Exploring public art in Chinatown
New mural project and ongoing community engagement put public art in the spotlight
On a warm summer day in a local café, I’m chatting with Calgary artist Jarett Sitter, creator of The Bison and the Dragon: Untold Tales, the latest public art project in Chinatown. This includes three vibrant and engaging artworks mounted on exterior walls at Pho City (207 1 St. SE), and the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (138 4 Ave. SE).
Sitter, who says he’s a fan of mythology and gravitates toward strong animals, has created colourful, illustrated artworks that represent a fusion of animals important to both Chinese and Indigenous cultures: A dragon with the head of a bison, a phoenix with the head of a golden eagle, and a guardian lion and bear with their cub, which combines traits of both animals.
“I wanted this project to encourage people to think about past relationships that are not always in the collective public knowledge,” he says. He is specifically referring to Chinese and Indigenous peoples who supported each other in Calgary’s early history — finding food, shelter, health care and community when Chinese and Indigenous peoples were not welcomed in white establishments.
Being of Chinese and Polish heritage, Sitter really connects with supporting Chinatown’s aesthetic evolution as a significant part of Calgary’s cultural heritage.
Kari Woo is Calgary Arts Development’s project lead for the Chinatown Public Art Plan. Drawing on the good work of the Chinatown Cultural Plan, the focus of the public art plan is to engage with community and gather information that will help shape the future of public art in Chinatown.
Woo spent the summer attending events like the Dragon Boat Festival and talking with Chinatown residents and businesses as well as other Calgarians about public art. She says people are excited about Sitter’s new public art project. “I think it is outstanding, so visually compelling, and his inspiration is so fascinating,” she says. “It is visually poetic.”
Public art engagement in Chinatown will continue both in person and online until November 1, 2024, and further engagement will happen in early 2025 with the Lunar New Year celebrations. The data and feedback will be compiled into a report planned for the fall of 2025.
Now that The Bison and the Dragon: Untold Tales has been installed, it will become part of The City of Calgary public art collection. “It has been a journey to get here,” says Sitter. “I have been on site a couple of times (since the artworks were installed) and I think people really appreciate it.”
Sitter isn’t slowing down with the completion ofthe Chinatown project. A multi-talented artist, he is the creative mind behind a series of upcoming children’s graphic novels, as both the writer and illustrator, aimed at ages seven to 12. The series will have lots of colour with a music focus that speaks to bullying, creativity and parental expectations. He is also working on animation for a documentary, continuing his award-winning magazine work, creating film posters and, he says, is interested in future public art projects.
“Calgary offers really good opportunities, and I’m proud to help build our community and make Calgary the place to be.”
Celebrate the official launch of The Bison and the Dragon: Untold Tales in Chinatown on September 25, 2024. Learn more here.
