Storytelling Podcast

Having grown up in a dance studio — her mother being an owner and director of a studio in their house — Ashley Brodeur followed a natural trajectory herself into the world of dance. Training with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks brought her to Calgary, and from there she developed and refined her interests to movement and storytelling, as well as creating inclusivity and celebrating individuality in danc...

For artist, writer and creative consultant Geraldine Ysselstein, a life centred around the arts wasn't entirely unexpected, given that she had grown up in a family that favoured and encouraged the arts and artistic practice. Tune into this week's Storytelling Podcast to hear more about Geraldine Ysselstein's view on art for social change as well as what else she's looking forward to at this year's...

With works that explore the Chinese diaspora in Canada ranging from the recreation of Chinese-Canadian restaurants, opium dens, artist and photo studios to name a few, artist Karen Tam draws from her upbringing to create these installations that reflect "cultural encounters," both experienced and observed. Tam will be at AUArts on November 19, 2024 for an artist talk on their current exhibition, S...

Tune into this week's Storytelling Podcast to learn more about Jenn Seniuk and how the My Friend Dave project acknowledges and humanizes those who often get overlooked on the streets, bringing dignity and validity to their stories and recognizing their creativity.

Calgary's Chinatown pops with a bit more colour these days with the addition of three mural panels that have recently been installed as part of Calgary Arts Development's Public Art program and an initiative to enliven the Chinatown community. The artist responsible for these panels, titled The Bison and the Dragon: Untold Stories, is Jarett Sitter, who started the project two years ago. Although...

Rumble House has been a safe haven for artists for years — somewhere to both create and witness art in its making, to experience a sense of community and family, while ultimately providing space to test boundaries and creativity. For artists Jess and Rich Théroux, it has always been important to provide an alternative to the more commercialized art scene in Calgary. The seeds of Rumble House were...

There are artists who can produce a work of art, be it a painting, a sculpture, a film, theatre, and then there are those whose creativity leads them unknowingly into the arts. Art can take many forms, and for Tyson Bankert, his creativity is expressed through his ability to build community, convene people and encourage others to embrace their own creativity and whimsy through his project, Recess...

Kelly Armstrong, a digital specialist with Tourism Calgary, has been working on a new program to help Calgarians and tourists alike discover art in our city and learn more about the art and the artist who created it. Described as a digital app-like experience, the Calgary Public Art Trail pass is a new mobile-optimized site where users can check out public art pieces throughout the city using geol...

Miesha Louie fell in love with punk/garage music when she was a self-described angsty teen living in Invermere, B.C. She sought out like-minded kids in school who shared her interest, forming bands and booking community hall shows. She eventually brought her talent and ambition to Calgary, where she honed her craft and is now mentoring others.

When you’re in the Beltline, you can’t miss the giant murals found on the sides of some buildings. These are the product of BUMP — the Beltline Urban Murals Project — that began in 2017 with a vision to infuse life, transform spaces and activate the neighbourhood. This inner-city festival quickly evolved into an international mural festival, with BUMP also programming arts and culture-focused even...

As an artist, covering medical costs or seeing yourself through a life-altering event can sometimes mean the difference between getting by and falling through the cracks financially. Elephant Artist Relief Society was founded in 2007 to assist artists who find themselves in these situations, and when Marianne Elder joined its team as a manager, being a community builder and artist herself, she saw...

June is National Indigenous History Month, and Sable Sweetgrass, Director of Engagement and Reconciliation at Calgary Arts Development (CADA), is excited about all that is happening — not just the numerous celebrations around Calgary, but also some new opportunities for Indigenous artists, including creating more Indigenous representation in public art. Photo: Sable Sweetgrass

The reimagined BMO Centre is officially open to the public, and art that reflects the land and people of southern Alberta is proudly at the forefront. In this podcast, we hear from two of the people who have been key to making art such a significant part of the new building. The works featured — both inside and out — were carefully chosen and curated, starting with a massive new addition at the ma...

When Harvey Nichol found himself having to make some hard choices after moving to Calgary/Mohkinsstsis from Manila as a teenager, he couldn't have known that the struggles he was currently facing would indirectly guide him into a career as an artist. Photo: David Jaesun

When Słavek Pytraczyk had the opportunity to create public artworks for banners on bridges and lightposts leading into the downtown core, he invited Calgarians to participate by identifying their favourite works of architecture. Słavek is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on photography and mixed media. As a Polish immigrant who moved to Canada back in the late 1980s, Słavek fell in l...

Calgary-based artist and community builder Stacey Perlin encourages positive and constructive conversations around mental health. Tune in to this week’s Storytelling Podcast to learn more about Stacey Perlin and how she took lessons from her own challenges and the search for answers to create the Perlin Foundation for Wellbeing. Photo: Stacey Perlin

Sydonne Warren had a plan. She was going to quit her job at Cats Art Studio Cats Arts Studio teaching clay and painting to kids and adults, and go back to school. Her interest in and talent for the arts was cemented in high school, and she had already taken some design and architectural technologies courses, so she enrolled at Alberta University for the Arts and started in the design stream in 201...

Col Cseke is many things to the Calgary arts community. A community organizer, playwright, director, storyteller and the artistic and executive director of Inside Out Theatre, a Deaf/disabled and mad theatre company. Since moving here years ago as a recent grad from the University of Lethbridge, Cseke has found his artistic home, his lifelong people, and his purpose — bringing people together and...

A well-known name in Calgary's arts community, Eric Moschopedis is an interdisciplinary artist, a creator of exhibitions, public art installations and participatory works, a facilitator and educator and is perhaps most recognized as being one half of the artist duo, Mia and Eric. It was from a background in theatre and performance and the possibility of ultimately becoming a high school drama teac...

A long-time champion of the arts in the city, visual artist Kathryn Pearce is the executive director of Maude Collective and a project manager with the City of Calgary Main Streets Project. Her interest in making meaningful spaces that people want to be in is apparent in her work with public art, placemaking and community building.

What started as a desire to have somewhere to hang out and create grew to an idea and then into a reality for Bethel Afework, founder of Raw Voices and now the executive director and co-founder of the Alcove Centre for the Arts, a community recreational space where people can spend time, learn something, perform or take in a performance themselves.

When Ishita Singla experienced a lack of opportunities for female dancers in her community, she created them herself. The dancer and choreographer is also the artistic director and founder of Madhuban Performing Arts in Calgary, a hub for dancers, singers, musicians and actors rooted in South Asian heritage and cultural forms.

Sometimes following your creative path opens up new and unexpected opportunities. Such is the case for Priscille Bukasa — a spoken word artist and writer who started her career in marketing and social media management. Now working as a teaching artist and an arts facilitator, Bukasa is also a member of the Cultural Instigators and was a recent facilitator at Calgary Arts Development’s 2023 Living...

We continue our exploration of our public art program in this episode with Heather Campbell, a facilitator of public art projects, graduate of AUArts with a degree in fine arts, an artist in her own right and more recently, public art manager for Calgary Arts Development. Tune into this week's Storytelling Podcast to hear more from Heather Campbell about what's in store for the public art team in...

Tamara Lee-Anne Cardinal is a mixed media, large scale installation artist and a community activist who moved from Treaty 6 territory to Calgary/Mohkinsstsis 13 years ago, graduating with a bachelor of Fine Arts and Sculpture from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2015 and earning numerous awards for her work. Cardinal, who is of Cree, Austrian, Ukrainian and German descent, has also been an a...