Joe Fafard

March 14 - May 31, 2009

Organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada

Over the past four decades Joe Fafard has created a body of work that has found a permanent place in people's hearts and minds. He is best known for his uncannily realistic and whimsical small portraits in clay of family, friends, artists and politicians and for his wonderful large-scale cows and horses in steel and bronze.

His work unifies such diverse aspects of our society as urban and rural, French and English, east and west, elite and popular. Regionally rooted yet universal, Fafard's art has always advanced hand in hand with a serious engagement in the concerns of our community life.

This retrospective exhibition is based on two major guidelines: to show the development of the artist's work and to marvel at its variety. There is development in the materials used - plaster, clay, bronze, steel; development of scale, from less-than-life-size to over-life-size (but never exactly life-size); and the development of themes from the immediate to the universal, from the perceived to the imagined, from the statement to the revelation. The variety in the exhibition ranges from very early work to large public commissions, from caricatures to portraits, from traditional to experimental, and from functional to monumental.

On another level, however, this retrospective has only one theme, and that is Joe's complete commitment to his vision.

Joe Fafard, Smoothly She Shifted, 1986-87, repatinated 1996, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Joe Fafard. Photo: MMFA Brian Merrett.

This project has been made possible in part through a contribution from the
Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage.

Claymates

Opens March 14
March 14 – May 31, 2009
Concourse Window

In conjunction with our feature exhibition, Joe Fafard, we are pleased to present the work of five ceramic sculptors from the Glenbow Museum art collection. The artists represented here were friends, colleagues and contemporaries of Fafard in Regina during a formative and exciting period for artists working in clay. They created a wide range of original and spirited, small-scale sculptural works which were witty, folksy and narrative with a decidedly quirky and playful sensibility. Enjoy Beug’s imaginative house, strangely decorated with all manner of objects from the natural world; Thauberger’s false-fronted and marvelous fantasy theatre; Cicansky’s delightful carrot patch growing incongruously from an armchair; Levine’s uncannily realistic faux leather bag and the zany antics of Gilhooly’s hilarious mythical “frog world.”

Elsewhere

Recent Paintings by Christine Cheung
May 1 – 31, 2009
Level 2 at Glenbow – North Lobby

Glenbow and the Asian Heritage Foundation of Southern Alberta are proud to present a selection of recent works by Christine Cheung. Born and raised in Calgary, Cheung is a graduate from the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and a recipient of the 2008 Alberta Lieutenant Governor Emerging Artist Award. In 2008, Cheung was awarded a production grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and travelled to Asia where she completed artist-in-residence programs at Red Gate Studios (Beijing) and Compeung (Thailand). These remarkable works from her recent trip are fresh and engaging studies that reflect a sense of place that is physical, emotional and imagined all at once.

Hutterite Traditions: Photographs by George Webber

Until April 13, 2009
4th Floor

Get a glimpse inside the private world of Alberta’s Hutterites through George Webber’s prize-winning photographs and Glenbow’s outstanding historical collections. Webber’s exquisite photographs sensitively document the stark details of the Little Bow Colony’s last working months. Equally, the simple artifacts – garments, tools, and furniture – eloquently reflect the Hutterite values of spirituality, discipline and simplicity.

George Webber, Braiding Maria’s Hair, Little Bow Colony, 2000, Collection of Glenbow Museum

Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend
November 29 - February 22, 2009

Curated by Artoma, Hamburg, Germany and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

Image at right: Marilyn Monroe "Ballerina Sitting" 1954, New York City, Milton H. Greene ©2008 Joshua Greene www.legendslicensing.com

This exciting and fascinating exhibition brings together hundreds of images inspired by one of the most famous women of the twentieth century. It includes photographs of Marilyn Monroe in poses which have become iconic images of our time as well as many candid shots of the famous actress and singer from her days as Norma Jeane to the heyday of her spectacular fame as Marilyn Monroe, sex symbol and international sensation.

Some of these photographs were later used by artists in creative reiterations of the Monroe image such as the famous series by Andy Warhol who reworked the classic studio portrait of Marilyn by photographer Frank Powolny. Many contemporary artists from around the world have been seduced by the allure of this beautiful woman, who was so visible, so accessible and ultimately so unknowable. Her tragic death in 1962 at the age of 36 has enhanced her mythic status.

Marilyn Monroe continues to inspire today, across generations, genders and nations. The contemporary art in this exhibit explores her image and its relationship to pop art and pop culture in photo- based art, multimedia works, paintings, sculptures and collages.

Image at right: After Andy Warhol, "Marilyn", published by Sunday B Morning, 1967/1978 Screenprint, © Andy Warhol Foundation

Of Christmas Past
November 21 - January 4, 2009

Take a peek into Christmas Past and discover some of the delightful holiday treasures from Glenbow’s collections. Joyous Christmas music for the musician and the phonograph, essential things for the kitchen and table (including Rudolph jelly molds), whimsical and colourful ornaments for the Christmas tree, charming Christmas post cards and magazines from 1900 to 1950, a handpainted Nativity Crèche, and of course gifts. See what young Hugh received in the 1930s, or what the soldiers received from the royal family in 1914, or see who received an incredible train set in the 1950s.

These and many more gifts are arranged around several of Glenbow’s feather Christmas trees – yes feather! Pick a time when Glenbow will be hosting carolers and storytelling, and enjoy the Christmas season.

Image: Christmas Postcard, ca. 1910-1912, Glenbow Archives Christmas Card Collection

Jewels of the Jacket: The Medals of Sir Sam Steele
October 17 - January 12, 2009

Sam Steele was one of Canada’s most famous military men of the 19th century. In the thick of the action for almost 50 years, Steele helped make history in western Canada from 1870-1918.

Steele’s force of character, his tenacity and his unshakable belief in law and order repeatedly put him in the front lines and in the news. A fearless North-West Mounted Police officer, Steele became a role model for the Mounted Police and for Canadian soldiers.  

Sam Steele’s life was dedicated to law and order, honour and duty, and grounded in a sense of equality and justice.  These are values that many Canadians still respect and admire today – is it any wonder we see Sam Steele as a hero? 

Glenbow’s preview exhibit introduces you to Steele’s adventures and features his incredible grouping of medals – jewels that summarize his amazing military career.  Glenbow is planning an in-depth exhibit to highlight more of the 200 piece collection in 2010.

Portrait of an Artist
October 16 - February 8, 2009

This contemporary art exhibit features new acquisitions to the collection of Glenbow Museum. See portraits of artists and portraits by artists, including a series of 100 paintings picturing Calgary artists, photos of 75 men called David, and more.

The exhibition includes work by Ron Moppett, Micah Lexier, Tom Hopkins, Chris Flodberg, Sarah Holtom and Jennifer Stead.

One Hundred Portraits of Calgary Artists by Sarah Jane Holtom is a dynamic composite portrait of a community of artists. Many are shown to great effect in their own homes or studios. But artists do not necessarily have to be seen in order to evoke a strong sense of their presence. Ron Moppett represents himself in an abstract, idiosyncratic and symbolic way while Chris Flodberg uses a vivid realistic style for his “self-portrait” in a painterly depiction of his living space. The immediacy, intimacy, ruffled messiness, youthfulness and brightness of his tiny room make a striking contrast to the monumental painting of Tom Hopkins who imagines his studio as a dark, vast, mysterious and exalted space. Another work with an autobiographical element is more conceptual in nature. Micah Lexier’s intriguing photographic portraits of seventy-five males named David is based on the artist’s own statistically estimated lifespan of 75 years.

In the summer of 2006, Sarah Jane Holtom painted 100 portraits of Calgary artists over a period of three months, completing each spontaneous oil sketch in three hours. She chose the first three sitters, each of whom in turn chose three more artists and so on until the number 100 was reached. The result is an extraordinary collective portrait of a creative community at a particular place and time with its own unique web of relationships. Like a colourful tapestry made up of real people, these portraits are at once varied, quirky, humorous, expressive and charming.

Image: Sarah Jane Holtom, One Hundred Portraits of Calgary Artists

Through the Looking Glass and The Paradise Institute

September 26 – November 16

This exhibition takes a close look at the altered world of dream spaces and reversals. Glenbow Museum's former President and CEO Jeff Spalding curated this exciting exhibit, drawing connections to the playful, poetic themes of the Lewis Caroll classic of the same name. Don’t miss this chance to explore a world of new and shifting possibilities.

The Paradise Institute
by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller

Glenbow is proud to present world-renowned Alberta sound artist Janet Cardiff and her artwork The Paradise Institute.

The Paradise Institute creates a new artistic format located between two disciplines, a hybrid genre borrowing from installation, video projection, audio, sculpture and performance; where artists effectively function as movie directors, screenwriters, composers and radio play producers.

Run Glenbow Museum - The Movement Movement

Sunday, October 12, 12:30p

Join Toronto artists Jessica Rose and Jenn Goodwin when they bring their own brand of performances art to Glenbow. Pioneers of gallery running, watch (or join) these artists as they run through our galleries, transforming the museum visitor experience from spectator to participant. Part of M:ST, a city-wide performance art festival.

For more information, or to register online beginning September 29, visit www.themovementmovement.ca.

Reweaving a Life

February 22 - September 28, 2008

The "Reweaving a Life" art project portrays the daily reality of the Nahua women of Tlamacazapa, Mexico, who live in acute poverty and who are caught in a complex web of social disintegration, coupled with environmental toxicity and water shortage. Life revolves around basket-making, a traditional art, which provides their basic income.

A group of nine Nahua women opened their hearts and their homes to artists who produced a series of paintings, each portraying aspects of their lives and the coming social changes. The process of interacting with the artists and engaging in reflective processes about their lives, their work and their hopes is the beginning of a unique journey for these women.

A combination of traditional basketry and contemporary art about the basket makers, "Reweaving A Life" enables a strong and courageous group of Indigenous women to place increased value on their work and on themselves as individuals.

Sponsored by Riddell Kurczaba

Image: Casa con techo de paja en Tlamazcazapa [Thatched house in Tlamacazapa], 2006, Karen Kulyk, gouache and watercolour on paper.

The Big Gift

June 6 - September 27, 2008

A Collaborative, 3-Venue exhibition opening at the Glenbow Museum, the Alberta College of Art and Design's Illingworth Kerr Gallery and the University of Calgary's Nickle Arts Museum.

Nickle Arts Museum, University of Calgary
June 6 - Sept 27, 2008 (East Gallery)

June 20 - July 25, 2008 (Main Gallery)
Public Opening: July 1, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art + Design
July 3 - August 30, 2008
Public Opening: July 3, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Glenbow Museum
July 25 – September 14, 2008
Public Opening: July 26 All Day, free admission until noon.

Since Jeff Spalding's arrival at Glenbow, works of art from across Canada have been pouring into the museum. In a spontaneous show of affection for our new CEO and President, artists, art collectors, dealers and supporters from coast to coast have generously donated over 600 works worth over $1.2 million. From video installation to paintings to photographs to sculptures - the range is absolutely stunning!

Glenbow is thrilled to share these spectacular gifts with audiences across the city. Come explore this treasure trove of art in an unprecedented three-venue exhibition at Glenbow, the Alberta College of Art and Design's Illingworth Kerr Gallery and the University of Calgary's Nickle Art Museum.

SI08: Art+Design

June 25 - August 17, 2008

Sled Island Music Festival is a four-day, multi-venue festival which showcases a wide variety of emerging and established musical talent.  This year, Sled Island is adding a visual arts component to the roster.  SI: Visual Arts is a chance to see the diverse work of young artists and cultural producers. SI08: Art + Design will occupy a number of downtown spaces, and is an opportunity to question a range of popular visual experiences, and examine how a new generation reads and bridges new art with ideas of the past.

SI08: Art + Design at Glenbow organized by Mary-Beth Laviolette, Glenbow Museum Senior Art Curator and curated by Wayne Baerwaldt, Director/Curator, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art + Design

Check out the following installations/performances at Glenbow!

Thick and Thin
July 25 – September 28
4th floor gallery, Glenbow

Miriam Bankey (Calgary, Ab)

Kyle Beal (Montreal, Qc)

Dave And Jenn (Calgary, Ab)

Patrick Lundeen (Brooklyn, Ny)

Chris Millar (Calgary, Ab)

Kim Neudorf (Calgary, Ab)

Ryan Slugget (Austin, Tx)

Artistic innovation is at the core of this exhibition, bringing to light the work of artists whose aesthetic and material concerns have been formed by a Calgary milieu over the past ten years. Can we deduce the influences of a Calgary painting community from artists such as John Will to Chris Cran? Are there disparate influences that do not have precedents in this milieu? Is there a hybrid aesthetic in development? These and other questions will be examined in the exhibition.

Curated by Wil Murray.

Cloaca #5
Wim Delvoye
June 25 - August 17
2nd floor Glenbow, Gallery 7

Wim Delvoye's work challenges traditional conventions of taste. In a series of groundbreaking kinetic installations Ghent-based Delvoye has been developing since the mid-1990s, the artist has created machine-sculptures which duplicate the human digestive system without calling on ‘human characteristics'. The various components of the digestive system are replicated, creating an intestinal microclimate of bacterial flora. The work requires constant care, much like a human body, and produces a surprise every day!

Wildflowers of Manitoba

Noam Gonick & Luis Jacob
June 25 - July 13
2nd floor Glenbow, Gallery 7

This installation includes still photos, moving images, sound and performance art from Lake Winnipeg's shores. The installation includes interrelated short film projections in which four young men act out an improbable survivalist lifestyle during the summer of 2006. The script establishes a "nature" film set and a nostalgic vision of a youth-cult. The sets and subjects evoke a distant, more innocent era for alternative, collective lifestyles circa 1967. The work includes film projections, a sound track by the Quebeçois band Harmonium, forest camp gear and live models set in a 12-foot high geodesic dome.

WARNING: Please be advised this exhibition contains nudity and sexuality.

Peach Pit, Fanbase

Peaches
June 25 - August 17
3rd floor Glenbow, next to Mavericks

Merrill Beth Nisker, better known as Peaches, is an electroclash artist based in Berlin, Germany. She plays almost all the instruments for her songs, programs her own electric beats and produces her records. Nisker's music and performance are preoccupied with gender identity meant to incite and radicalize audiences. Her lyrics and live shows self-consciously blur the distinction between male and female. The installation takes the form of a unique cave, its walls lined with things fans have thrown onstage during her concerts over the last four years. You'll also hear audio of Peaches' fans co-performing one of her best known songs.

WARNING: Please be advised this exhibition contains nudity, sexuality and coarse language.

The Landscape Generator
Tim van Wijk
Level 2 at Glenbow
July 15 – August 17

Crank the handle of Tim van Wijk’s big, ingenious machine with its disks and gears. Watch as layered arrangements of miniature landscape elements and scenic sites will emerge–but not the kind seen in postcards and conventional landscape paintings. Designed to simulate the experience of driving through British Columbia’s interior, the sculpture presents the viewer with a constantly shifting view of a layered landscape.

Don Coyote

Matt Masters, Terrance Houle and others
June 25-28; July 4-12
Glenbow ConocoPhillips Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
$7 per person
Call 403.268.4110 for tickets

Classic country singer and Calgary performance artist, Matt Masters, has co-created a multimedia Western cabaret musical called Don Coyote. Masters plays the role of Don Coyote in a 12-part stage cabaret where Masters sings country music while actors in three key character roles drive the narrative.  Calgary artist Terrance Houle's original video projections will be part of a changing and dynamic backdrop.

Don Coyote is a 21st-century resident of southern Alberta who goes crazy and becomes a cowboy troubadour, roaming rural Alberta while singing songs and righting wrongs. Don Coyote's story is not a re-telling of Don Quixote but does draw inspiration and parallels from it, using the windmills of Pincher Creek, for example, as alternate geographical markers and illusions to power while providing a great setting for a story that is largely a cyber construct from Don Coyote's computer.

Co-produced by the Illingworth Kerr Gallery at the Alberta College of Art + Design

Exhibition Companion Book

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full colour, 150 page book featuring 75 images and commentary from exhibit contributors.

The breadth of Aboriginal art in this publication, lavishly documented in more than 65 full-colour photographs, honours the importance of community, the connection to land and place and the tradition of storytelling.

This Glenbow produced publication is available for purchase in the Glenbow shop during the run of the exhibition.
Visit the Glenbow Museum Shop.

Four Curators, One Blog

Our goal is to consider both the traditional art forms alongside contemporary paintings and multimedia work. As a curatorial team, we are many voices: Gerry Conaty (Director of Curators), Beth Carter (Ethnology Curator), Quyen Hoang (Art Curator) and Frederick McDonald. Through this blog, we will share our thoughts and ideas as we move forward with the exhibit development.

We invite you to contribute your comments. Visit us at
http://honouringtradition.wordpress.com/

Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes

August 18, 2007 to July 6, 2008

Watch as Glenbow's 4th floor art gallery transforms into Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes. This exhibit features amazing original artwork created by 15 top children's illustrators from five countries, including Governor General's Award winner Barbara Reid and two-time Caldecott Medal winners Leo and Diane Dillon. Come see everything from watercolour and collage to digital and plasticine pieces.

The exhibit is based on the award-winning bestselling book Dream by Susan V. Bosak which tells a multilayered, poetic story about hopes and dreams across a lifetime. It has won a remarkable 11 national awards. Says The Bloomsbury Review, "Richly crafted and thoughtfully written, 'Dream' is a dazzling project that challenges us to find a dream and follow it."

You're never too young or too old to dream! Explore the power of dreams and the power of art to inspire us to achieve those dreams.

Tracing History: Presenting the Unpresentable

February 16 - June 22, 2008

Tracing History: Presenting the Unpresentable is a complimentary exhibit featuring four contemporary Aboriginal artists. Tanya Harnett, Faye HeavyShield, Terrance Houle and Adrian Stimson have all explored Glenbow's collections and respond with their own new work in this thought-provoking exhibit.

Their art speaks to a sense of history that shifts between truth and fact, past and present, right and wrong. The artists make us see change as an integral part of history, identity and tradition.

Mark Brecke, A tense Sudanese Liberation Army rebel stands guard. 2004

DARFUR/DARFUR
March 14 - 21, 2008

DARFUR/DARFUR is a provocative photography exhibit that was projected onto Glenbow Museum's walls facing Stephen Avenue and 1st St. S.E. from March 14 to 21, 2008. Over 170 colour and black-and-white images by seven internationally acclaimed photojournalists and one former U.S. Marine brought into focus the landscape, the culture and the people that are currently under attack in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

The photographs, dating from 2003 to the present, were taken in Darfur by former U.S. Marine Brian Steidle and photojournalists Lynsey Addario, Mark Brecke, Helen Caux, Ron Haviv, Paolo Pellegrin, Ryan Spencer Reed, and Michal Safdie. The exhibit was premiered in 2006 and has been displayed at museums across North America, Europe and Africa, including The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

For the Love of Rubens
February 14 - 17, 2008

It was love at first sight on February 14th when Glenbow Museum unveiled a Studio of Rubens painting titled The Fruit Dance (c.1616-1617).On long term loan to Glenbow from a generous Canadian collector, the painting is a feast for the
eyes!

Our unveiling celebration included a presentation by internationally recognized scholar of Renaissance and Baroque art, Paola Pacifici.

Emily Carr, Big Raven, 1931, oil on canvas, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Emily Carr Trust, Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery

Emily Carr: New Perspectives on a Canadian Icon
Presented by TOTAL
October 27, 2007 - January 27, 2008

Glenbow was proud to be the only prairie venue to host this national touring exhibition organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

This unique show explored Carr's art and her life, something not done in earlier retrospectives. A remarkable Canadian woman and a trailblazer, no other artist in Canadian history has sparked as much popular and scholarly response as Emily Carr. The exhibit featured nearly 200 objects by Carr and other, including paintings, drawings, watercolours, caricatures, ceramics, sculpture, hooked rugs, books, maps and photographs.

Organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

Quilt of Belonging at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Belonging: A Place for Everyone
Presented by TRICO Homes
June 30 to September 30, 2007

Belonging: A Place for Everyone celebrated Canada's multiculturalism with five exhibits showcasing our country's rich cultural diversity.

Anchoring the exhibition was the Quilt of Belonging, this tapestry stretched 36-metres in length and featured 263 blocks of fabric that represented all of Canada's First Peoples and every world nation.

A Joyful Harvest, developed by the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, shared the varied stories of southern Alberta's Jewish community and celebrated over 100 years of the Jewish experience in this region.
Celebrating Prairie Cultres was Glenbow's own exhibit. It shared the stories of First Nations and the other world cultures that had made their home on the Canadian prairies.

ImaginASIAN Photo Exhibition: Convergence and Disturbance was a touring photo exhibit by Calgarian photographer Kristen Wagner which profiled people within the Asian-Canadian community who had shaped our city, province and country.

AMANTEA: Personal and Public Lives saw artist Gistele Amantea examine the lives of Italian communities in western Canada in two art installations.

Egypt, Mummy Mask, Early Roman Period, ca. 100 A.D. , Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Egypt, Greece and Rome:
Art of the Ancient Mediterranean

Presented by Centurion
June 30, 2006 to June 3, 2007

Three of the most influential ancient cultures in history were spread across the Mediterranean. Egypt, Greece and Rome traced the rise and fall of these civilizations and discovered how they influenced one another in history, architecture, art and culture. Featuring over 200 artifacts spanning 5,000 years, visitors were able to embark on an ancient Mediterranean tour and learn how travel, trade and the mixture of different cultures brought about new artistic styles.

This exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in collaboration with the Nagoya/ Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Variations: Holgate, Group of Seven and Contemporaries
Presented by TransAlta
March 18 - June 4, 2006

Variations included three art exhibits featuring many of Canada's most beloved and well known artists from the first half of the 20th century.

Edwin Holgate: Canadian Painter travelling from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, was the first major retrospective on this important Canadian artist, who was invited to join the Group of Seven in 1929. Holgate was best known for his nudes in the landscape and his remarkable portraits.

Art and Society in Canada, 1913-1950, organized and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada, featured works from three of Canada's most distinctive art movements: the Group of Seven, the Social Realists and Les Automatistes. These artists painted at a time when many were dedicated to the ideals of nationalism, social awareness and a liberated society, and when there was a belief that art could affect and shape society.

Beyond the Group of Seven: Paintings by their Contemporaries from the Glenbow Art Collection provided visitors an opportunity to compare the pursuits of the many other equally talented artists who were overshadowed by the Group's popularity.

The Great Court at the British Museum in London, England. Photo credit: Nigel Young/Foster and Partners

Foster and Partners : Works
February 18 - March 31, 2006

Over the past four decades Foster and Partners, a leading studio of architecture, planning and design, has created some of the most original architectural designs around the world.  Their work ranges in scale from the largest construction project on the planet, the Beijing International Airport to furniture design. The exhibit was comprised of 19 architectural design models and a DVD presentation of some of their major buildings; featuring such renowned works as the new German Parliament in the Reichstag Berlin and the Commerzbank in Frankfurt, both in Germany; the Millau Viaduct in Gorge du Tarn, France; the Swiss Re Headquarters in London and the new Beijing Airport in China.  Foster and Partners is the architectural firm retained by Calgary-based EnCana for its new corporate headquarters complex.

City of Petra, The Treasury

Petra: Lost City of Stone
Presented by Aim Trimark
October 29, 2005 to February 20, 2006

Widely recognized as the backdrop in the 1989 film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the city of Petra was carved from the red sandstone in the harsh desert cliffs of southern Jordan over two thousand years ago.

Petra was the trade crossroads from the 2nd century B.C. through the 3rd century A.D. , linking the great civilizations at that time - Greek, Roman, Near Eastern and Egyptian. Located south of the Dead Sea, Petra was unmarked on modern maps until it was rediscovered in 1812. Premiering in Canada at Glenbow Museum in October 2005, Petra: Lost City of Stone was one of only two Canadian venues for this groundbreaking exhibition. Bringing together over 200 objects, including colossal stone sculptures and architectural elements travelling from Jordan for the first time, visitors were able to examine the history and culture of Petra in the most comprehensive exhibition ever presented on this ancient city.

Girls with sparklers. Photograph by Ellen Kaplowitz

Voices of Southeast Asia

Presented by Trico Homes
July 1 to September 25, 2005

Combining four unique exhibits, Glenbow Museum's entire second floor was transformed into a celebration of Southeast Asian culture. Travelling from the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi, the exhibit Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind & Spirit explored life in contemporary Vietnam with nearly 700 objects including ceramics, textiles, handicrafts, masks, photographs, and videos.

Seven Stories profiled the fascinating stories of seven Calgarians, originally from Southeast Asia, who chose Western Canada as their new home. The exhibit shared their personal stories - how they left their land of birth, the challenges they faced, and the new roots they have found in Canada.

Foreign and Familiar: Reconsidering the Everyday examined the visions of five contemporary artists all of whom are first generation Asian-Canadians. Working in diverse media, these artists looked at the many ways we can explore everyday objects as part of our identity.

As part of the Voices of Southeast Asia exhibition, Glenbow invited visitors to revisit the permanent gallery Many Faces, Many Paths: Art of Asia with over 80 world-class Asian sculptures, as well as learn about Theravada Buddhism.

 

Our River: Journey of the Bow

Presented by Enbridge
February 19 to June 5, 2005

In celebration of Alberta's 100th anniversary, Glenbow Museum welcomed visitors to journey down Alberta's lifeline in the first-ever exhibition on the Bow River. The Bow River has multiple identities - it is a mountain river fed by glaciers; it is an urban river that provides water and recreation to a million city dwellers; it is a prairie river that nourishes our parched farmland; and it also provides some of the best fishing in North America. All of these uses reflect the complicated relationship between southern Albertans and the Bow River. This innnovative multi-disciplinary exhibition explored the importance of water as a critical topic of the 21st century as visitors learned how this precious resource has helped shape and define our region.

Auguste Rodin, The Kiss,
c.1881-82, date of cast unknown.
Bronze. Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.

Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession
Presented by The American Express Foundation
Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation October 30, 2004 to January 30, 2005

For the first time in Calgary, Glenbow Museum was pleased to present an exhibition featuring the famous sculptures of Auguste Rodin, one of the most important sculptors of the nineteenth century. Regarded by many as the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo, this exhibition of Rodin was the first Canadian venue on its North American tour and featured such masterpieces as The Kiss and The Thinker.

Charles M. Russell, The Wolves, 1914, Collection of Glenbow Museum

Capturing Western Legends: Russell and Remington's Canadian Frontier
Presented by Hesperian Capital Management Ltd. June 19, 2004 to October 11, 2004

In this exhibition, visitors travelled back to the western frontier and discovered the legendary tales and maverick personalities of the Canadian West through the eyes of two great western artists, Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington. For many, these artists created the iconic images of the West as they visited the northwest frontier at the turn of the nineteenth century, recording the history through detailed sketches, paintings, and sculpture.

Yde Girl (dated 200-500 A.D. ) The body of this 16 year old girl was discovered in the province of Drenthe, in the Netherlands in 1897. Drents Museum, Assen, The Netherlands.

The Mysterious Bog People: Rituals and Sacrifice in Ancient Europe
Presented by AIM Trimark
October 18, 2003 to May 24, 2004

Glenbow Museum welcomed over 110,000 visitors who explored the mysterious rituals that took place in European bogs 12,000 years ago. The Mysterious Bog People brought to Calgary for the first time ancient European human remains and over 400 artifacts including the world's oldest known boat, jewellery, pottery, and other treasures. Visitors also explored ancient life in the Discovery Room by creating their own wire jewellery, using tools from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, and trying on clothing inspired by ancient Europe.

One of the most successful components of this exhibition was Glenbow's development of BSI: Bog Science Investigation, inviting students and the general public to take on the role of forensic scientist as they investigated a hypothetical body found in a bog. BSI welcomed over 200 school program visits and over 45,000 visitors during the exhibition's run. This hands-on interactive program has been sold to the International Bog Team, marking the first time that Glenbow Museum programming has been developed and sold as a component in a major travelling exhibition.

The Mysterious Bog People is a unique partnership between the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum in Hannover, Germany; the Drents Museum in Assen, The Netherlands; the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec; and Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

Inuit children, Alaska, c.1900-1908. Lomen Brothers, Glenbow Archives ND-1-71

Inusivut: Our Way of Life
Presented by BP Canada Energy Company
June 14 to September 21, 2003

Inusivut: Our Way of Life offered a sweeping view of various aspects of Inuit life. Exploring the fascinating story of survival and innovation in Arctic culture, Inusivut provided a rare opportunity to learn about the "True North. "

Over 30,000 visitors viewed one of Canada's best collections of Inuit prints, learned about the six seasons of the Arctic, climbed onto a reindeer sleigh, looked at rare early twentieth century photographs from Alaska, and saw contemporary video from Igloolik, Nunavut. Inusivut also offered an exciting range of live programming initiatives including dancers in traditional costumes, throat singers and drummers, Inuit film and video, and hosted a weekend of personal reflections on the North. Glenbow Museum also partnered with the Calgary International Film Festival and the Calgary Folk Music Festival to present unique programming opportunities.

Alfred Bastien, Over the Top, Neuville-Vitasse, 1918, Collection of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.

Canvas of War: Masterpieces from the Canadian War Museum

March 8 to May 25, 2003

Glenbow Museum offered visitors a rare opportunity to explore a collection of art portraying the efforts of Canadian and British artists who served in the First and Second World Wars. Featuring nearly 70 large paintings, Canvas of War was drawn from the Canadian War Museum's collection in Ottawa and included works by such well-known artists as Alex Colville, Arthur Lismer, F.H. Varley, and A.Y. Jackson. A powerful and compelling art exhibition, Canvas of War reminded Calgarians to reflect and honour Canada's sacrifices and contributions that have helped shape our country.

Diego Rivera, Farmer Carrying Turkey, 1944, From the Collection of the Government of the State of Veracruz.

¡Viva Mexico!
Presented by The American Express Foundation
November 2, 2002 to February 22, 2003

Visitors to Glenbow Museum travelled to the sunny south with ¡Viva Mexico! which showcased the richness and diversity of the arts and culture of Mexico. The exhibition included four exclusive Canadian presentations: two of internationally renowned artist, Diego Rivera; evocative photography by Graciela Iturbide; and precious shaft-tomb figures from West Mexico.

Lawren S. Harris, Mountain Forms, 1928, Private Collection of Imperial Oil Ltd. , Toronto. Photo: Thomas Moore.

The Group of Seven in Western Canada
Presented by AIM Trimark
July 13 to October 14, 2002

Nearly 60,000 visitors took in The Group of Seven in Western Canada during its exhibition run at Glenbow Museum. One of the most ambitious historical art shows Glenbow has ever produced, this significant exhibition opened the doors to the Group of Seven's many contributions to Western Canada's visual art history. Their works encompassed the rolling hills of the prairie landscape to breathtaking mountain scenes of the Rockies to evocative coastal images and austere northern climates. The exhibition and its book marked the first time the Group's Western Canadian work had been given such a focus and was met with huge success and to critical acclaim. The Group of Seven in Western Canada went on a national coast-to-zcoast tour with stops in Halifax, Winnipeg, Victoria, and ending at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.