Thursday night and the City of Calgary was bursting with visual arts events of every sort!  I might have visited the Glenbow Gallery’s exhibits.  The gallery offers free admission on the first Thursday of every month. (some of you may not know that)  I missed the recent opening of the new exhibits and  I particularly want to see 1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group and Rough Country: The Strangely Familiar in mid-20th Century Alberta Art.  These shows leave us end of January/beginning of February…so, they are on my list.

Also on Thursday, presented by Foster MAK, artist, Belinda Fireman, celebrated her opening.  This is one my readers want to catch before the end of November.  Loft 112 is a fantastic venue for events that include writers, performance artists and visual arts.

“Belinda Fireman is one of Calgary’s most vibrant artists.  Her original paintings are characterized by inspiration, colour, fun and vulnerability.  She loves making live art at events and parties, and she competes regularly in local and provincial art battles.

Belinda is the incredible creator of Self Love 365 – a daily practice that inspires and generates creativity and self-worth. This year, SelfLove365 inspired many incredible portraits of people in Belinda’s life, surrounded by the writings of her vulnerable, honest and relatable thoughts. Through the month of November, her images and words from this beautiful project will be on exhibit at Calgary’s Loft 112, presented by FosterMAK.com.”

Beautiful things are happening every where…Jarvis Hall has an artist talk this afternoon, presented by Wil Murray at 2:00 following the opening, last night, of the current exhibit, Spray Can Sea, Ooh Bared Ass, Vet Her.  From the Jarvis Hall website, this…

“Wil Murray is known as the wild man of contemporary Canadian painting.  A lifted brushstroke here, a folded dried paint skin there: he creates a new visual dialogue that is equal parts paint, sculpture and at times, photography.  Always investigating his media and using traditional materials in ways the contemporary viewer had not seen, his previous work was as much theatrical sideshow as they were contemporary painting.”

So, what did I attend on Thursday night?  Experience Inclusion: Artist Studio Portrait Exhibition at In-Definiate Arts Society!  This was a fantastic event!

From Calgary Arts Development’s initiative, What’s On In Calgary and written by AMY JO ESPETVEIDT, this…

“On October 6, 2016 a group of artists transformed the Calgary Municipal Building’s atrium into an artist studio. Pairing City of Calgary employees with In-Definite Arts artists, participants used marker pens on plexiglass to draw and trace live portraits of each other.”

Thursday, November 3rd was the closing reception, a lovely event that involved mingling with artists, snacking on a beautiful array of treats and looking at some truly wonderful portraiture.  Another very special aspect to the evening was speaking with three artists; Roby, Jennifer and Tony.  These artists have not allowed disabilities to prevent them from expressing their creative nature.  I’m looking forward to meeting Jennifer again when I attend the group’s creative arts sale on November 19. Finally, I was very proud of my daughter, Erin and her colleague, Phil, who spoke to the exhibit and who spoke to the nature of inclusion and the process that our city is taking in order to ensure movement forward in matters of acceptance and appropriate accommodations.  I was happy to see my son-in-law, giving his generous support for my daughter.  I love him to bits!  Another employee of the City of Calgary, he is a dedicated worker who daily, has to consider inclusion as it directly impacts his department.  I am proud of you, Douglas.

My daughter, Erin, was partnered with Tony, an enthusiastic and sincere gentleman who I met, for the first time, at the In-Definite Arts reception.  Here, they met at the City of Calgary atrium, with the intention of drawing portraits of one another.

Here, they celebrate the follow-up exhibit at In-Definite Arts Gallery.

I am so proud of my daughter, Erin. (Human Resources Consultant for the City of Calgary)

It was a great pick of the week.  I felt relaxed because I did not cram too much into my evening and was happy to relax and read before sleep.  Oh!  I have some good books to share with my readers!  But, for now, time to enjoy the beautiful weather at Frank’s Flats. Max is waiting!