Episode 56: Calgary Folk Music Festival
Kerry Clarke, Artistic Director
Kerry Clarke’s creativity shows up onstage every summer at the Calgary Folk Music Festival. As artistic director of the annual four-day celebration of music, she is part of the team bringing 72 local, national and international artists together to play for audiences at Prince’s Island Park from July 25 – 28, 2024.
“I think of it as organizational creativity,” she says. “… Like, this year I’ve got a band, we’ve got a band called BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness), from South Africa, and they sing in 12 different South African languages. And they’re going to be on right before The Roots, because I wanted The Roots to hear BCUC.
“I mean, I think The Roots are amazing and they’re creative, and I think they’re really interested in who’s coming up and global sounds. And so I’m really, really excited about that.”
For Kerry, that type of creative expression continues year-round with what her friends refer to as “Kerry Fest” — regularly dashing from gallery openings to concerts and other shows, often in one day. “And so that’s me being creative is really sampling lots of things, being fresh,” she explains. “I’m an extrovert, so I love to go out and get lots of different input. So I think that’s how I live a creative life is just lots and lots of inputs and ideas and people coming into my life and lots of travel.”
Learn more about the upcoming Calgary Folk Music Festival as well as an art exhibition at Contemporary Calgary and a new album from Florida BC that are on Kerry’s radar — once she has some free time again.
For a full rundown on the arts events and culture scene in Calgary, visit our one-stop-shop events listings at yycwhatson.ca.
About the Living a Creative Life Web Series
As a salute to the thousands of Calgarians who are living creative lives, Calgary Arts Development has launched this web series to celebrate creative living in our city.
The Living a Creative Life web series, hosted by local activist and comedian Adora Nwofor and produced by Bamboo Shoots, will release a new episode each month, featuring stories of Calgarians living creatively.
Have a story to share? Email us at submissions@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.
Tune in and be sure to subscribe to the #yycLCL channel on YouTube for premiere reminders.
