• Location Various Venues 
• Price Prices Vary

A new year brings new exhibitions to enjoy at galleries around Calgary — and the chance to catch ongoing exhibitions you may have missed. Use our January visual arts roundup as your guide to getting out there!

Seeing Through Layers

January 3 – 28, 2023
Framed on Fifth (1207 5th Ave. NW)
Free to explore

Seeing Through Layers is a new art exhibition by Karyn Joy Williams and Knicki Markolf. Through their different mediums of glass and paint, they have created highly detailed work rooted in the message that all things are connected.
framedonfifth.com

Uramado AR: Tanukis Awake

January 4 – 31, 2023
cSPACE King Edward (1721 29th Ave. SW)
Free to explore

Travel into a mysterious and colourful universe with this Augmented Reality (AR) exhibition created by French-Japanese artist Julie Stephen Chheng, which has travelled around the world. You will find Tanukis (spirits of the forest) of all sizes.
afcalgary.ca

La fascination du passage

January 5 – 31, 2023
cSPACE King Edward (1721 29th Ave. SW)
Free to explore

A native of Burgundy, talented French photographer Alexandra Laurent shares her passion for photography in subtle shots that evoke the passage of both time and space. Discover an exhibition of her work presented by Alliance Française.
afcalgary.ca

Voices of Abstraction

January 5 – February 25, 2023
ASA Gallery, Crossroads Art Centre (222, 1235 26th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

Barb Kreuter and Sharon Thompson are both attracted to abstraction as a compelling open-ended way to explore and bring together feeling and intuition without the mental directives and limitations necessitated by representation.
albertasocietyofartists.com

Manifesting the Hidden

January 5 – February 25, 2023
ASA Gallery, Crossroads Art Centre (222, 1235 26th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

The Alberta Society of Artists presents the group exhibition Manifesting the Hidden featuring the work of 16 Alberta artists who were asked to explore ideas of the hidden and intangible in photography or incorporate a photographic element.
albertasocietyofartists.com

Retainers of Anarchy

January 7 – April 16, 2023
Glenbow at The Edison (2nd Floor, 150 9th Ave. SW)
Free to explore, tickets required

Experience the mesmerizing 25-metre hand-drawn animation from artist Howie Tsui. The exhibition showcases Tsui’s talent at bringing together martial arts characters and techniques with social and political realities of present-day Hong Kong.
glenbow.org

We Were Here: Stories from Early Chinatown

January 14 – April 30, 2023
Gasoline Alley Museum, Heritage Park (1900 Heritage Dr. SW)
$4.95 – 9.95

Bring your family and learn about Chinese history on the prairies through art and imagination, discover fictional stories written by members of the Chinese community and explore two iterations of Chinatown in Calgary.
heritagepark.ca

Residue

January 20 – March 3, 2023
Alberta Printmakers Main Gallery (4025 4th St. SE)
Free to explore

Residue is a collaborative installation by artists Andrew Testa and Guillermo Trejo, who are interested in the in-between spaces of printmaking. In their practices, they see collaboration as a necessity.
albertaprintmakers.com

The Beyond Within

January 21 – March 11, 2023
Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta University of the Arts (1407 14th Ave. NW)
Free to explore

Toronto-based artist Annie MacDonell explores feminist conceptions of everyday as a basis for political engagement. A series of video installations and photographic works, this exhibition proposes personal and political reorientation strategies.
auarts.ca

Interiors

January 21 – April 30, 2023
Esker Foundation (4th Floor, 1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

Margaux Williamson is a painter who also writes and makes videos. Within her multifaceted practice, Williamson’s painting has evolved through long rhythms; her bodies of work have been produced over the years.
eskerfoundation.com

The Visitors

January 21 – April 30, 2023
Esker Foundation (4th Floor, 1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

Ragnar Kjartansson creates performances exploring the intertwining of pathos, humour and collective emotion. The Visitors is a large installation consisting of nine audio and video channels documenting a single-take musical performance.
eskerfoundation.com

Last Chance + Ongoing Exhibitions

Stories from the Yethka

Until January 15, 2023
Inglewood Bird Sanctuary (425 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

As part of a rotating exhibition of artworks that feature connections to the land, Gordon Wesley, a proud Nakoda Stoney from the Bighorn Reserve, brings the life of the wild into the still picture, serving as memories of his wildlife experiences.
calgary.ca

Narrating Ourselves From The City

Until January 19, 2023
Esker Foundation (4th Floor, 1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

Narrating Ourselves from the City is a collection of interdisciplinary works by youth artists Abrianna, Liz, Mary, Sasha and Sergio developed over the course of four workshops designed by Ph.D. Candidate Karina S. Hincapié as a way to empower minorities in Calgary.
eskerfoundation.com

Escaping Urban

Until January 28, 2023
Christine Klassen Gallery (321 50th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

Marcia Harris’ solo exhibition merges two strong influences found in her work: urban landscape and plein air. Her paintings evoke a familiar nostalgia reminiscent of favourite road trips through her lush handling of paint and bold use of colour.
christineklassengallery.com

Party City (where you belong)

Until January 28, 2023
Norberg Hall (333b 36th Ave. SE)
Free to explore

Kablusiak’s multifaceted exhibition celebrates nostalgia, novelty and the multiple. This new body of work is campy and subversive yet also sentimental, revolving around the allure and unknowns of the convenience store staple Surprise Bag.
norberghall.com

Memory & Dreams

Until March 8 2023
Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (1415 14th Ave. NW)
Free to explore

Memories often change and, like dreams, can reveal unexpected subconscious realities. Do dreams reflect memories? A number of Alberta artists examine this topic from their own unique perspectives in this group exhibition.
norberghall.com

Human Capital

Until April 16, 2023
Contemporary Calgary (701 11th St. SW)
Free to explore

Human Capital presents work that offers insight into the impact of Canada’s immigration policies and history: how it treats humans as capital, and the role it plays in shaping the complex and contested formation of a Canadian identity.
contemporarycalgary.com

Astral Dance

Until April 9, 2023
Contemporary Calgary (701 11th St. SW)
Free to explore

Astral Dance is the first solo exhibition of works by Chitra Ganesh in Canada, and a significant survey of her practice. Ganesh delivers fantastic, dreamlike worlds where the past, present and future are merged into new, speculative propositions.
contemporarycalgary.com

11,104 Days: From Artists to Zenith

Ongoing
Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art (730 11th Ave. SW)
Free to explore

In honour of its 30th anniversary, 11,104 Days: From Artists to Zenith displays each of Newzones’ represented artists, including spectacular new work created by gallery artists in celebration of this milestone.
newzones.com

Music & Wellness

Ongoing
Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (850 4th St. SE)
With admission

Check out National Music Centre’s new permanent Music & Wellness exhibition, which taps into the power of music on mental and physical health through a series of powerful video interviews that create an immersive sense of personal conversation.
studiobell.ca

Canadian Music Hall of Fame 2022 Inductee: Deborah Cox

Ongoing
Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (850 4th St. SE)
With admission

This exhibition celebrates the life and career of 2022 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Deborah Cox, the first Black woman to receive this national honour, through a larger-than-life Hall of Fame magazine-style spread.
studiobell.ca

Have a visual arts event that’s not listed? Email us at events@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or fill out this form.