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Creating fine art is often a solitary process, and one that many Calgarians never get to see up close and personally.
From May 3 through 5, 82 artists across Calgary and the metropolitan region are opening the doors to their studios in the the third annual Calgary Artists Studio Tour, inviting visitors to see firsthand how art is made—and maybe buy a few works as well.
The goal of the tour said Isabel Ostrom, one of the co-organizers, is to create a conversation between local artists and the greater Calgary community.
“We want to invite people into our studios so they can see how artists work day-to-day. It gives people an opportunity to spend a longer period of time with an artist rather than just walking through a gallery, and feeling kind of intimidated by the gallery,” she said.
“You can have an extended conversation and find out what inspires the artist and maybe learn about their techniques and also have an opportunity to purchase art.”
The opportunity to let someone into their personal home studio is a way to let the public experience a more personal connection to art, said artist Sally McGregor, who is opening her Lakeview home to visitors over the weekend.
“I think it’s really important because art lovers love culture, and they like to see that artists are being viable in their careers,” she said.
“That’s so important because we work alone most of the time, and it’s great to see the public come in and talk to us and see what we do. Talk a little bit about the process of what we do. See materials and the media that we use. It just brings a fresh group of people in that you might not otherwise see in other venues.”
That connection also extends to other artists said Ostrom, who will be opening her Varsity home studio over the weekend for the tour.
“When other people have come in past years, I’ve gotten a number of artists who really want to pick your brain about your technique. Other artists are very curious about the way other artists studios are set up,” said Ostrom.
Not set up like an art show
McGregor, who spent 30 years as an art teacher, said that the tour was an important way to engage youth in arts culture—even when that might not always be the perception of what is available in the city.
“People say, ‘well, Calgary, doesn’t have any of the arts,’ but we do. There’s a vibrant community of musicians, of acting, and the fine arts,” she said.
An advantage of the tour, said Ostrom, is that it’s a self-directed way of seeing art over three days that is far less formal than a traditional art showing.
“It’s really, really important because typically people when they think of Calgary, it’s a sporting town or the oil and gas town, or whatever, and arts aren’t really the first thing that come to people’s mind when they think about Calgary,” she said.
“I think that this event has the potential to become a flagship ship event for Calgary, and so I think it’s really important to let people know that there are just tons of artists, and Calgary has so many amazing artists in their community.”
Over the past three years, the tour has grown substantially. From an initial 12 artists in 2022, to 39 last year, to 82 this year at 63 different locations.
Visitors wanting to join the tour can view an interactive map of locations at www.calgaryartistsstudiotour.com, or use the Toureka app to have a location-to-location map with directions.
“Another reason why we have it over three days as well because some people might want to like really want to see an artist, but they don’t have the time to do it on Friday night, so they can go on Sunday,” said Ostrom.
Local art defies expectations
One of the other advantages of the tour, said McGregor, was the low-pressure way that art buyers can get to see a lot of different art.
“I’ve always sold my work from my studio. I don’t belong to galleries. I just believe that people will come to you if you present a nice space and an opportunity to come and look at the work with no pressure to buy.”
Artist Lindsay Walsh, who along with Nadine Johnson and Lenore Gish are some of the artists presenting together at Shedpoint over the weekend, said that Calgarians would be surprised what they could find for very reasonable prices during the tour.
“These kinds of events that we have, let them know that they can have an original piece of art and get to know the artist and have a relationship with that person, basically for a similar price to what they pay in a big box store for mass-produced, large piece of paper,” said Walsh.
“It’s making it more attainable for people.”
But, said the trio, there was a hope that Calgarians taking part would take away something more emotional from the weekend.
For Johnson, who has returned to open her studio for a third year, said that is an understanding that art is good for people on more than just an aesthetic level.
“The pandemic, I think was pivotal. People really spent a lot of time in their own environments, and then learned that, or they were looking for things to bring joy and beauty into their world, so art became more important to them,” Johnson said.
“There is this wave of awareness being brought to art and how important it is in our lives. Not just for us, as you know or collectors to come and buy art, but for people to actually make art. You don’t have to be a fine artist, it could be just colouring or just sketching or playing with your kids and it could be 20 minutes a day. It’s super powerful and impactful.”
Gish said that it was actually the pandemic that brought her back to art, but that it was last year’s tour that led to to creating a whole new art series.
“Last time we did this, I had the inspiration—I don’t know where it came from—just to take photographs of the ladies that came to visit me, and it led to a show of portraiture of just ordinary people. And those are the faces that inspire me the most,” Gish said.
For Johnson, she said that opening up the world of art this weekend was a gift.
“We have the best forever job that there ever could be. Every day is filled with so much beauty and joy, it’s a gift. So if we can give a little bit of that back, it’s a win.”
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