October Exhibitions
There's a lot of art in store this October
Explore Calgary’s vibrant art scene this October with a roundup of captivating exhibitions and exciting art sales showcasing the diverse creative talent of Calgary’s visual arts community!
Black-Space-Time
September 28 – October 26, 2023
Stride Gallery (1006 Macleod Tr. SE) & The Bows (2001b 10th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
The Bows and Stride Gallery are excited to announce a collaborative exhibition, Black-Space-Time, curated by Nura Ali. The exhibition is a culmination of research undertaken over two years by Ali as a research fellow.
stride.ab.ca
From Exclusion to Inclusion
September 29 – October 8, 2023
Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre (197 1st St. SW)
Free to explore with tickets
Learn more about the history of Chinese in Canada in this special photo exhibition showcasing the impact that the Chinese early settlers have had on Canada. In addition, special workshops, seminars and lunch time films will provide additional insight.
calgarychinatown.com
The Working Mother Experience
October 2 – November 1, 2023
Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge (11300 Rocky Ridge Rd. NW)
$25 – 45
The Working Mother Experience is a gallery exhibition featuring art submitted by working mothers from around the world. See the art on display, get inspired by working mothers and participate in a workshop that will unleash your creativity and show you how it can help us be mindful.
eventbrite.com
Natural Beauty of Alberta
October 5 – October 31, 2023
Calgary Central Library (4th floor, 800 3rd St. SE)
Free to attend/explore
Zahra Entezari is a painter, photographer and art instructor based in Calgary, originally from Shiraz, Iran. With over 25 years of experience, Entezari has worked with various mediums, and oil and pastel are her favourites.
eventbrite.ca
Fall Show and Sale
October 7, 2023
St. Peter’s Anglican Church (903 75th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
The Group Art Society of Calgary presents its Fall Show and Sale. Come out for a day of art and meet the artists. They’ll have original paintings in a variety of styles, mediums, sizes and prices. Enter to win an original oil painting by Rosemary Bennett.
facebook.com
Free Art Supply Event
October 7, 2023
CommunityWise Resource Centre (223 12th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Mark your calendars for Art + Craft Supply’s second free art and craft supply event! They’ll have tables of supplies that you can take home for personal projects or Christmas gifts as well as a social space where creatives can meet each other.
instagram.com
Connecting Threads
October 7 & 14, 2023
Esker Foundation (4th floor, 1011 9th Ave SE)
Free to participate, registration required
Join artists asmaa al-issa, Stephanie Banszky and Sarah Russell for a two-part workshop series where they have food, conversations, explore fibre arts such as screen printing and block printing, engage with natural materials, and create a collaborative printed tapestry.
eskerfoundation.com
Centenary / Mehdi Darvishi
October 13 – December 1, 2023
Alberta Printmakers (4025 4th St. SE)
Free to explore
In Iranian artist Mehdi Darvishi’s Centenary, the main theme is “life and its undeniable result: death.” This reductive process is a good reflection of the way that he consider the most inevitable happening in the human being’s life.
albertaprintmakers.com
Beacon Fall Show & Sale
October 14 & 15, 2023
Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association (917 Centre Ave. NE)
Free to explore
Check out over 25 different emerging and established artists showcasing painting, jewelry, glass, photography, ceramics, sculpture and textiles. Get your art fix, chat with local artists, start your holiday shopping early or treat yourself to something special.
beaconoriginalart.com
Acclaimed Fall Art Show
October 20 – 22, 2023
Crescent Heights Community Centre (1101 2nd St. NW)
Free to explore
Come meet the artists at Acclaimed Fall Art Show and see some of the newest works by some of the most talented artists in Calgary. From landscape to abstract, there is something for everyone.
acclaimedfineart.com
Tangled Tree Fall Artisan Market
October 20 – 22, 2023
The Bearspaw Lions Event Centre (25240 Nagway Rd. NW)
Free to explore
At this indoor market, find artists, snacks, home decor, macrame wall hangings, bath & body products, jewelry, woodwork, knitting and so much more. Join them at their charming venue to find the perfect handcrafted items for yourself or for gifts.
facebook.com
Old New Borrowed Blue
October 21 – November 18, 2023
Newzones Gallery (730 11th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Newzones presents Old New Borrowed Blue, an exhibition of new work by Canadian contemporary artist Emily Filler. Her paintings walk the line between the real and the imaginary, familiar and the dreamlike – flowers act as a departure point to a world that dissolves into abstraction.
newzones.com
The Fibre Shindig
October 21, 2023, 10am – 4pm
Genesis Centre (7555 Falconridge Blvd. NE)
Free to explore
Don’t miss The Shindig Collective’s fall shindig! Join them for colourful, squishy, fibre-y goodness and other lovely local, handmade fabulousness from yarn, fibre, knitting and crochet artists. There are door prizes all day!
fibreshindig.com
Fine Art Show
October 27 & 28, 2023
Strathcona Community Association (277 Strathcona Dr. SW)
Free to explore
State of Art YYC presents a fine art show featuring the work of several Calgary professional artists, including original paintings, glasswork, pottery, jewelry and more.
stateofartyyc.com
Palette Fine Art Show & Sale
October 27 & 28, 2023
Triwood Community Hall (2244 Chicoutimi Dr. NW)
Free to explore
The Palette art show and sale features paintings by over 65 local artists in a variety of mediums. Palette is an excellent place to buy your first piece of original art, add to your collection or browse for your own pleasure.
calgarycommunitypainters.com
Passionate Painters Fall Art Show
October 27 & 28, 2023
St. Peter’s Anglican Church (903 75th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
The Passionate Painters Art Group features Calgary artists presenting a variety of styles and mediums. Make sure to check out their work at the group’s annual fall art show and sale!
facebook.com
Art Show & Sale
October 28, 2023, 12noon – 8pm
Desert Room, Carriage House Inn (9030 Macleod Tr. S)
Free to explore
From the Easel is a Calgary-based group of artists who are hosting a sale this fall where you’ll find original pieces in oils, acrylics, watercolour, graphite and mixed media by their talented artists.
fromtheeasel.weebly.com
Last Chance + Ongoing Exhibitions
Anda Kubis: Languorous
Until October 14, 2023
Newzones Gallery (730 11th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Newzones Gallery presents Languorous, a solo exhibition of work by Canadian contemporary painter Anda Kubis. These paintings coalesce immediate swipes of the brush, modulated fields, blurs and rich radiating layers of colour.
newzones.com
Marcia Harris: Echo
Until October 14, 2023
Christine Klassen Gallery (Suite 200, 321 50th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Known for her familiar depictions of houses and buildings in and around Calgary, Harris’ architectural paintings emerge out of her own form of hyper-pigmented realism. Her renderings of these spaces/places exist somewhere between a memory and reality.
christineklassengallery.com
Joann Godenir: Let Go Lightly
Until October 14, 2023
Christine Klassen Gallery (Suite 200, 321 50th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
JoAnn Godenir’s Let Go Lightly draws from her experiences at a residency in France. The artist’s new body of work pushed her to grow in her creative practice, take more risks and fully appreciate the care that goes into making art.
christineklassengallery.com
Gathie Falk: Revelations
Until October 15, 2023
Glenbow at the Edison (2nd floor, 150 9th Ave. SW)
Free to explore with tickets
Revelations is an impressive collection of art created by visionary Canadian artist Gathie Falk, spanning more than 50 years and across a number of mediums. Embracing the simplicity of everyday objects, Falk invites audiences to see the world with curiosity.
glenbow.org
Simon Andrew: Traversing Terrain
Until October 18, 2023
Wallace Galleries (Chevron Plaza, 500 5th Ave. SW)
Free to explore
This exhibition of new works by Simon Andrew explores the vast expanse of colour. His bold and expressive brushstrokes allow viewers to be immersed into new land and discover not only the physical landscape but also the terrain of the artist’s mind and the paint itself.
wallacegalleries.com
Planting Displacement
Until October 21, 2023
The New Gallery (208 Centre St. S)
Free to explore
Anahita Norouzi examines the legacies of botanical explorations, when scientific research and agricultural production became entangled in the exploitation of non-Western geographies, shaping cultural attitudes towards the human and non-human other.
thenewgallery.org
Threads of Identity
Until October 27, 2023
Stride Gallery (1006 Macleod Tr. SE)
Free to explore
An illuminating exhibition that delves into the intricate interplay of identity, culture and tradition. Rooted in Thea Thomas’ connection to Haudenosaunee craft, this exhibition emerges as a dynamic tribute to cultural resilience while seamlessly integrating it into the tapestry of contemporary consciousness.
stride.ab.ca
Artist’s Choice
Until October 28, 2023
ASA Gallery, Crossroads Art Centre (Suite 222, 1235 26th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
The Alberta Society of Artists is proud to present the group exhibition Artist’s Choice featuring current work by their juried and life members. This exhibition features a variety of media and formats and provides a window into contemporary art practice in Alberta.
albertasocietyofartists.com
Picture Window
Until October 28, 2023
Norberg Hall (Suite 333B, 36th Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Norberg Hall opens its Fall 2023 season with Picture Window, a debut exhibition by artist Richard Brown. This exhibition poses paradoxical questions about what can be known or seen, and what remains deeply unknowable, incomprehensible, and that which is unseen.
norberghall.com
Bruno Canadien: walking is traditional
Until October 29, 2023
Leighton Art Centre (282027 144th St. W, Millarville)
By donation
Bruno Canadien presents new mixed media work that documents and catalogues his walking practice and land art in the Sheep River watershed of southern Alberta. Informed by his Dene and Scottish heritage, walking is traditional is cultural resilience and continuity in action.
leightoncentre.org
Hey You! Land!
Until October 29, 2023
Leighton Art Centre (282027 144th St. W, Millarville)
By donation
The Ways of Making artist cohort at National accessArts Centre is a group of artists actively learning about Indigenous peoples, history and culture. The artists have been working with guest faculty to explore various themes. Check out their group exhibition!
leightoncentre.org
Carol Sawyer: The Natalie Brettschneider Archive
Until October 29, 2023
Contemporary Calgary (701 11th St. SW)
With admission
The Natalie Brettschneider Archive is an ongoing series of photographs, texts and music recitals that together reconstruct the life and work of a genre-blurring historical performance artist. Brettschneider is fictional, but her story is laced with real references
contemporarycalgary.com
Windows into Clematis: Uniting through Art
Until October 31, 2023
Rotary Park (617 1st St NE, Calgary)
By donation
Windows into Clematis: Uniting through Art is a collection of collaborative works that respond to Rotary Park. Four window galleries will showcase pieces that address concepts of isolation, exploration of identity, the impact of our environment on mental health, and our connection to each other.
instagram.com
how to feel the weight of the moment
Until November 18, 2023
Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta University of the Arts (1407 14th Ave. NW)
Free to explore
Centring issues related to mapping, imaging systems and ecological crisis, this exhibition brings together a selection of recent works. A number of participatory projects will run parallel to the gallery exhibition.
auarts.ca
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
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
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
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.
