CALGARY -- In a city perhaps better known for its business culture, visitors to Calgary will quickly find there's been a growing shift with arts and culture now adding spice to create an even more dynamic urban playground.
Calgary, if you look beyond the surface -- and I did on my most recent trip there ?-- is actually home to a vibrant artistic sector that will surely be tempting for culture vultures.
An incorrigible History of Alberta is one of the intriguing exhibits at Calgary's Glenbow Museum.
Experience Calgary in an artistic sense and one will discover that there's much more than head offices and endless construction. Art, music, museums and theatre are weaving a vibrancy into the city's fabric, something that perhaps you might not expect in a place known for cowboys and its western heritage.
Calgary is raising the curtain on a burgeoning theatre scene, is flexing its music muscles -- how do you top hometown girl Feist winning five Junos last month when Calgary hosted the awards -- and has the Glenbow, a museum that just puts the fun into learning about the past?
Then there's the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, which at a recent performance of A Night at the Opera added the oomph back to classical music, as well as a growing number of artists who will challenge how you look at their canvas.
Take a look at Firehall Glassworks Studio and Gallery, where glass is transformed into eye-catching artistic statements. Located closer to Calgary's southern edge -- on St. Mary's University Campus -- Firehall is where you'll find the father and son team of Brian and Cody Kelk turning molten glass into unique collectible art pieces.
Wander by Artpoint Gallery & Studios Society, but do ask for directions, this is not the easiest place to find and be sure to check operating hours at the same time. There you'll find 23 studios and three galleries featuring works by more than 45 members and visiting artists. The gallery is an interesting place founded and run by artists to promote visual arts and arts education. On site, artists are hard at work, open to discussion about their work, and have a wide range of artistic styles. Better yet, admission is free.
Prefer a different type of cultural selection? How about a stop at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, which celebrated its 50th anniversary three years ago, and is showing no signs of growing old.
Looking for something a little bit more theatrical? Then you're in good company in Calgary with troupes such as Alberta Theatre Projects ?-- also a national centre for the development of new Canadian plays -- Ground Zero (the theatrical voice of Generation X); One Yellow Rabbit (creating new, original theatrical works for its local audience each year); Theatre Calgary (in its 40th season) and Vertigo Theatre (producing Canada's only professional series of mystery-based plays).
And if that's not enough to wet your whistle, there's Theatre Junction at the restored Grand Theatre, described as Calgary's culture house for contemporary live arts, or a host of others to choose from.
-- Canwest News Service
Calgary has an estimated 260 venues for the performance and display of art, representing 193 art galleries, 49 performing art venues and 18 museums.
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