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 on the Downtown Strategy Champions Network, to being on the Executive of Chinook Blast; from being involved with the North American Indigenous Games, to collaborating on initiatives to activate the Blue Sky City brand, we are finding that our voice and those of artists are being included in many 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 participating at the Non-Profit Resilience Lab, the Cultural Policy Hub or speaking at the State of Canadian Cities Summit, Patti is often invited to be part of high level conversations and think tanks. Many of our staff are 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 of interest to other arts funders and publications. Our work’s impact is deeply felt in Calgary and goes beyond our city limits.
How we work with others is of utmost importance – one example is how we work so closely with other civic partners and The City on envisioning and delivering an amazing winter festival for Calgarians – Chinook Blast.
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 2024 there were 257 signatories and 450 endorsers to the Living a Creative Life strategy.
The Storytelling Project is one of the ways we share stories 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 2024 we have shared 124 written stories, 137 podcasts, 94 videos and 65 photos of the month through the Storytelling Project.
Calgary Arts Development continues to support access to arts for young people 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. In 2024 we supported the presentation by Dr. Christopher Emdin about the power of Arts Education in conjunction with the Calgary Teachers Convention; free experiences for 3,400 Calgary students through 160 classroom workshops, with 54% of those workshops provided by BIPOC teaching artists; and the Arts ReimaginED Summit, which included day-long workshops for teachers, artists, parents and community to discover and experience how making together can build connections to others.
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.
The cSPACE Marda Loop creative hub opened in 2017 as our flagship project, delivering 47,500 sq. ft. of studios, event venue, and coworking space in South Calgary. To this day, the building continues to be 100% leased and provides 30+ artists and not-for-profit tenants with below market rents.
In 2024, cSPACE Marda Loop hosted over 604 events and our spaces remained active throughout the year. 108 individual events were hosted in the Studio Theatre with over 80% of events from the arts and not-for-profit sector.
cSPACE Marda Loop continued hosting arts-focused, public engagement events providing paid performance opportunities for local artists and musicians and gathering over 3000 visitors. 2024 Events included:
Ongoing partnerships that support community engagement and knowledge-sharing include:
cSPACE is pleased to continue its partnership with CADA and ArtsBuild Ontario to host the Creative Space Mentorship Network. This program supported 36 participants in 2023-24 to build capacity on strengthening business and management skills needed to successfully oversee, renew and develop creative spaces.
cSPACE concluded 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. At the conclusion of the project (April 2024), cSPACE Eau Claire hub accomplished:
In art space development, 69,156 square feet of downtown commercial space was leased by the SPACEPILOT initiative by the end of 2024, providing a home to 12 not-for-profit arts organizations and 1,200 individual artists. SPACEPILOT has established itself as the largest program of its kind in Canada.
Reaffirming our role as the go-to provider of affordable, flexible, and inspiring art space in the city, in spring 2024, after an expression of interest and a thorough evaluation process, The City of Calgary chose cSPACE as the top candidate to reimagine Historic Fire Hall No.1 and North-West Travellers into a new arts and culture hub. This decision was based on cSPACE’s success with similar projects, like the reimagined King Edward School in Marda Loop, which has become an important part of Calgary’s arts and cultural scene.
The City of Calgary and cSPACE Projects have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and are collaborating to find new uses for the Historic Fire Hall No. 1 (140 6 Avenue S.E.) and the North-West Travellers Building (515 1 Street S.E.) as vibrant spaces where artists can engage with Calgarians.
If the conceptual design and feasibility study are successful, these iconic buildings could become spaces for art, creative work, community events, and business. This project supports The City’s efforts to enhance Calgary’s downtown and create accessible spaces for creativity and culture.
Calgary’s downtown continues to be the cultural heart of our city, and an exciting 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.
In 2024 we supported many Initiatives that contribute to 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.
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.
We are active participants and co-stewards of the Creative Economy Strategy with Calgary Economic Development. We focus on three pillars within the creative economy:
Indigenous Creative Economy – we are participating in the planning of the North American Indigenous Games, we contributed to the exploration of a major Indigenous Music Festival in Calgary in partnership with Tourism Calgary, and supported the efforts of Indigenous entrepreneurs including market purveyors, artists and fashion designers.
Calgary as a Music city – we have supported West Anthem’s Music City Strategy which was launched in spring 2024, and we have invested $75K in small experiments with radical intent in the music industry.
Cultural Tourism – we are active supporters of Rise UP, a collaboration between Tourism Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, the Calgary Hotel Association, the City of Calgary and Calgary Arts Development. Activities included development of the activation catalog – a catalog featuring arts experiences that can be purchased and activated by conventions coming to Calgary to get a true Calgary experience.
The arts create jobs and help diversify the economy.
Total number of artists hired (up 10%)
Total number of FTE workers (down 9%)
Total revenue of arts organizations (up 7%)
Total direct economic output (up 7%)
We are also worked alongside Calgary Economic Development to explore the feasibility of a Creative Economy Innovation Hub – a centre of excellence driving innovation, economic growth and entrepreneurship within the creative economy.