Storytelling Podcast

Like many, Jessica McMann and Elijah Wells of Wild Mint Arts had to shut down their studio for two years following the arrival of COVID-19. Now, they’re finally back up and running, bringing Indigenous arts experiences from across the globe to Calgary. By sharing their love of dance, music, visual art, and more, they hope to inspire and empower Indigenous peoples of all ages, abilities, and gender...

Artist Pam Tzeng is a dancer, a choreographer, a multidisciplinary artist and maker, a community organizer with work focusing on transformational change, equity diversity, and accessibility in the arts sector. Tzeng feels that so much of her practice and how she navigates the world is rooted in her experience as a second generation Taiwanese woman. Through dance, Tzeng found a way to express herse...

Staci Duchene’s involvement in activism–from Oka to Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls–has shaped her life and her art. Duchene, a member of Calgary Arts Development’s Indigenous advisory committee and an artist receiving funding from the Original Peoples Investment Program, uses art as a vehicle for activism. Tune in to hear more from Duchene on how traditional raised beadwork has been p...

Originally from Brazil, Calgary Arts Development’s Community Liaison Sayonara Cunha had worked in the preservation of Brazilian cultural heritage prior to her moving to Calgary in December, 2019. She relishes the opportunity to explore and support the arts community, and channels her own creativity to navigate her transition into her new life during a pandemic. Listen to this week’s podcast to hea...

She's an award-winning filmmaker and director, a theatre maker, a mentor, the creator of a re-imagined Herland, as well, Sandi Somers is a past recipient of the Doug and Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award, part of the Cultural Leaders Legacy Arts Awards at Calgary Arts Development. Having started her career in visual arts and theatre, then moving into film, Somers saw how film could in...

With an Inuit and Greek background, Sophia Lebessis grew up in family-run art galleries. Today, she is the writer of her unique story, and owns and runs Transformation Fine Art. Joining her is Cowboy Smithx, a filmmaker, a theatre artist, and a community organizer from the Kainai and Piikani Nations. Turning raw talent into a business and seeing growth as artists move through their careers, both s...

Artist, playwright, and Director of Engagement & Reconciliation for Calgary Arts Development, Sable Sweetgrass believes in the importance of storytelling for learning, creating, and relationship building. Sweetgrass is excited about the granting programs Calgary Arts Development has created to support Indigenous artists, and the introduction of the Indigenous Stories podcast to share and amplify t...

Cowboy Smithx is a filmmaker, a theatre artist, a community organizer, and curator, and Jennifer Armand brings her background as a photographer and graphic artist to their collaboration—showcasing local artists with #T7NFT, a project that explores the new art space of crypto art and NFTs. Smithx and Armand see this new space as an opportunity to demystify crypto art for Calgary artists. By offerin...

Paula Timm is a visual artist, writer, mixed media arts instructor, and a community collaborator. A life changing decision to live her life as a creative person while coping daily with illness led to her co-creating and co-facilitating an arts-based workshop series with creative partner, Michelle Dyer. The Creative Wellness Program combines art therapy with the physical practice of art, allowing p...

Founder and director of Woezo Africa Music & Dance Theatre, choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, producer, and member of the Cultural Instigators Program in the Black Led Spiral, Wunmi Idowu is working towards equipping Black artists with the tools needed in order to succeed in Calgary’s arts sector. The Black Arts Development Program was created to offer opportunities for Black artists to learn from...

Community builder, administrator, facilitator, writer, spoken word artist, and Program Lead for Trico Changemakers Studio at MRU, Sally Njoroge is heavily involved in Calgary’s arts community and looking at promoting artists as change makers. Working with artists and organizations throughout Calgary, she seeks to bring people together in a shared space to address some of the more complex challenge...

The Vice President, Government Relations for Shaw Communications, Chima Nkemdirim is a born and raised Calgarian with a background in law, politics, and civic administration who just happens to be passionate about building Calgary’s arts community. A prolific board member actively working to make Calgary a better place, he currently serves with the Calgary Foundation, Arts Commons, The Walrus, and...

Nigeria-born, saxophonist, songwriter, arts manager, culture enthusiast, and aspiring producer, Perpetual Atife is constantly carving expressive means to wave pieces of her life’s experiences and dreams, into an open box of treasure—music. Also known by her stage name, Perpie, she won the 2021 Calgary Catholic Immigration Society New Canadian Artist Award at this year’s Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Cham...

This year’s RBC Emerging Artist Award winner, Tank Standing Buffalo is a self-taught Calgary-based animator and filmmaker. He is the creator of many short films including the autobiographical animated short RKLSS, which has had recent screenings at numerous film festivals including its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020. One frame after the next, he focuses on each piece w...

A Calgary-based documentary filmmaker, photographer, composer, activist, and community collaborator, jaqs gallos aquines’ work focuses on anti-racism. Their first anthology Home is in the Body: 2SLGBTQIA+ Filipinx Femme, North of the 49th Parallel is published by Anak Publishing out of Winnipeg. This book features portraits and interviews with over 40 radical, brilliant FilipinX femme, mostly from...

Coming to Calgary via New York City, Alex Sarian moved here to take on the role of president and CEO of Arts Commons after seven years of holding senior and executive level positions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. From Buenos Aires to Shanghai to New York City, Sarian has worked with artists and arts organizations in 15 countries spanning five continents. Tune into this week’s Storytel...

Gayathri Shukla is a Calgarian who lives a very creative life! Following in her father’s footsteps, not only does she have an electrical engineering degree, she also holds an executive MBA, and is a digital innovation leader at Suncor. On top of that, she is a volunteer on the board of directors at the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association, she is a certified guided autobiography instructor, and i...

Dipping his toes into all sorts of materials, backgrounds, and artistic endeavours, Jared Tailfeathers continues to push forward and break boundaries with his creative life. Tailfeathers is a Blackfoot artist. His work spans graphic novels, painting, music, and building musical instruments, and he works as a facilitator and community builder. Tune into this week’s Storytelling Podcast to hear abou...

Empowering marginalized people and equity-seeking communities to tell our own stories from our perspectives, MelVee X is a Black queer multidisciplinary artist. Her primary means of expression are spoken word poetry, burlesque performance, and photography—also known as the MelVee trifecta. Real and unapologetic, tune into this week’s Storytelling Podcast to learn more about her community, her prac...

Colin Menzies is a Calgary-based artist, facilitator, educator, and an all around wonderful human, who practices here on Treaty 7 territory through the alias The Subliminal Rabbit. Talking about their practice and projects in the worlds of mental health, art, and creativity, tune into this week’s Storytelling Podcast to learn more about leaning into the arts as a way of wellness.

If Kacey Musgraves and Meghan Trainor had a country soul love-child, the result would be Mariya Stokes. But her desire to give back to the community is what drives this local musician and songwriter. Stokes cares deeply about her community and is an artist in residence for the Women's Centre of Calgary in 2020. In support of the Women's Centre, she produced and hosted two live band karaoke fundrai...

Making extraordinary change in Calgary, community developer Cesar Cala believes in the power of ordinary people making extraordinary change. Cala has worked and volunteered for organizations like Oxfam-Canada, the Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre of Calgary, Citizen Artists YYC, Calgary Arts Development, and ActionDignity, and has been involved in local initiatives like Calgary Vital Sig...

This year’s recipient of the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society New Canadian Artist Award, Aya Mhana is a Syrian-born singer, songwriter, and oud player. Now a proud Canadian citizen, Mhana moves easily between English and Arabic, writing lyrics with a poet’s sensibilities. Get to know her inspiration and more about her journey—tune into The Storytelling Podcast to hear her story.

Born and raised right here in Calgary, Adora Nwofor is a comedian, a stylist, an activist, an anthropologist, a mom, and the host of Calgary Art Development’s Living a Creative Life web series. Here’s your chance to get personal with Nwofor—tune in to the next episode of The Storytelling Podcast to hear her story.

A dancer, a choreographer, a visual artist, and a community activist, Nicole Tritter created an Indigenized University of Calgary coat of arms as part of her master of fine arts research in Indigenization and actions of reconciliation. The Storytelling Podcast returns with a conversation about growing as an artist, actions of reconciliation through art, and parallel practices.