May Exhibitions
Check out new visual art exhibitions around Calgary this May — from a dive into the intersection of art and money, to a reflection on Calgary’s Eau Claire Market! Each month, we spotlight a new or outgoing visual art exhibition in the city, followed by a roundup of others you can enjoy.
This month, Gibson Fine Art presents City & Story: The Art of Place, an exhibition of new works by Jill Thomson, whose vibrant, layered paintings blend figures, buildings, gardens and streetscapes to explore themes of memory, community and home. Thomson draws inspiration from her prairie childhood, urban experiences in Montreal and life as a mother and artist in Edmonton.
The exhibition coincides with the launch of the expanded third edition of Calgary’s Best Walks by Lori Beattie, which features one of Thomson’s artworks on the cover and showcases 95 unique jaunts through Calgary’s diverse neighbourhoods.
Head over to Gibson Fine Art located at 523 Cleveland Cres. SE on Saturday, May 3 for the book launch and exhibition, on view until May 17, 2025.
More May exhibitions:
Robert Lemay – From the Garden
May 1 – 28, 2025
Wallace Galleries (500 5 Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Robert Lemay’s exhibition invites viewers into the vibrant world of his garden, with a special focus on the lush beauty of peonies. Through richly detailed, macro floral works, he offers a colourful escape from winter’s grey, capturing the essence of summer in every brushstroke.
wallacegalleries.com
LOOK25
May 1 – 31, 2025 | Opening May 1, 5 – 9pm
Contemporary Calgary (701 11 St. SW)
With admission
Contemporary Calgary presents LOOK25, an exhibition and auction featuring works by many of Canada’s leading artists. Celebrating a decade of community support, proceeds from the auction benefit both the artists and Contemporary Calgary’s exhibitions and programs.
contemporarycalgary.com
Reflections and Recollections
May 3 – June 21, 2025
Newzones Gallery Of Contemporary Art (730 11 Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Newzones presents Reflections and Recollections, a solo exhibition by Toronto-based photographer Joshua Jensen-Nagle. Jensen-Nagle is known for his dreamy, large-scale beachscapes. His cinematic images capture emotion over place and invite viewers to reflect on their memories and dreams.
newzones.com
Northeast Mini Galleries
On display until June, 2025
Various locations
Free to explore
The Northeast Mini Galleries Public Art Program includes 13 mini galleries, including 10 located at different community associations, and three located downtown inside the Calgary Municipal Building’s atrium. The mini galleries feature 39 artists throughout the year — each exhibition showcases 13 local artists, selected by a local curator, for a four-month period.
calgaryartsdevelopment.com/northeast-mini-galleries
Robin Arseneault | If I is a monster, so be it
May 9 – June 21, 2025 | Opening Reception May 9, 5 – 7pm
Norberg Hall (333b 36 Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Robin Arseneault’s work explores the space between failure, discomfort and humour, using a wide range of materials. Through bold shapes and playful references to the body, she creates pieces that are both emotional and tactile. Check out her latest exhibition!
norberghall.com
MoneyArt: Aesthetics of Currencies Across Times and Cultures
May 22 – August 22, 2025
Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary (410 University Ct. NW))
Free to explore
This thought-provoking exhibition explores money’s artistic, cultural and historical significance through stunning numismatic artefacts. Curated by Marina Fischer in collaboration with the Bank of Canada Museum, it invites reflection on how money shapes art and society across time and cultures.
nickle.ucalgary.ca
see you there // meet me here: echoes of eau claire
May 23 – July 12, 2025 | Opening Reception May 31, 7 – 9pm
The New Gallery (208 Centre St. S)
Free to explore
This multimedia exhibition, curated by Jessica Szeto, features works by Danny Luong, Brady Fullerton and Stephen Chan that reflect on the closure and shifting identity of Calgary’s Eau Claire Market.
thenewgallery.org
Esker Spring/Summer Exhibitions
May 24 – August 24, 2025 | Opening May 23, 6 – 9pm
Esker Foundation (4th floor, 1011 9 Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Oliver Beer: Compositions for Mouths, Face and Hands
Compositions for Mouths, Face and Hands is a sensorial video exhibition exploring the body as a vessel for sound and connection. Through two paired works, it examines how resonance, touch and voice can create moments of communion across people, time and space.
eskerfoundation.com
Babak Golkar: When Sound Becomes Unsound
When Sound Becomes Unsound features interactive sculptures by Babak Golkar that explore the tension between catharsis and containment. The exhibition invites viewers into an ambiguous space where emotional release through sound and gesture is both invited and interrogated.
eskerfoundation.com
Caroline Monnet: Pizandawatc / The One Who Listens / Celui qui écoute
Presenting a selection of works by Anishinaabe/French artist Caroline Monnet, this exhibition centres on a recent series of sculptures that explore language reclamation and intergenerational transmission through an engagement with the idea of land as a carrier of ancestral memory.
eskerfoundation.com
Majestic Stride | Silent Whispers of Nature
Until June 2025
Centre Street LRT platform (125 7 Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Calgary Arts Development is in a year-long partnership with the Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI) for the Open Spaces: Windows to a View program. Check out the newest exhibits by artists Muhammad Abdallah and Muhammad Fauzan Mirza as they explore themes of nature, humanity and architecture.
calgaryartsdevelopment.com
For more visual arts events and exhibitions, head over to the arts and culture events section of yycwhatson.ca.
