New Centre City banners celebrate Calgary’s connections

Next time you’re entering Calgary’s Centre City, be sure to take a look at the new banners up on the bridges leading into the core and the Olympic Plaza pergola. Created by artists Mary Haasdyk and My-An Nguyen, the series of six banners build on the concept of bridges being connectors to people and places all over The City. 

Haasdyk and Nguyen worked together to create the series over the course of 2015 and 2016, with Nguyen developing the environments and Haasdyk creating the characters within them. Each banner acts as a bridge between the different worlds and the viewer.

“As an illustrator, storytelling is something I’m always thinking of in my work,” says Haasdyk.  “These banners have a playful side, but they merge that with the idea of showing the viewer the value of connecting with other people and our community.”

Haasdyk and Nguyen, both local artists who attended ACAD, saw The City’s request for banner proposals and decided to submit a joint proposal for the project in 2015 when they saw the request. 

“We really just applied on a whim,” says Nguyen. “We were surprised when we heard that we got it – we had looked at the previous artists who had won contracts and they were already well-established, whereas we had just graduated and trying to get some experience by working together.”

Both artists say that working as a team was not without its challenges – they were able to overcome

this by breaking up the work to capitalize on their strengths in order to create banners that would capture the public’s attention in a fresh and interesting way. Both say that it was a good learning experience, and hope that those who see the banners will use their imagination as they engage with them.

“We didn’t want to just represent traditional environments,” says Nguyen. “We both agreed that we wanted each image to take on a fantastical element and sense of surrealism. We want to catch the viewer’s attention, and give them things to explore.”  “We also wanted a sense of celebrating our City and aspects of our history,” adds Haasdyk. “We hope that the public will see the beauty and the value of our city and our community in these pieces.”

The banners will remain in place for one year. Visit calgary.ca/centrecity for more information on the Centre City banner project and to view past and present artwork.

Baconfest 2018 taps into Calgary’s potential look and feel in the 21st century

Calgary’s own urban planning film festival returns for its fifth year, starting January 17, 2018. We sat down with Rollin Stanley, General Manager of Urban Planning, and got his take on why everyone should attend Baconfest 2018.

1. For those who might be unaware, what is Baconfest?

It’s a film festival meant to get people thinking about how they can be more involved in their city and bring about specific differences in Calgary. 

Each year we go deeper and deeper into challenges, issues and opportunities that cities are facing, predominantly in North America but, to some extent, around the world as well. The first year was about showcasing the films of Ed Bacon [renowned city planner and father of actor Kevin Bacon]. We highlighted those films to get people energized about the way cities have evolved. This year, we’re delving deeper into culture and our environment.

2. Why should citizens care about urban planning or a festival like Baconfest?

Don’t think about it as caring about planning, think about it as caring about what happens in your city. Think about it as caring about knowing how you can get involved, or be aware of the kinds of things that make cities work. 

We’re really looking to expand people’s minds and get them thinking about things that impact them directly. That’s why we chose the films we did. We’re showing a bee film this year. We have to encourage bee colonization, particularly here. That’s something that has to happen. The point is to get citizens thinking about what they can do every day. 

3. What do you hope that people will gain by attending?

There’s this family that comes every year. They bring their son – he’s asked some of the best questions! I think he’s 9. We gave citizens an opportunity to submit their own stories a year ago. We had a gentleman submit one who runs a soccer club here in the city. He immigrated to Calgary from Africa and we got a chance to look at what he’s doing to help kids in the suburbs get involved. We have citizens across all age and ethic spectrums. That’s not planning, that’s participating in the life of a city and that’s what we hope people will go away with. An eye for those kinds of opportunities to participate and the desire to do so.

4. What are the top three reasons someone should attend Baconfest?

Well, the top reason to attend is because attendees will get to enjoy some terrific bacon (yes, real bacon)!

And if that’s not enough, the second reason to mark your calendar is because joining us ensures you have a voice in the conversation about the future of Calgary and how we can all make a difference. 

And third, Baconfest is a great opportunity to get informed about emerging trends and challenges facing cities like ours. 

5. Anything you’d like to add, in closing?

The theme this year is about the future of the city. We’re looking at it through three lenses. Its form, its culture and the environment. Our goal is to show how these three factors have to come together to make sure that what happens as we grow, happens in harmony. We have become a destination city and that opens up new doors for us, new opportunities. We want to show people that they can think more broadly. If a fraction of the people who attend start patronizing restaurants on 17th Ave S.E. where they may never have been, we’ve achieved a really great thing. 

For more information on the film lineup and event details visit Calgary.ca/baconfest.

New on-street parking along Eighth Street S.W. corridor

This week The City will be introducing on-street parking along the 8 Street S.W. corridor between 12 and 17 Avenues S.W.

49 short-term parking spaces will be available on weekdays during off-peak hours, weekends and holidays. The parking spaces will be established as two hour ParkPlus zones and will require payment Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

These new parking spaces are being created as part of The City’s 8 Street S.W. Corridor Public Realm Master Plan. The plan’s vision is to make Eighth street a more economically vibrant business and retail zone, with improved pedestrian connections between 17 Avenue S.W. and the Downtown Core as well as providing more short term parking in the area to support businesses. The first construction phase of the vision was the Eighth Street Underpass Enhancement, which is nearing completion. This new parking serves as a part of the functional change proposed on the corridor, as shown in the Master Plan.

The parking zone will: 1) provide convenient access to adjacent businesses and residential areas; 2) support a safer and more comfortable pedestrian environment by creating a buffer zone between pedestrians and faster moving traffic and; 3) not likely have any impact on rush hour traffic as it is only available during off-peak hours.

Relevant Links:

• Centre City Plan
• Centre City Underpass Guidelines
• 8 Street Corridor Public Realm Master Plan
• Centre City Mobility Plan (2010)