eventful city guide to ward 9
GREAT ARTS AND CULTURE MAKES A GREAT FUTURE
Great neighbourhoods, the ones that thoughtfully consider people and place, incorporating mixed-uses, walkable spaces, and abundant amenities, are one of the best urban design concepts humans have come up with to support the complex, interrelated needs of a diverse economy and a vibrant culture. When these great neighbourhoods are networked together and located in close relationships with industrial landscapes, the stage is set for society to reap supercharged benefits. At the scale of East Calgary’s Ward 9, our communities have shaped, and are actively reshaping the character and destiny of our city.
For several decades in North America, arts and culture has been separated from and set against our understanding of ‘economy.’ A strong economy was something we needed; a vibrant arts and culture scene was, at best, a nice-to-have, and, at worst, an unserious distraction or partisan misadventure. Luckily, these notions have been challenged and debunked by a growing body of academic research and practical case studies - a consensus has formed that now appreciates how a strong and diversified economy and a vibrant arts and culture sector are inextricable from one another.
In Calgary, the question as to whether arts and culture has a role to play in our long-term success has largely been settled: two successive City Councils (with widely divergent political ideologies and agendas) have overwhelmingly supported increased financial backing for our arts and culture sector as an integral part of diversifying our economy. As cities continue to compete against each other on the world stage, they are also laying the groundwork for success (or failure) long into an uncertain future. The ones that will be successful over the long term are the ones actively and deliberately building up their arts and culture sectors today.
Unfortunately, global unease and political discontent has provoked a backlash by those nostalgic for what Calgary once was, or angry with the pace of change. But Calgary’s socio-cultural diversity is prevailing. Driven by decades of newcomers choosing our city as a place to establish roots, Calgary is challenging outdated ideas about who we are, and rapidly becoming a beacon of the Canadian project of pluralism.
Our arts and culture sector must take center stage in both accounting for and celebrating who we are - in all our diversity. Creating the stories whereby we will live and thrive together, and, discovering how we best become something greater than the sum of our parts. In acknowledgment and pursuit of these ideals, this map pays tribute to the City of Calgary’s flagship work on arts and culture: The Eventful City Strategy. Public art, landmarks, events, and venues - the obvious things that make neighbourhoods vibrant and culturally rich in Calgary - act as an indicator of the state of arts and culture in our city. Like our other Ward 9 maps, this map presents an inevitably incomplete snapshot in time, intended to compile and celebrate what we have, provoke conversations about the gaps we can’t help but notice, and act as an origin point for plans to fill those gaps. By continually investing in and improving our amazingly diverse East Calgary communities, we are setting our beloved Calgary up for long-term success.
Map Artist + Designer: Kaitlynn Copithorne