Western Canada’s art magazine since 2002
8 July 2025 Vol 10 No 14 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2025
Shelley Boettcher
From the Editor
I’m in Calgary this week and we are in full-on Calgary Stampede mode here — pancake breakfasts in every corner of the city, lots of live music and yes, plenty of art, too. A couple of days ago, we strolled past Gerry Judah’s massive Spirit of Water sculpture and then through the BMO Centre where 67 Alberta artists including Chris Cran, Dianne Bos, Faye HeavyShield and Adrian Stimson, have work on view. There's the Calgary Stampede Art Show, too, which features work from new and emerging artists.
And as it grew dark, we checked out Jason Carter's new sculptures at the Stampede Park entrances. It was great to see so many people stopping for photos in front of the large, colourful pieces, which are lit up at night.
Then, in Edmonton, Megan Klak took a look at Fern Facette’s Symptomatology at the Alberta Craft Council Discovery Gallery on view for a few more days; the show wraps up July 12.
Heading to the West Coast this summer? Contributor Lin Li shares her perspective on Qiu Anxiong’s The New Book of Mountains and Seas at Richmond Art Gallery now to Aug. 24.
And Vancouver photographer and videographer (and Galleries West contributor) Mark Mushet has several photos in the group exhibition, Deep-Seated Histories, at the Museum of Vancouver now through January 2026. (I had no idea rock legend Jimi Hendrix's aunt was Canadian!)
“We’ll lend you our Monet if you’ll lend us your Mondrian.” Chris Varley talks about the importance of permanent collections in his essay, Respecting Collections and Collectors.
And Naghmeh Sharifi uses childhood memories and an Iranian folktale as inspiration for Fading Fables (Zar-Afshun), an audio-visual installation on now through Aug. 23 at the Art Gallery of St. Albert in Alberta.
Then Sarah Swan takes us on a trip to see It's Time to Come Home. Featuring the work of Jake Kimble, Hana Steinwand and Laura Grier, it will be at the Yellowknife Visitor Centre Gallery until July 31.
Speaking of Sarah, she has been nominated for two Alberta Magazine Publishers Awards for two of her 2024 Galleries West essays: The Exploding Chameleon and The Last Great Art Show.
And our intern Janille Delos Reyes has been nominated for the AMPA Emerging Writer Award for her story, Visual Artists Can Find Jobs, Life Satisfaction. Exciting news for both, and we wish them luck; the winners will be announced in September.
Got news? Drop us a line. We look forward to hearing from you and I hope you're enjoying the summer as much as I am.
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Megan Klak, Lin Li, Sarah Swan, Chris Varley
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Periodical Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
