In addition to our permanent art and artifact displays, Glenbow maintains an active exhibition program throughout the year. Exhibitions are often drawn from our collections. We also host travelling exhibitions from museums and art galleries around the world.
Vistas: Artists on the Canadian Pacific RailwayJune 20 to September 20, 2009
Glenbow’s Vistas: Artists on the Canadian Pacific Railway features works by 20 artists who travelled west, courtesy of the CPR and William Van Horne. These remarkable artists captured images of the prairie and the mountains, incorporating them into Canada’s emerging national identity. Join us on this curatorial journey, created
by guest curator Roger Boulet, featuring
Vistas: Artists on the Canadian Pacific Railway Companion Publication This stunning Glenbow publication presents over 100 paintings and photographs by some of Canada’s most esteemed landscape artists and photographers of the late nineteenth century who participated in the CPR’s artists' pass program. Written by Roger Boulet, a specialist in Canadian historical art and photography and featuring an essay by Terry Fenton, a landscape painter and senior arts professional in Canada, Vistas situates the work of these artists within the railway's – and Canada's – dynamic history. Contact the Museum Shop for your copy of this companion publication to our exhibition!
Voices of Vistas: An Audio Experience As you gaze at the artwork, hear
the words of those involved. Voices
of Vistas is a narrative-based audio
experience featuring characterizations
of fascinating people, often in their own
words. Hear stories from pioneering
CPR executive William Van Horne,
Lady Susan Agnes Macdonald (the
fearless traveller and wife of Canada’s
Robert F. Gagen, Evening in the Selkirks, 1900, Collection of Glenbow Museum |
In 1871, with a vision of a new nation spanning
the continent, Sir John A. Macdonald promised a
railway link to the Pacifi c Ocean if British Columbia
joined Confederation.Vistas in LEGO®
June 20 to September 20, 2009
Join amazingly talented LEGO® architects from the southern Alberta
LEGO® Users Group in this family friendly
exhibition as they create a scenic
railroad display to rival the vistas featured
in Vistas: Artists on the Canadian Pacific
Railway. There are plenty of hands-on
activities nearby so busy hands can get to
work making a masterpiece of their own!
Connections to Collections: Jin-me Yoon
June 20 to September 20, 2009
In 2002, Vancouver-based artist
Jin-me Yoon explored Glenbow's railway
paintings commissioned by the Canadian
Pacific Railway (beginning in the 1880s) to
promote tourism and settlement in the West.
This compelling work reflects upon the
relationship between tourism and cultural
identity and raises complex questions about
the ways in which identity is formed.
Jin-me Yoon, Welcome Stranger Welcome Home (detail), 2002, Collection of Glenbow Museum, Purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program/Oeuvre achetée avec l‘aide du programme d‘aide aux acquistions du Conseil des Arts du Canada and with funds from the Glenbow Collections Endowment Fund, 2003
The People and Places of Treaty 7
July 16 to August 16, 2009
This summer, Canada's First Nations leaders
will meet in Calgary to chart their future as the
First Nations of Treaty 7 host the 30th annual
gathering of the Assembly of First Nations
(AFN), July 21–23, 2009.
Glenbow is thrilled to be a partner in this
momentous event as First Nations from
across Canada showcase their culture, arts
and business ventures in various locations
throughout Calgary. Glenbow will feature a
collection of photographs of Treaty 7 people
and places taken by Harry Palmer. Palmer is a
respected Calgary-area photographer who has
spent much of the past decade working with
the people of the Treaty 7 nations, learning
about their culture and their deep connection
with the land.
Stephen Avenue Mall (along 8th Avenue) and
Olympic Plaza will be transformed into a
marketplace and pow-wow grounds while a
business exposition inhabits the lower floor of
the TELUS Convention Centre (South Building).
Celebrating Quilts
Until July 5
In honour of Quilt Month in Canada, Glenbow
presents Celebrating Quilts, an intimate look
at a few of the Museum’s rarely seen quilts
and quilted objects. The exhibition features
a carefully designed and crafted bridal quilt,
a signature quilt embroidered with names of
a Calgary community, a humble Mennonite
comforter pieced with suiting samples, a
miniature quilt lovingly made for a daughter's
doll, and more that illustrate the artistry of this
"useful craft." Some of the quilts were treasured
heirlooms brought west to cover beds and
served as mementos of friends and family;
others were created here to brighten a room,
bring joy to a child or strengthen ties in a new
community. This colourful and personal glimpse
into the artistic and societal traditions that
underlie the contemporary quilters' vibrant art.
Man’s Smoking Jacket, ca. 1910, Collection of Glenbow Museum
The BIG Reveal
Glenbow reveals the long-awaited site of Dennis Oppenheim's sculpture! On long-term loan from Vancouver's Benefic Group, the museum has partnered with a community arts champion, TORODE, to bring it to Calgary. Join in the excitement as Glenbow shares this artwork with our community and our visitors.
Check out glenbow.org/Oppenheim for more details on the sculpture and for the installation site!
Situation Rez: Kainai Students Take Action with Art
Through 2009
Native Cultures gallery, 3rd floor
What happens when a group of high school students begins to explore HIV and AIDS and how it impacts their community?
For Kainai High School students in Standoff, Alberta, it became an opportunity to express their thoughts with art. These students have been learning about the threat of HIV and AIDS and understanding how the choices they make for themselves and for the community, can help prevent the spread of the disease. Their art utilizes traditional symbols to create powerful messages promoting prevention, intervention and healthy lifestyles for all people in their community.
The exhibit is a unique collaboration between Glenbow Museum, the Red Cross and Kainai High School.
Image: Delia Cross Child, “aatsimoyihkaan...prayer”, 2006
Faces of Asia: Photographs by Niru Bhatia and Ratsamy Viphakone-Szafran, Fif Fernandes and Hamish Boyd
May 2006 - ongoing
Art of Asia gallery on 2nd floor
Explore the incredible diversity of people in Asia. These photographers offer insights into the daily life, traditions and rituals of India, the Himalayas and Laos.
