voice and those of artists are being included more and more in city-building initiatives.
Patti Pon is frequently invited to be a guest speaker or panelist at arts and city-building events across Canada. Whether it’s at the Canadian Urban Institute’s State of Cities Summit, about meaningful community building through the arts or at a Rotary Club in Calgary about the role the arts play in our community, Patti and others from our Leadership Team are often contacted by other funders and arts leaders about arts policy, trends and programs; and, of course, we are a go-to source for arts reporters.
We are frequently told by others in the national arts sector that they are impressed with the work we are doing here in Calgary. Our research manager is a leader in the arts research realm, our EDIA initiatives are touted nationally, our programs for Indigenous artists have been regarded by other funders such as the Canada Council for the Arts, and our Future Focus Program has been explored by numerous other arts funders and written up in the Future of Good magazine. Our work’s impact is deeply felt in Calgary and goes beyond our city limits.
How we work with others is of utmost importance – for example, how we work so closely with other civic partners and The City on envisioning and leveraging the funding for Chinook Blast for the benefit of all Calgarians.
More and more, we are seen as a meaningful contributor to city-building, and our past work is coming to fruition regarding the inclusion of artists and the arts in many conversations and activations.
We aspire to a future that includes arts and creativity as part of our city’s DNA.
We see great benefits in helping create conditions for Calgarians to live their most creative lives, including opportunities to develop the creative economy, increase the vibrancy of downtown, enliven neighbourhoods and enhance quality of life.
Living a Creative Life, Calgary’s arts development strategy, encourages everyday creativity for all Calgarians. At the end of 2023 there were more than 225 signatories to the Living a Creative Life strategy.
The Storytelling Project is one of the ways we share stories and podcasts about Calgarians who are living creative lives, including written stories, podcasts and our web series, which highlights the rich diversity of stories about creative Calgarians. As of the end of 2023 we have shared 109 written stories, 116 podcasts, 78 videos and 65 photos of the month through the Storytelling Project.
Calgary Arts Development continues to participate on the Fine Arts Advisory for Calgary Board of Education to gain a better understanding of what arts companies are doing in schools and what schools are doing to ensure young people have the greatest access to arts experiences and learning. One of the ways we support access to arts for young people is by sponsoring Arts Commons’ Arts ReimaginED program, which helps develop teaching artists and increases the number of opportunities for artists to connect with students in classrooms and on-site at Arts Commons.
cSPACE was created in 2011 as a subsidiary of Calgary Arts Development (CADA) in partnership with the Calgary Foundation to strategically address a critical demand for creation, production, presentation and rehearsal spaces that are affordable, sustainable and collaborative.
cSPACE Marda Loop opened in 2017 as the flagship project, delivering 47,500 sq. ft. of arts hub, innovative event venue and coworking space in the Marda Loop area of South Calgary. The facility provides artists and not-for-profit users with below-market rents.
The arts community benefits from office and studio space, plus shared amenities such as meeting, event and exhibition space throughout the facility. The multi-use purpose spaces host board meetings, strategic retreats and small events. The Studio Theatre supports every manner of community celebration and performance you might imagine – music, theatre, dance, cinema and more.
In 2023, the facility was renamed from referencing King Edward to cSPACE Marda Loop – A Place for Creative Boundary Crossings. This name change recognizes a shift from a building focus to acknowledging the broader geographical community where they are located and serve. As part of this process that was initiated in 2021, we are grateful to our collaboration with Indigenous leader, Dr. LeRoy Littlebear, whose words of “A Place for Creative Boundary Crossings” are intended to remind us that the process of reconciliation will need to cross many different divides and boundaries.
In 2023, the Marda Loop Arts hub hosted over 589 events and our spaces remained active throughout the year. 111 individual events hosted in the Studio Theatre with over 90% of events from the arts and not-for-profit sector. During the year, partnerships with Springboard Performance, 4 Winds Indigenous Showcase and Market and Jube School amongt others, animated the facility through community events.
cSPACE has also undertaken the operations of a Neighbourhood Hub in the historic Eau Claire and Lumber Company Building. In partnership with the City of Calgary, the hub served as a place where artists, cultural and community groups could gather and create. Between September 2022 and April 2024, cSPACE curated 30 artist residencies that: collaborated and served 3 festivals, created 423 unique public events, and involved over 422 artists.
In art space development, cSPACE initiated the Meanwhile Lease Pilot in 2022 to research the viability of partnering with commercial landowners to activate vacant space with use by the arts and culture community at affordable costs. With support from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and CADA, the pilot took flight in 2023 and 43,000 square feet of downtown commercial space was filled by the SPACEPILOT initiative. Continuing into 2024, SPACEPILOT 2.0 will continue to work with diverse arts groups in temporary leases and help activate our vacant space in the city core. The Alcove Centre for the Arts is one example of a downtown storefront arts activation and gathering space that is part of the Meanwhile Lease Program.
cSPACE was pleased to partner with CADA and ArtsBuild Ontario to host the Creative Space Mentorship Network. This program supported 36 participants in 2023 – with 18 mentees and 18 mentors building capacity on strengthening business and management skills needed to successfully oversee, renew and develop creative spaces.
cSPACE Projects received its annual grant of $240,000 through the Cultural Activation Fund and an additional grant of $50,000 was used to develop the spaces strategy including the Meanwhile Lease Program.
Calgary’s downtown continues to be the cultural heart of our city and a vibrant arts scene is crucial to creating vibrancy for those who work, live and visit downtown. The arts sector’s ability to offer engaging experiences and welcoming spaces is of great benefit to re-imagining Calgary’s downtown.
We support initiatives that align with Downtown Revitalization, Cultural Tourism and the Creative Economy.
Patti Pon chaired the Executive committee of Chinook Blast, which we also supported with an investment of $125,000. Chinook Blast activates the downtown with arts, spectacle and light in the dead of winter, attracting hundreds of thousands of Calgarians.
Rise UP is a collaboration between Tourism Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, the Calgary Hotel Association, The City of Calgary and Calgary Arts Development. Our support helps fund the operations of Bird Creatives to continue to run projects such as the Rise UP Downtown Vibrancy Program, which, through funds from The City of Calgary, supported over 30 arts activations downtown.
We co-stewarded work on the creative economy alongside Calgary Economic Development, particularly in publishing the Creative Economy Strategic Guidebook and the updated report on the Impact of Calgary’s Creative Industries. CADA’s areas of focus include supporting the Indigenous Creative Economy, building a music city and cultural tourism. Examples included a $50,000 contribution matched by Calgary Foundation to support a large-scale art market and Indigenous fashion show in conjunction with the World Petroleum Congress, and funding for a small experiment with radical intent spearheaded by Michael Bernard Fitzgerald to assist a cohort of local musicians increase their skills in online marketing of their music.
The arts create jobs and help diversify the economy.
Total number of artists hired (up 16%)
Total number of FTE workers (up 8%)
Total revenue of arts organizations (up 11%)
Total direct economic output (up 8%)
The Cultural Activation Fund supports projects that align with civic partner and City of Calgary strategies, priority areas and initiatives that contribute to a vibrant downtown including projects like Chinook Blast, Rise Up and the Authentically Indigenous Art Market to name a few.