City puts out call for Stoney Nakoda art to hang in Calgary council chamber

In the spirit of reconciliation, special works of Indigenous art will find a home in Calgary's city council chamber in the years ahead.

The City of Calgary has put out a call, starting with Stoney Nakoda female and two-spirit artists.

But there will be similar submission calls in the future for artists from the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut'ina Nation and the Mtis Nation of Alberta.

The city is looking for textiles, such as beadwork, weaving, felting or quillwork. Each piece should be approximately 90 by 60 centimetres in size.

The Indigenous curator with the city, Jessica McMann, said panels of experts in each of the artists' home communities will select the winning submissions.

She said it's important for Indigenous art to be featured in the council chamber where political decisions are made as a reminder that Indigenous people lived on this land long before European settlers arrived in the late 1800s.

Marginalized voices

The parameters for this project were set by the Moh'kinsstis Public Art Guiding Circle, a group of Indigenous artists which supports the city's public art program.

"We can't move forward with reconciliation, we can't move forward with decolonization until the voices of two-spirit individuals and Indigenous women are at the centre of that table," said McMann.

"Here we have the chance to uplift those marginalized voices of people who may not often be heard."

She said the winning artists will each be paid up to $20,000, which helps cover their time and the cost of materials.

Ex-councillor played role

The idea for bringing art into the council chamber originated with a former city councillor, Evan Woolley.

He said that after he was first sworn into office in 2013,he was struck by the blank walls in the chamber.

"I began some quiet side of the desk advocacy and had lots of conversations about how we might be able to use this very important public space to celebrate and showcase artists and art of today."

Woolley said it's exciting that all those conversations from years ago are finally coming to fruition.

"It's good to see that they figured it out," said Woolley.

Submissions from Stoney Nakoda artists are due by Jan. 9, 2023.

City wants more Indigenous art

The city is planning to do three similar calls for artists, and it's anticipated all of the artwork will be ready for display in one or two years.

McMann said decisions about how to properly display the artwork will be made once all of the pieces are received.

The city intends to display them for 10 years, at which time it will either offer to buy the art or return it to the artists.

McMann said less than three per cent of the city's public art collection features Indigenous artists and it has no artworks from Stoney or Tsuut'ina artists.