Sometimes when you look for answers, you are left with more questions instead. – Me, Kenna 

And that’s okay.  

Artists are well versed in this friction; the unknown, the space between things. Digging into the concept of “public art space” proved the perfect opportunity to unpack assumptions I had around what I define as public, what I believe art to be and how public and art intersect in certain spaces. Our relationship to space itself is as unique and collective, as it is personal and political. I had the opportunity to not only speak to artists who have forged fascinating collaborations with public space, but also facilitators of space for art and artists behind-the-scenes.  

Welcome Why We Create, an ongoing collaboration and partnership with Arts Commons that endeavours to explore the creative processes of artists working in Alberta. My name is Kenna Burima, musician, songwriter, producer, educator and writer. I am also a lover and cheerleader of artists. 

Within the current Arts Commons building there are multiple clearly defined public art spaces showcasing local and national visual and media arts. Inside there’s the Ledge Gallery, Lightbox Studio, Window Galleries, Microcinema, and +15 Soundscapes. Outside you can see the TELUS Sky’s Art While You Wait digital exhibition found on 7th Ave. & 1st St. SW. These are obvious and distinct institutionally curated spaces that are free and open to the public.  

Situated in high traffic locations, I find I’m never so late for a show that I don’t stop and appreciate it. I pause and take a moment to reflect on what I’m seeing and experiencing. This simple act of appreciation may in fact be a part of what could define an art space.   

A Moment of Appreciation 
Sean Dennie (he/him) is an iconic Calgary-based photographer and the current Director of Space Development for cSPACE Projects’ SPACEPILOT Meanwhile Lease Program. In his current role, Sean has been spending most of his waking hours advocating for artists and arts organizations to access to space. We have millions of square feet of it in the downtown core alone, and it’s been Sean’s purpose over the last number of years to bridge that gap between those that have space and artists who need it. It’s not a surprise that from one who is steeped in the variety of intersections between artists, space and access that he would have a unique perspective. In fact, according to Sean, perspective may be all that’s required.   

“I think it’s about what is truly accessible to the public,” muses Sean. “If you think that architecture is art, then there's an appreciation to be had for the building itself. To me, art is everywhere, so the question is then, what's coming forward in that space. I think what’s coming through at least here, is the word appreciation. If a space inspires a moment of appreciation, even if it's just a print on a wall in a mall, to me, that moment of appreciation makes it a public art space.”  

Perception  
As I sit at my desk, I look around and realize that everything at some point was touched by an artist. Chairs and staircases, book covers and curtains; these things were created or designed by an artist. Sean notices this in his day-to-day as well and emphasizes it every time he’s in a meeting making his case for artists accessing space. Does this mean art is everywhere? It all depends on perception.  

“It all becomes just a matter of perception, right?” says Sean. “And what's valuable, and what's relevant, and then there's a certain separation between commercial art and art for art's sake. So really, it's almost like our definition has to be the intersection of what we perceive to be art, and what we perceive space to be and then what is public. Public means accessible, but not everyone has access. Because what is considered accessible, I mean, what you and I define as an accessible public space may not necessarily be accessible to other people for a variety of reasons, even if it is claimed to be so.”  

Facilitation and Accessibility 
Librarian Terrill Budd (she/her) is the Temporary Art Coordinator at the Central Library. Terrill downplays her role as merely supportive but what these temporary public art spaces offer in nine branches around Calgary is very special.  

“We are a public space anyone can walk into, but we don’t curate the art spaces”, says Terrill. “We care an awful lot about representation and accountability to the public, but it's also about conversations. I love chatting with whoever comes in and it’s my job to walk artists around showing them all the options for showcasing their art. I've learned a great deal about how artists do what they do, and I see this as part of our role within the community to provide this space.” 

Libraries are more important than ever and for many Calgarians, they are one of the few remaining truly public spaces. Spend a day in Terrill’s library location, and you witness how staff compassionately navigate hosting and holding space for multiple communities. As Terrill mentions, the library does not curate their public art space like the Arts Commons, but does have the leadership of the Elders Guidance Circle and a number of guiding principles like those outlined by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries. Terrill says the library is dedicated “making display spaces available for the purpose of inspiring new ideas and innovation, education and cultural enrichment, lifelong learning and connecting communities.”  

Intention of Holding Space 
Sharon Stevens (she/her) is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary artist, curator and "artivist". With 30+ years creating and working in Calgary, Sharon has always pondered the intersections of art, space and people. As the current Public Art Lead for the Calgary Arts Development, Sharon navigates as many opinions on public art as there are bricks in a building. Like Sean, she has a unique way of determining what is a public art space and it all has to do with intention.  

“To me, public art space is everything out there,” gestures Sharon broadly. “Alleys, sidewalks, gardens, all of it. My art practice is performative, so that even picking up litter can be programmed as an art project. Little acts of caring and attention for public space is a part of my artistic practice. I use art to get my message across, bring people together to accomplish something, to bring awareness…It’s why I call myself an artivist.” 

As an artivist, Sharon doesn’t shy away from the not so obvious spaces to make her art. Taking her cues from the activist-artists (hence artivist) of Central and South America, these artists first developed the term in the 1990s to codify the act of art making as a response to injustice and oppression. Through this potent pairing of art and activism Sharon has explored all sorts of spaces...even those spaces reserved for the dead. 

Those familiar with Sharon’s past work, may recall the powerful Equinox Vigil; a secular art event that took place in Calgary’s historic Union Cemetery. Visual and media artists, musicians, poets, and historians welcomed the opportunity to remember the dead in artistic, creative and meaningful ways with the public. Then the pandemic hit, and the vigil was moved online and sparked the realization for Sharon that space was not necessarily physical. 

“When Equinox Vigil went online, I took the responsibility very seriously,” recalls Sharon. “I'm still learning, but this idea of holding sacred space is really important. Holding space for people to have their tender feelings around death, loss, mourning and grief. It's like a kind of contract. It's acknowledging that we know form, function and color and that we understand the beginning middle and end. This is what I believe artists bring to spaces. They come in a creative, sustainable and collaborative way. I endeavor to work collaboratively in every space I’m in.”  

Collaboration with Space 
I became enamored with the work of artists daniel j kirk (he/him), and herbalist Tiffany J Harper (she/her/wiya), collectively known as askîy arts collective of Blank Page Studio, when I moved into the NW community of West Hillhurst a couple years ago. Tiffany brings an important element to my current unpacking of the definition public art space as a Maskēkowak iskwew and Anishinaabe person living and working in Treaty 7 as a clinician, instructor, author and educator. Her creative and artistic collaborations use storytelling, images, and a deep understanding of the plants around us.  

Their public art project Rooted in Community endeavored to connect “the community of people to the community of plants in their neighbourhood.” By creating art in a public outdoors space like the Bow River bluffs and pathways, Tiffany and daniel invited the public to engage with the space around them in a more intentional and collaborative way. 

“When you're setting an intention and you're there with this act of listening, you're able to pick up on subtle communication,” says Tiffany. “It takes you to where you're just more receptive to the communication happening; whether it's big, like wind gusts or small like a gentle breeze blowing some grasses. With the public engagement aspect of the project, we went through this process of asking permission and giving an offering, because we're also entering traditional spaces. A lot of these bluff areas were hunting grounds or Buffalo jumps and so making the proper acknowledgements was an important part of our process.” 

If we acknowledge the subtle characteristics of space around us through deep listening and mindfulness, and by understanding the history and appreciate how others may move through the same space, we become more connected to what’s around us. It becomes a visceral experience of co-creation and even more exciting, the space begins to communicate with us if we listen. Artists’ relationship to space so often determines our artistic practice; something that Tiffany highlights when sharing about her guidance from Elders. 

“Nature is in the city,” says Tiffany. “It exists in our yards. It exists within our own homes. What’s really important for me is when we are entering into a space to remember that we are as nature. There's this disconnect we have when we're moving through the world thinking that we are a different thing, other than the bigger thing that exists around us. So through my art making processes, through my healing practices that I do, the work I do with people, and the plants I use for teaching; one of the biggest things is to understand that we are an integral part of nature. We're not separate.”