2026 Art Bus Artists Announced

Collins Amegah
Collins Amegah is a visual artist, graphic designer and painter whose work explores the deep connections between people and their environments. Shaped by a lifetime of navigating diverse cultural contexts, his practice examines how identity is formed through place and how shared values such as trust, care and belonging are carried across generations and communities.

Collins’s creative process fuses human expression, natural forms and urban textures into layered visual narratives. His vibrant, daring compositions draw inspiration from nature, music, literature and design, resulting in works that feel both intuitive and intentional. Through an ongoing exploration of new mediums, materials and digital processes, he continues to refine an exuberant yet nuanced visual language.

Working across surfaces such as wood, fabric, glass and concrete, Amegah blends pattern, texture, colour and dynamic brushwork to channel emotion and movement. His art thrives in the tension between complexity and simplicity, inviting viewers into moments of introspection while connecting with the stories, energy and sense of place embedded within each piece.

Instagram: @amegah_
Facebook: Collins Amegah

Grant Little Mustache  

Grant Little Mustache  
Oki. Greetings. I am Grant Little Mustache of the Piikani Nation, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. I am a self-taught artist — I started at an early age and have been drawing and painting for more than 50 years. I have been around storytelling all of my life. The creation stories of my people and my ancestors go back to the beginning of time in Blackfoot territory, here in what we call North  America, Canada and the United States. 

 
I have been around horse culture all my life and on the front lines of human services for over 30 years. I would describe my art as spiritual, contemporary, Indigenous, historical and western. 

Instagram: @apaniiartcollective

Jae Sterling

Jae Sterling
Jae Sterling is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and founding member of the FOREIGNERZ art and production house, where he also serves as a creative director and in-house designer. Working across visual art, public installations, film, fashion, music, illustration and writing, Sterling’s practice moves between heightened emotional expression and immersive dream spaces, often operating under the moniker BIG BULLY. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, and shaped by time spent in South Florida and the Canadian prairies, his practice moves between vivid Caribbean colour and prairie grit, constantly re-contextualizing personal and diasporic history. His work blends pop culture with classical and contemporary art, using surrealism as a storytelling tool and an act of resistance against cultural erasure. 

Jae first emerged as a musician and was selected for the National Music Centre’s Artist Residency in 2019, releasing four music projects and touring across Alberta and Ontario. In 2020, he debuted the year-long multimedia exhibition Riding Horses With White Men, which led to his recognition as one of Calgary’s first Black muralists with The Guide & Protector in Chinatown. 

His ongoing series PORTALS explores prairie surrealism through exhibitions, large-scale murals, and installations, including the 2,000 square feet BUMP Festival mural PORTAL MAKER. His short film JINN JULIAN premiered at the Calgary International Film Festival, with companion exhibitions continuing into 2024. 

frnrz.com 
Instagram: @jaesterling and @sansfuccs

Jillian Fleck

Jillian Fleck
Jillian Fleck is an award-winning graphic novelist based in Mohkinsstsis/Calgary. Their graphic novels Lake Jehovah and Cheryl were both published by Conundrum Press, and their work has been included in anthologies such as 2 Trans 2 Furious: An extremely serious journal of Transgender Street Racing Studies and Alberta Comics: Home. Jillian’s comics explore concepts of gender and sexuality, mental health, and the weird and fantastic. They have shared their work nationally and internationally through workshops, lectures and exhibitions. Presently, in their spare time, Jillian is working on a comic titled Murderbird! My Love!, a fantasy soap opera about magical military drones and the unicorns who love them.  

jillianfleck.com
Instagram: @jillian.fleck 
Substack: jillianfleck.substack.com/
BlueSky: @jillianfleck.bsky.social

Kara Mains 

Kara Mains 
Kara Mains is an illustrator and character designer who graduated from AUArts. An enjoyer of dark fairytales and strange twisted monsters, Kara focuses on combining digital mediums with traditional styles and practices. They celebrate the strange, wondrous, and the monstrous, and the myriad ways they reside in all humans.  

As far as personal work goes, Kara is drawn to art that is faraway and mysterious in tone. With a background in creative writing, their practice is inspired by timeless stories and allegories that explore ideas and lessons still relevant today. Kara loves designing strange, eclectic characters and environments for them to inhabit. Every story has been told, yet it is always possible to tell new stories. This artist is fascinated by exploring what lies within that is difficult to put into words. They believe the most interesting work comes from the melding of more than one fascinating idea, folding one over the other and layering until something new is born.  

https://www.karamainsillustration.com/ 
Instagram: @cheshireslink.art 
Tiktok: @cheshireslink_art 

Phoenix Kefei Ning

Phoenix Kefei Ning
Phoenix Kefei Ning was born in China and has lived and studied in the United States and Canada for over a decade. She is a Visual Communication Design major in the class of 2026 at AUArts (Alberta University of the Arts). Working as a graphic designer, illustrator, and emerging artist, Phoenix explores the interplay of colour and shape to create visually engaging work. Her practice is inspired by her personal aesthetics and by her relationship to the world around her. While she primarily works in digital formats, Phoenix continues to explore traditional, hands-on techniques, often working across the boundary between digital and craft. She contributes to numerous community-based and public art initiatives across Calgary, with a focus on making art more accessible and joyful for the public.  

Instagram: @phoenixning

Sikapinakii Low Horn  

Sikapinakii Low Horn 
Sikapinakii (“Black Eyed Woman”) Low Horn is a Blackfoot artist from the Siksika First Nation who received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the AUArts (Alberta University of the Arts) in 2019. Utilizing multiple mediums, Sikapinakii uses teachings and stories from their people to create works of art that aim to educate others about the history and culture of the Blackfoot. Within their work, they often include Blackfoot imagery and iconography that uses bold and traditional colours in hopes of creating welcoming spaces. Sikapinakii is currently a full-time freelance artist but continues their research within the subject matter of Blackfoot cowboys.  

Instagram: @blackfootcowboy