February is a great time to be a visual arts lover in Calgary. With festivals like Exposure and PARTICLE + WAVE there’s so much to see and do. It’s going to be a great month!

Art Show

February 1 – 28, 2017
Central Library, Calgary Public Library (5th Floor, 616 Macleod Tr. SE)
Free

This February swing by the Central Library to see work from Calgary artist John Abbott. An active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Abbott sells his work at galleries and gift shops in Calgary, Banff, and Lake Louise.
abbottfineart.com

Mini Masters

February 2, 2017, 11:00 – 11:45am
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration essential

Calling Calgary’s newest contemporaries! Join the Esker Foundation on the first Thursday of every month for a hands-on art class. Parents and guardians are invited to bring their little ones, ages two to five, to explore art making in this fun and social program. All are welcome to participate, just dress for mess!
eskerfoundation.com

GenA

February 2, 2017, 5:00 – 7:00pm
Studio C (502, 237 8th Ave. SE)
Free

An exciting new employment program aimed at youth, GenA uses creative to help foster essential skills. Over a period of 12 weeks participants were inspired through art marking and collaboration. See the results at this opening reception celebration.
studiocprospect.ca

Free First Thursday Night

February 2, 2017, 5:00 – 9:00pm
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
Free

Always a good time to checkout Glenbow, the museum stays open late with free access the first Thursday of each month. And this is your last chance to see Rough Country and The Last Longest Day for free.
facebook.com

Art Opening & Sale

February 2, 2017, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Loft 112 (112, 535 8th Ave. SE)
Free

Featuring the work of Tammy Winterfield, swing by Loft 112 and check out A Winter Collection at this reception.
loft112.org

Hypnos

February 2 – March 4, 2017
Herringer Kiss Gallery (709A 11th Ave. SW)
Free

Laurel Johannesson’s recent work depicts the expansive sea in relationship to land or horizon, and human or bird. A state of precarious limbo, it is this in-between space she is interested in revealing. Head to the opening reception on February 2 from 5:00 to 8:00pm.
herringerkissgallery.com

Bring The Baby Art Tour

February 3, 2017, 12:00 – 12:30pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

Bring your baby to Esker Foundation for a tot-friendly discussion on this relaxed, social tour.
eskerfoundation.com

The Sacred and the Profane

February 3, 2017, 1:00 – 3:00pm
ICT 516, University of Calgary (5th Floor, 856 Campus Place NW)
Free

Part of the PARTICLE + WAVE Media Arts Festival, check out this artist panel moderated by Lindsay Macdonald. Artists Peter Redecopp, Tasman Richardson, and Trevor Van den Eijnden examine how their work presented challenges the sacred and the profane dichotomy.
emmedia.ca

Artist Talk with Jude Griebel

February 3, 2017, 7:00 – 8:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

Jude Griebel creates sculptures of hybrid bodies whose anatomy is merged with their surroundings. Then, join the Esker Foundation in its Project Space to celebrate the opening of Estranged Setting.
eskerfoundation.com

What’s Next

February 3 – 25, 2017
Jarvis Hall Gallery (333B 36th Ave. SE)
Free

This group exhibition features new works by Jarvis Hall Gallery artists. Swing by the opening reception from 5:00 to 8:00pm on February 10.
jarvishallgallery.com

Janus: An Installation by Tasman Richardson

February 3 – 25, 2017
EMMEDIA (2nd Floor, 351 11th Ave. SW)
Free

Two projections intersect each other loosely referencing the different halves of the brain—colour and melody versus monochrome textures and rhythmic noise. Part of the PARTICLE + WAVE Media Arts Festival, see the installation at its opening reception at 7:00pm on February 2.
emmedia.ca

Me and YOUnity and Everything I Know: A Workshop

February 4, 2017, 12:00 – 2:00pm
EMMEDIA (2nd Floor, 351 11th Ave. SW)
Free, registration required 

Part of the PARTICLE + WAVE Media Arts Festival, Mat Lindenburg and Jadda Tsui host this free workshop that introduces participants to Unity, a free, cross-platform, 3D and 2D engine used for creative coding. Email particlewave@emmedia.ca to register.
emmedia.ca

PARTICLE + WAVE: Feature Night

February 4, 2017, 7:30 – 10:00pm
Festival Hall (1215 10th Ave. SE)
$15 – $20

Bringing together the best of the PARTICLE + WAVE Media Arts Festival into one party, Feature Night is an event you won’t want to miss. With performances and films by Raylene Campbell, Grayson Cooke, Shlomi Greenspan, Mat Lindenburg and Jadda Tsui, John Osbourne, Untrained Animals, and Matthew Waddell, the evening offers audiences a chance to explore the genre’s many facets.
emmedia.ca

Juxtaposition – Taking It Down Under

February 4 – 26, 2017
Urban Concept Gallery (2104 23rd Ave. SW)
Free

Image Seekers’ Urban Concept Gallery celebrates five years of participation in the Exposure Photography Festival see David Leech’s abstract collection in this modern, home-based gallery. See it at the opening reception, 12:00 to 4:00pm on February 12, or by appointment. The gallery is also hosting work from special guest artist Wade Walker.
exposurephotofestival.com

Digital Artifacts

February 4 – March 4, 2017
U-Hall, TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary (2009 10th Ave. SW)
Free

A group exhibition featuring Greg Marshall, Peter Redecopp, Anna Semenoff, and Trevor Van den Eijnden, the show explores artifact in the digital realm through the repetition of patterns with themes of memory, relics, religion, and warfare. Part of the PARTICLE + WAVE Media Arts Festival, check out the opening reception at 8:00pm on February 3.
emmedia.ca

Camouflage (Hulinhjálmsteinn)

February 4 – March 18, 2017
Christine Klassen Gallery (200, 321 50th Ave. SE)
Free

Sarah Fuller’s current work explores layers of history and narrative through the use of the photographic object—a conceptual exploration of what it means to be from one place but have ties to another. Part of Exposure, stop by the opening reception on February 18 from 1:00 to 4:00pm and hear her artist talk at 2:00pm.
christineklassengallery.com

7 Cameras

February 4 – March 18, 2017
Christine Klassen Gallery (200, 321 50th Ave. SE)
Free

Join Christine Klassen Gallery for its fourth group exhibition featuring new and recent photography by Kevin Boyle, Gary Campbell, Ben Cope, Michael Levin, Colin Smith, Leesa Streifler, and Diana Thorneycroft. This mix of traditional and contemporary approaches highlights methods that range from camera obscura to digital photography. Stop by the opening reception on February 18 from 1:00 to 4:00pm.
christineklassengallery.com

Don’t Blink – Robert Frank

February 9, 2017, 7:00pm
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
$8 – $10

Join Glenbow as it kicks off its photography film series with this portrait of the reclusive photographer Robert Frank, who famously documented the Beats, Welsh coal miners, London bankers, and The Rolling Stones.
glenbow.com

Kinngait: Riding Light into the World

February 9, 2017, 7:00 – 8:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

Cape Dorset is world-renowned for the art produced at the Inuit owned and operated Kinngait Studios. This film brings together artworks of successive generations that illustrate the immense changes experienced by Inuit. The film is in English and Inuktitut with English subtitles.
eskerfoundation.ca

Ghost Noise

February 9, 2017, 8:15 – 8:40pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

Esker Foundation presents its second film of the night, Ghost Noise—a look at the world of third generation Inuit artist Shuvinai Ashoona.
eskerfoundation.ca

Getting on the Map: The Emergence of Calgary, Post-Confederation

February 10 – May 28, 2017
Lougheed House (707 13th Ave. SW)
With admission

Using a combination of reproductions and originals of early maps, photographs, and artwork about Southern Alberta, Lougheed House shares the fascinating story of the Calgary frontier as it was in the 1870s and 1880s, more than 30 years before Alberta joined Canada.
lougheedhouse.com

Cooked Earth and Ghost Noise with Shauna Thompson

February 12, 2017, 1:00 – 2:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

Go on a conversational walking tour of Earthlings that explores some of the individual myths, narratives, and creative cosmologies in the ceramics and works on paper.
eskerfoundation.ca

Muse

February 15, 2017, 8:00pm
Studio 122 (122, 4029 8th St. SE)
Free

Part of Exposure Photo Festival, the seventh instalment of Muse features work from Jason Eng, Greg Gerla, Colin Way, Bryce Meyer, Julya Hajnoczky, Jeremy Fokkens, and Nathan Elson. Check it out at the opening reception that includes music, food, and a unique showcase of work.
exposurephotofestival.com

NEXT2016 Artist Talk & Performance

February 16, 2017, 6:00 – 8:00pm
Contemporary Calgary (117 8th Ave. SW)
Free, registration required

Head to Contemporary Calgary for two free programs presented in conjunction with NEXT2016, an ongoing series in support of emerging practices. At 6:00pm check out an artist talk from Jayda Karsten followed by a special collaboration between an upright bass player and a dancer in Lindsay Sorell’s exhibition Studies in Healing.
canadahelps.org

Suzy Lake: Playing with Time

February 16, 2017, 7:00pm
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
$8 – $10

The Glenbow continues its photography film series with this in-depth look into the work of Canadian photographer and foundational feminist artist, Suzy Lake.
glenbow.com

Winter’s Day Group Show

February 16 – March 7, 2017
Wallace Galleries (500 5th Ave. SW)
Free

Cozy up to the fire on a crisp, cold winter day with fabulous art by Andrew Lui, Shi Le, William Duma, Andre Petterson, Laurie Steen, and W.H. Webb.
wallacegalleries.com

Collaborative Drawing with Kelsey Fraser

February 18, 2017, 1:00 – 5:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration essential

In this workshop participants will produce a collaborative drawing from series of sequential collaborations including a ‘telephone-game’ drawing exercise. Participants must be over the age of 16 to participate and all materials will be provided.
eskerfoundation.ca

North of Ordinary: The Arctic Photographs of Geraldine and Douglas Moodie

February 18 – September 10, 2017
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
With admission

Presented in conjunction with the Exposure Photography Festival, this exhibition celebrates the remarkable creative partnership of Geraldine Moodie, western Canada’s first professional female photographer, and her husband Douglas, a senior officer of the North-West Mounted Police.
glenbow.org

In Conversation: Doug Cass and Susan Kooyman

February 18, 2017, 1:00pm
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
$10 – $12

With the opening weekend of North of Ordinary: The Arctic Photographs of Geraldine and Douglas Moodie, head to Glenbow to learn more about the life and works of these pioneering photographers. Exhibition curator Susan Kooyman and Glenbow Library and Archives Director Doug Cass will speak about the Moodies and how this collection came to Calgary.
glenbow.org

Master Class for Families

February 19, 2017, 1:00 – 2:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration essential

Join the Esker Foundation for an afternoon of family fun at the gallery that delves into new mediums with art projects that relate to its current exhibitions. An educational, energetic, hands-on program for kids ages five to 10, an adult is required to stay for the duration of the workshop. All materials will be provided.
eskerfoundation.com

Weather is Beautiful, wish you were here!

February 21 – 28, 2017
Loft 112 (112, 535 8th Ave. SE)
Free

Bryce Meyer and Julya Hajnoczky’s photographic dispatches share their travels around the globe in postcard form. Let them take you across the Americas and as far as Europe and Asia. Part of Exposure, check out the show at its opening reception at 7:00pm on February 23.
exposurephotofestival.com

Behind the Scenes Tours: Travis Lutley, Art Collection Technician

February 22 & 23, 2017
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
$18 – $20

Discover some unexpected items deep in Glenbow’s storage areas with its knowledgeable technicians and celebrate Glenbow’s 50th anniversary. Get your tickets early as these tours often sell out.
glenbow.org

Riverview Artists Show & Sale

February 22 – 24, 2017, 9:00am – 4:00pm
TransCanada Place (+15 Level, 450 1st St. SW)
Free

See original work by 12 local artists, each with their own style and technique, reflecting the unique creativity and inspiration of each artist. An artist will be in attendance each day from 9:00am until 4:00pm.
riverview-artists.com

Artist Talk: M.N. Hutchinson and Sarah Fuller

February 23, 2017, 7:00pm
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
$10 – $12

Moderated by Nancy Tousley, One New Work artist M.N. Hutchinson speaks with artist and photographer Sarah Fuller about conceptual approaches to photography across both their bodies of work.
glenbow.org

North Goes South: Shuvinai Ashoona and the Repositioning of Inuit Art with Sara Angel and Nancy Campbell

February 23, 2017, 7:00 – 8:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

An unfortunate truth, Inuit art is seldom part of the contemporary art canon. This talk investigates the remarkable trajectory of Shuvinai Ashoona and how her work is changing that view.
eskerfoundation.ca

PLACEHOLDER: It’s your turn to talk! with d.talks

February 24, 2017, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration essential

Join d.talks and Esker Foundation for an evening discussion that responds to the exhibition, Earthlings. Structured as an unconventional book club, check out this intimate discussion.
eskerfoundation.ca

Ongoing Exhibitions

Rough Country: The Strangely Familiar in mid-20th Century Alberta Art

Until February 5, 2017
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
With admission

With the postwar social climate, the perspectives of Maxwell Bates, Laura Evans Reid, John Snow, W.L. Stevenson and Dorothy Henzell Willis are at times uncanny and disturbing. The myth of Alberta being a land of prosperity and simple beauty is challenged by the works featured in this show.
glenbow.org

Connections: Calgary Arts Community Builders

Until February 5, 2017
Gallery 505 (505 8th Ave. SW)
Free

This year has been a retrospective year for Calgary Allied Arts Foundation and to celebrate they have highlighted a small selection of their artists that have become internationally recognized artists and influential community builders.
calgaryalliedartsfoundation.ca

Shannon Bool: The Eastern Carpet in the Western World Revisited

Until February 11, 2017
Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art + Design (1407 14th Ave. NW)
Free

This incredible exhibition of Shannon Bool’s recent work revisits textile art from a contemporary art perspective. Her first solo exhibition in Calgary, this show takes its title from one originally staged at London’s Hayward Gallery in 1983.
acad.ca

Valentines Group Show 2017

Until February 15, 2017
Wallace Galleries (500 5th Ave. SW)
Free

In celebration of the heart, Wallace Galleries has put together some smaller works for that special someone including pieces from Simon Andrew, Gregory Hardy, Jennifer Hornyak, Robert Marchessault, Leslie Poole, and Walter Bachinski.
wallacegalleries.com

God Love Brigus II

Until February 18, 2017
Alberta Printmakers Gallery (4025 4th St. SE)
Free

Tara Cooper presents this representation of personal, historical and weather research collected during a three-week residency with Landfall Trust at a 200-year-old cliff side cottage in Brigus, Newfoundland.
albertaprintmakers.com

Correctional Service Canada Accommodation Guidelines: Mental Healthcare Facility 10m2 x 2

Until February 18, 2017
The New Gallery (208 Centre St. SE)
Free

Sheena Hoszko’s new sculptural installation examines Correctional Service Canada’s (CSC) Federal Correctional Facilities Accommodation Guidelines, focusing on the section Mental Healthcare Facility. The installation also includes gallery-based text by Nasrin Himada.
thenewgallery.org

VSVSVS: at the same time

Until February 19, 2017
Contemporary Calgary (117 8th Ave. SW)
Free

VSVSVS is a six-person collective and artist-run centre based out of a warehouse in the Portlands of Toronto. Not concerned with solid architecture, for VSVSVS fluctuations are meant to be ridden and not resisted. This site-responsive work has been created for Contemporary Calgary, as is made up of propositions for three floors including walls that expand, floors that refuse immobility and a giant vibrator. Please do touch!
contemporarycalgary.com

NEXT2016: Jayda Karsten & Lindsay Sorell

Until February 19, 2017
Contemporary Calgary (117 8th Ave. SW)
Free

Contemporary Calgary continues its NEXT2016 series in support of emerging practices. This show invites artists to investigate the potential of post-studio practices, exploring digital environments, mobility and ideas as artwork.
contemporarycalgary.com

Aida Muluneh

Until February 25, 2017
VivianeArt (1114 11th St. SW)
Free

Part of the 2017 Exposure Photography Festival, this exhibition is the first solo showing of Aida Muluneh’s work in Canada. Born in Ethiopia, she was first introduced to photography while attending Western Canada High School in Calgary. Her photographic practice focuses on the exploration of her multi-faceted identity through bold colour and striking graphics.
vivianeart.gallery

M.N. Hutchinson: The Last Longest Day

Until February 26, 2017
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
With admission

Glenbow’s One New Work series completes with this, the third and final instalment. It focuses on Calgary artist M.N. Hutchinson’s project that saw Hutchinson take one photo every minute on the longest day of the millennium. Selecting from more than 900 photos, the exhibition draws on film negatives, contact sheets and new photographic prints made with traditional darkroom methods.
glenbow.org

Bridges

Until February 27, 2017
Bissett Art Gallery, Mount Royal University (4825 Mount Royal Gate SW)
Free

Traveling across Alberta, don’t miss the Calgary stop of this nod to The Alberta Society of Artists, a group that has fostered and promoted the arts in our province for the past 85 years.
albertasocietyofartists.com

Semblance & Shadows Like Anxiety

Until March 3, 2017
Stride Gallery (1006 Macleod Tr. SE)
Free

A joint exhibition, check out these concurrent shows from Liza Eurich and Colin Miner at Stride Gallery. Both works look at visibility in a broad context, switching between prominent and impressive displays to the desire for withdrawal and deferral.
stride.ab.ca

Obsolescence

Until March 4, 2017
TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary (2009 10th Ave. SW)
Free

Bringing together five interdisciplinary artists from different generations, practices, and parts of the country, this show explores varying notions of communication. A curatorial project by Mohammad Rezaei, Obsolescence features the work of Brynn Higgins-Stirrup, Colwyn Paddon, Justin Somjen, Jim Verburg, and Joy Walker.
truck.ca

Strange Loop

Until March 4, 2017
Parkade Space, TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary (2009 10th Ave. SW)
Free

Kyle Whitehead’s Strange Loop is composed of a single length of un-split 8mm film spliced end-to-end with a half-twist to form a Möbius loop—a non-orientable geometric object with one single and continuous surface and boundary—and projected as a 16mm strip.
truck.ca

Interplay: An Arts Exchange with Studio Y Creations

Until March 16, 2017
Optimist Gallery, In-Definite Arts Society (8038 Fairmount Dr. SE)
Free

Bringing together developmentally disabled and non-disabled artists, In-Definite Art Society and Studio Y Creations have teamed up to explore shared ideas.
indefinitearts.com

Estranged Setting

Until April 23, 2017
Project Space, Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free

Two sculptures from Jude Griebel, Bird Factory and Trawl can be found in this immersive painted environment. Each one depicts the complexities of contemporary consumption, industrial fishing, and agriculture and is a modern update of Arcimboldo’s Mannerist painting, The Ocean.
eskerfoundation.ca

Earthlings: Roger Aksadjuak, Shuvinai Ashoona, Pierre Aupilardjuk, Shary Boyle, Jessie Kenalogak, John Kurok, Leo Napayok

Until May 7, 2017
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free

From distinct cultural and geographical positions—Kangiqliniq/Rankin Inlet, Kinngait/Cape Dorset, Qamani’tuaq/Baker Lake, and Toronto—the artists in Earthlings share an intuitive and labour-intensive approach to materials and narrative imagery. Organized by Shary Boyle at the invitation of the Esker Foundation, explore their detailed figures, transformations and transmogrifications bridging reality and myth.
eskerfoundation.com