Calgary's Best Art Galleries & Museums
Art Aficionado's Quick Guide to Calgary's Leading Exhibition Venues
Feb 4, 2009
Calgary, Alberta, a bustling modern city in western Canada, is one of the country's leading art centers. Art-lovers can purchase excellent contemporary work at the city's many commercial galleries, or enjoy a broad selection of historical to conceptual works at its fine public venues. Here is a quick tour of the very best:
Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum, reigning monarch of Calgary's museums with massive exhibition halls, is located near the Olympic Plaza. Glenbow's space is partly dedicated to permanent or circulating displays from their massive collections of regional artifacts, but a substantial part of the space is dedicated specifically to art. The visitor can usually find:
- One show dedicated to a solo artist or group of modern or contemporary artists with significant influence in southern Alberta, impact which often extends past the region either internationally, or throughout Canada.
- A circulating display of important painters, cartographers, photographers and printmakers who opened up the west and recorded its changes.
- A blockbuster traveling exhibition of subjects ranging from pop culture, like the current Marilyn Monroe exhibition, to world historal, anthropological and sociological displays, to art legends such as Rodin, Picasso, or Rubens.
- Several permanent displays of indigenous cultures, Asian art, minerals from the geographical surveys.
130 — 9 Avenue S.E., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0P3; Tel: 403-268-4100; Fax: 403-265-9769.
The Art Gallery of Calgary
About 2 blocks west of the Glenbow on Stephen Avenue Mall, in 2 historical adjoined sandstone buildings, The Art Gallery of Calgary (AGC) is renowned for the quality of its unflinching contemporary art.
AGC also hosts a really fun art classroom program for school-aged children. Since they accommodate home-schoolers, they may have opening for drop-in visitors. Call ahead.
117 — 8 Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 1B4; 24-hour Information: 403-770-1350; Fax: 403-264-8077.
Stride Artist-Run Centre
Stride Artist-Run Centre is famous for its often controversial avant-garde contemporary shows. It is also the only remaining artist-run center in Calgary to offer a venue for hot emerging artists. Stride provides two exhibition spaces: The Window Project, where works are installed in storefront type windows scattered throughout the city core, and the Project Room, which is located at the Centre, which is within walking distance SE of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary's gentrified Warehouse District. Expect exciting things shows from this venue!
1004 Macleod Trail, SE, Calgary, AB, Canada T2G 2M7; Tel.: 403-262-8507; Fax: 403-269-5220.
artcentral
artcentral is a conglomeration of private studios and commercial galleries in the renovated Press Club building 1 block north of The Art Gallery of Calgary. An excellent place to purchase fine art and craft, or sit down with an espresso and rest your feet after the grand art tour around Calgary's downtown core.
100 – 7th Avenue, SW; Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 0W4; Tel: 403-543-9600 Fax: 403-543-9603
The Nickel Arts Museum
Affiliated with and located at the University of Calgary, The Nickel Arts Museum's focus is academic, "Our purpose is to exhibit and study aesthetically or historically significant information, knowledge and artifacts .... It is our aim to stimulate open discussion and creativity, involving students, faculty and the general public in all aspects of The Nickle's work."
It's off the beaten track, but well worth the LRT trip and a walk across attractive campus grounds.
2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4; Tel: 403-220-7234; Fax: 403-282-4742
Visitors to Calgary may also be interested in reading up on Live Classical Music Performances in Calgary, or in The Best Live Theatre and Musicals which that city has to offer.
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