December Exhibitions
Cap off 2023 with some visual art
There’s no better way to celebrate the holiday season than by taking in some creativity courtesy of Calgary’s visual arts community, so make sure to check out an exhibition or art sale this December!
Optical Wonders: Velma Foster & Katie Ohe
November 25 – December 22, 2023
Herringer Kiss Gallery (Suite #101, 1615 10th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Optical Wonders features the work of local artistic pioneers Katie Ohe and Velma Foster to show how the 1960s was a creative breath of fresh air in Calgary involving a younger generation with new ideas about how to make art. The exhibition is curated by Mary-Beth Laviolette, who also curated the 1960s portion of the two-year Made in Calgary series at Glenbow.
herringerkissgallery.com
Forming The Abstract Minds
November 30 – December 15, 2023
cSPACE Marda Loop (2nd floor, 1721 29th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Forming The Abstract Minds represents a remarkable collaboration between the artists of the Abstract Minds and Forming the Abstract programs within Prospect’s Persons with Developmental Disabilities services. Check out their work!
instagram.com
Charlevoix
November 30 – January 5, 2024
Newzones Gallery (730 11th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Newzones Gallery presents Charlevoix, a solo exhibition by Canadian contemporary painter Peter Hoffer. The paintings in this exhibition are an accumulation of works assembled this past spring and summer. The trees are specific to the Charlevoix Region of Quebec, as well as the Laurentians where Hoffer has a small studio.
newzones.com
Deck the Walls!
November 30, 2023 – January 2024
Newzones Gallery (730 11th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Newzones Gallery returns with its highly anticipated group holiday exhibition Deck the Walls! This attention-grabbing, salon-inspired exhibition sees an entire wall filled with small to medium sized artworks. The perfect size for gift-giving.
newzones.com
Stride Editions
December 1 – 15, 2023
Stride Gallery (1006 Macleod Tr. SE)
Free to explore
Stride Gallery invites you to its 2023 fundraiser, Stride Editions! The gallery is showcasing risograph prints from over 20 local artists. Help celebrate the emerging and established artists Stride has been in dialogue with over the past few years.
stride.ab.ca
The Whole Kit and Caboodle
December 2 – 15, 2023
TRUCK Contemporary Art (2009 10th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
TRUCK Contemporary Art presents The Whole Kit and Caboodle, an exhibition by and for emerging artists featuring the works of Alberta University of the Arts students.
instagram.com
Winter Art Show
December 5 – 22, 2023
cSPACE Marda Loop (1721 29th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Join the Calgary Community Painters Society for a winter group art show featuring 16 of its member artists at cSPACE! Make sure to drop by and check it out!
calgarycommunitypainters.com
ᐊᐧᓴᑲᒪᐱᐊᐧᐠ wasakamapiwak wearable art collective
December 7, 2023 – January 27, 2024
Sparrow Artspace (36 4th St. NE)
Prices vary
Wasakamapiwak is a collective of Indigenous artists living and working in Treaty 7 territory, bound together by an engagement with creating wearables. Join the artists for discussions, workshops and visual arts during their residency at Sparrow Artspace.
sparrowartspace.com
Holiday Group Exhibition
December 9 – 24, 2023
Wallace Galleries (500 5th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
This exhibition has Wallace Galleries’ roster of artists focusing on some special works for the holiday season, including some mini gems for that nook and other dynamic works for that centre piece. Check it out!
wallacegalleries.com
Arts Sales & Holiday Markets
Festive Foothills Art Sale
Until December 21, 2023
Leighton Art Centre (282027 144th St. W, Millarville)
By donation
Enjoy some holiday cheer in Alberta’s beautiful Foothills region! Fine craft and artworks by local artists will be featured in the galleries of the historic Leighton home and online, in perfect time for getting a head start on purchasing seasonal gifts.
leightoncentre.org
Under $100 Art Show
December 7 – 10 & 14 – 17, 2023
(2360 Portland St. SE)
Prices vary
ART SPOT’s most anticipated annual event is back! Over 100 artists per weekend, nearly 20,000 square feet of exhibition space, 1000s of pieces of art — all under $100! This show helps artists show and sell their work while also making it affordable.
eventbrite.ca
Market Collective
December 8 – 10 & 15 – 17, 2023
Halls B & C, BMO Centre, Stampede Park (20 Roundup Way SW)
$7
The Market Collective Holiday Series is coming! Take a peep at the incredible artists, makers and vendors they have lined up this season so you can plan your upcoming holiday hangs + shopping. This lineup is sure to knock your fuzzy socks right off.
marketcollective.ca
Gift of Art Market
December 9, 2023, 10am – 8pm
Ruberto Ostberg Gallery (2108 18th St. NW)
Free to explore
The Ruberto Ostberg Gallery Gift of Art Market is the perfect opportunity to pick up unique gifts or add a little something creative to your holiday list while supporting exceptional local artists. Grab brunch or a drink at the Artist Lounge while you’re at it!
facebook.com
Dave’s Big Art Show Holiday Edition
December 9, 2023, 1 – 7pm
Evergreen Community SPACES (1709 8th Ave. NE)
Free to explore
Check out a festive celebration of art and get ready to be amazed by the incredible talent. There’ll be a wide range of artworks on display in various styles and mediums. This holiday edition of Dave’s Big Art Show is not to be missed.
davesoilpainting.com
Caprices Holiday Ladies’ Night
December 15, 2023, 5 – 9 pm
Commons Church (2404 Kensington Rd. NW)
Free to explore
Join Caprices Fine Arts for their Holiday Ladies’ Night. Enjoy a baked good and coffee while shopping from amazing local vendors bringing the finest in clothing, jewelry, homewares, beauty and art.
facebook.com
Last Chance + Ongoing Exhibitions
The Art of Faye HeavyShield
Until December 9, 2023
Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary (435 Campus Lane NW)
Free to explore
This exhibition presents work that spans 40 years of Faye HeavyShield’s practice. A major contributor to contemporary Indigenous art, her work is rooted in the deep art history of the Canadian prairies and in personal/communal experience.
nickle.ucalgary.ca
Like everything alive that we try to hold forever
Until December 17, 2023
Esker Foundation (4th floor, 1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Like everything alive that we try to hold forever brings together seven artists whose works reflect ways human bodies exist in relation to non-human objects and the complex ways that these objects impact our understanding of self and others.
eskerfoundation.com
Care and Wear: Bodies Crafted for Harm and Healing
Until December 17, 2023
Esker Foundation (4th floor, 1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Curated by Brendan and Jude Griebel from the collection of the Museum of Fear and Wonder, this exhibition brings together a collection of crafted surrogates for the human body, designed to model or mimic aspects of human experience.
eskerfoundation.com
ᓄᐦᑕᐃᐧᕀ ᐊᐢᑯᑖᐢᑯᐱᓱᐣ (nohtawiy askotâskopison) — My Father’s Cradleboard
Until December 22, 2023
The New Gallery (208 Centre St. S)
Free to explore
Morgan Possberg Denne’s crafted objects illustrate the internal complexities of searching for generational knowledge and tradition that has been lost through colonization. These heartfelt artworks and more are a part of this exhibition.
thenewgallery.org
Home and Migration
Until December 23, 2023
ASA Gallery, Crossroads Art Centre (Suite #222, 1235 26th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
The Alberta Society of Artists’ group exhibition Home & Migration features the work of 16 Alberta artists who were asked to think about home. Is it a physical or emotional place, or both? Is it connected to nostalgia, one’s formative years, or the present?
albertasocietyofartists.com
Diane McGeachy: In Good Company
Until January 17, 2024
Congress Coffee (Suite #1A, 215 36th Ave. NE)
Free to explore
Diane McGeachy’s new show In Good Company is an exhibition of everyday use, somewhat ‘amphora’ inspired, hand built ceramic forms alongside 10 paintings on paper that serve to reveal the character and presence of these vessels.
congresscoffeeyyc.com
Angeline Simon: take more
Until February 4, 2024
Esker Foundation (4th floor, 1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
The ceramic sculptures in take more offer glimmers of insight into artist Angeline Simon’s childhood, the specificity of her familial traditions and, more broadly, the significance of food and shared meals within Chinese-Malaysian culture.
eskerfoundation.com
Canadian Music Hall of Fame: Nickelback
Until February 2024
Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (850 4th St. SE)
With admission
This exhibition features numerous instruments, personal items, concert footage and behind-the-scenes photos. The gallery includes a large video wall outfitted with a full stage display with many of Nickelback’s outfits and customized instruments.
studiobell.ca
Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios
Until March 3, 2024
Glenbow at the Edison (2nd floor, 150 9th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios presents the little-known story of a group of artists and printmakers who produced a collection of graphic textiles in Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset), Nunavut in the 1950s and ’60s — a period of social change that disrupted traditional language and relationships to the land.
glenbow.org
Three Dimensions
Until March 17, 2024
Contemporary Calgary (701 11th St. SW)
With admission
Three Dimensions is an exhibition showcasing the multidisciplinary art practice of Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins. The show features three installations which combine painting, sculpture, kinetics, interactivity, virtual reality and video.
contemporarycalgary.com
Human Sprawl
Until March 31, 2024
Leighton Art Centre (282027 144th St. W, Millarville)
By donation
Michelle Atkinson explores humanity’s tendency to live in excess, with personal consumption impacting biodiversity. Born from industrial waste, animal sculptures were created using thick slabs of once broken office window glass destined for the landfill.
leightoncentre.org
Resistance & Respiration
Until April 14, 2024
Contemporary Calgary (701 11th St. SW)
With admission
How is breathing an athletic act, a dyad of push-pull, a feat of endurance, a political horizon? This exhibition aims to imagine breathing, and breathlessness, as a productive cause for giddiness, a sensation for whirling and a tendency for staggering.
contemporarycalgary.com
11,104 Days: From Artists to Zenith
Ongoing
Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art (730 11th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
In honour of its 30th anniversary, 11,104 Days: From Artists to Zenith displays each of Newzones’ represented artists, including spectacular new work created by gallery artists in celebration of this milestone.
newzones.com
Music & Wellness
Ongoing
Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (850 4th St. SE)
With admission
National Music Centre’s permanent Music & Wellness exhibition taps into the power of music on mental and physical health through a series of powerful video interviews that create an immersive sense of personal conversation.
studiobell.ca
Have a visual arts event that’s not listed? Email us at events@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or fill out this form.
