Jarett Sitter:The Bison and the Dragon
Fusing cultures and storytelling through public art in Chinatown
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. Jarett Sitter, the artist behind the panels titled The Bison and the Dragon: Untold Stories, started the project two years ago. Although his practice is primarily in illustration, he found himself applying to a call to create a road mural in Chinatown in February of 2022.
“Originally there was a call for an artist to create a design for a road mural in Chinatown. And then I got hired on as the designer for that, and then it evolved,” he says. “…But through, I guess, community engagement, it was apparent that a road mural would not be the best project for that community, and so from there it kind of changed to be a mural, and then that kind of evolved into these panel installations, which is what it eventually came to be.
“The original call for the project was meant to speak to the past relationships between the original stewards of the land being the First Nations people and the Chinese people that occupy that land and that remained the same throughout, so the pieces have always spoken to that in every iteration, and what people see now speaks to that as well.”
The panels comprise three pieces found on different walls in Chinatown, with the title piece being The Bison and the Dragon — an amalgamation of animals that are sacred and revered by both Indigenous and Chinese cultures.
“…When I was researching and coming up with ideas, something I thought was really interesting is how these Chinese dragons are often created with it being in mind that they’re these amalgamations of different animals. So, for instance, it might have the claws of an eagle, the belly of a clam, the scales of a koi fish — and these animals, these important traits from these animals, come together to form these dragons…. I started thinking well, how could an animal that was really important to the Indigenous people, the Plains First Nations, be incorporated into that. The dragon, of course, …it’s the most important mythological kind of creature to the Chinese. And the bison, of course, is such an important animal to the Plains First Nations, so I wanted to incorporate the bison into the dragon so that that’s why it has this bison head.
“And it’s the idea of these two cultures coming together and forming something special, which …was inspired by these stories I would hear about how the First Nations would help these early Chinese immigrants and how the Chinese could also help the First Nations people at times. And these important kind of relationships that did form between them.”
Sitter says one of his favourite things about this project is seeing large-scale creations on these walls and seeing people interact with them.
“I think that public art is something that can transform these communal spaces into environments that open the public to new experiences and new visual stimulation and discussion as well. I think it is really important that people can see these stories around them, depicted within artwork, partially because artwork is one of the great unifiers and it’s very important that these stories be told, and …it does give people in the public the opportunity to have this shared experience. And with that, it helps people realize these things that they have in common as well. I also think public art is not something that always has to just look nice. It can be also something that does create a dialogue around an idea.”
Tune in to this week’s Storytelling Podcast to hear more about Jarett Sitter’s The Bison and the Dragon: Untold Stories and his belief in the importance of storytelling in public art.
About The Storytelling Podcast
Sharing diverse stories of creativity in our city, The Storytelling Podcast shines a spotlight on artists and projects that connect Calgarians to the arts. Part of The Storytelling Project, this series raises awareness about Calgarians who, by living creative lives, are making Calgary a better city, affecting positive change and enriching others’ lives.
Have a story to share? Email us at submissions@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.
