As the evening light wanes through the transformed planetarium windows at Contemporary Calgary, artist Latasha Billie carefully arranges photographs along the gallery wall. Her exhibition, “Remembered Roots,” showcases intergenerational Indigenous cooking practices—a project that might never have materialized without the gallery’s community access program.
“I never thought I’d see my grandmother’s hands preparing bannock in a major art institution,” Billie tells me, her voice catching slightly. “Art was something that happened in other people’s worlds, not mine.”
That perception is precisely what Contemporary Calgary has been working to dismantle since it took over the iconic planetarium building in 2019. Now, their efforts are receiving substantial reinforcement through a newly announced $175,000 multi-year commitment from TD Bank Group to support expanded inclusive arts programming.
The funding, announced yesterday, will bolster Contemporary Calgary’s Community Access Initiative, which removes financial barriers through pay-what-you-can admissions, subsidized memberships, and targeted outreach to underrepresented communities across the city.
“This isn’t just about getting more people through the door,” explains Yves Trépanier, Board Chair at Contemporary Calgary. “It’s about fundamentally reshaping who feels ownership of cultural spaces in Calgary.”
Walking through the building’s distinctive geometric architecture, I’m struck by how different the space feels from the austere white cubes that dominate much of contemporary art. Children run excitedly between installations while seniors gather in conversation circles. Three teenage girls huddle together, sketching responses to a large-scale video installation.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2022 Survey of Heritage Institutions, art galleries across Canada have struggled to diversify their audiences, with visitors still predominantly white, university-educated, and higher-income. Contemporary Calgary’s internal data, however, tells a different story—their visitor demographic more closely mirrors the city’s actual population distribution since implementing their accessibility initiatives.
“We’ve seen a 47% increase in first-time visitors from priority neighborhoods,” says David Leinster, Contemporary Calgary’s CEO. “But more importantly, we’re seeing those visitors return and bring others.”
The new funding will support three key program expansions: the Art Bus program providing free transportation for school groups from underserved communities, expanded hours for the Community Studio space where local artists can work at no cost, and the development of multilingual exhibition materials in Punjabi, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Arabic—reflecting Calgary’s most common non-official languages.
Nadia Krysta, a Calgary-based early childhood educator, has brought her daycare classes to Contemporary Calgary four times in the past year. “Museums used to feel intimidating for young children, especially those from newcomer families,” she explains while supervising a group of preschoolers exploring a tactile installation. “Here, they feel invited to participate, not just observe quietly.”
The TD investment comes at a critical moment. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts faced significant budget reductions in 2023, reducing operational grants to cultural organizations by approximately 21%, according to the Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton. Many institutions have been forced to scale back community initiatives precisely when economic pressures make them most necessary.
“Cultural participation shouldn’t be a luxury,” argues University of Calgary sociologist Dr. Patricia Vance, who studies arts accessibility. “Research consistently shows that arts engagement provides significant benefits for mental health, social cohesion, and academic outcomes—benefits that should be universally accessible.”
According to the Canada Council for the Arts’ latest demographic study, Canadians who don’t participate in arts activities most commonly cite cost (42%), lack of transportation (37%), and not feeling welcome (29%) as primary barriers.
Contemporary Calgary’s model directly addresses these obstacles. The gallery’s “Community Curators” program, which will expand under the new funding, invites representatives from different cultural communities to help develop exhibition content and public programming.
Last month, a group of Syrian newcomers worked alongside professional curators to develop an exhibition exploring the concept of home and belonging. The resulting show attracted record attendance numbers and sparked ongoing community dialogues.
“Traditional models of curation often exclude certain perspectives,” explains Saleema Hassan, Contemporary Calgary’s Community Engagement Director. “When we invite different voices into the planning process, the entire institution transforms.”
The TD funding arrives as Contemporary Calgary prepares for a major international exhibition on climate change and indigenous knowledge systems scheduled for February 2025. The expanded access programs will ensure the exhibition reaches beyond traditional gallery audiences.
As I leave the building, I pass a group of seniors from the nearby Forest Lawn neighborhood participating in an art-making workshop. They’re creating collages incorporating family photographs and found materials while discussing memories of migration and belonging.
“I’ve lived in Calgary for 43 years and never set foot in an art gallery before last month,” says Elena Markova, 78, carefully gluing a faded photograph of her Ukrainian homeland onto colorful paper. “Now I come every week. This place has shown me that my stories matter too.”
That transformation—from outsider to participant—represents the core mission that Contemporary Calgary continues to advance through their expanded funding. In a cultural landscape often dominated by exclusionary practices, they’re demonstrating what truly public art can achieve.
