For the next three months, the next Calgary Transit bus that rolls up at your stop might look a lot different—in fact, it might even be beautiful.

Calgary Arts Development revealed seven new public art buses that will be taking to Calgary streets through to December 2024, with art made by eight different Calgary-based artists.

The goal of the new Art Buses is to bring a little colour, joy, whimsy, and beauty to Calgarians, and give a boost to local artists by showcasing their work to the public at large.

That public at large is large indeed, with an estimate that 55 per cent of Calgarians will have seen at least one of the busses by the time the project ends.

“We wanted to put the public back in public art, and it’s not to say that it wasn’t there before, but in this moment we really wanted to emphasize that. The team put themselves to the task of ‘OK, well, what does that mean? What does that look like? How do we connect art to Calgarians in a way that acknowledges how Calgarians connect with Calgary?'” said Patti Pon, CEO of Calgary Arts Development.

That idea came together as a partnership with Calgary Transit and Pattison, to find a way to put artwork in front of some 770,000 viewers.

“I’m really thrilled that Calgary Arts Development could be a vehicle, no pun intended, to share the strength of our artists. This work could be anywhere in the world, and it’s here, and it started here. What a great story for Calgary,” said Pon.

Daydreaming on the bus

The call for artist submissions began in 2023 and wasn’t limited to Calgary artists, although it was a complete slate of Calgary artists who were chosen to produce art for the buses.

One of those artists was Michelle Ku, whose work as a muralist can be seen as part of the BUMP Festival, and as an animator, in National Film Board and Cartoon Network productions.

“My bus is kind of like an explosion of the inner child, and I just want people to feel really happy and kind of surprised when they see it,” she said.

One of the things Ku said that she hopes Calgarians take away from her artwork, is that the sometimes routine autopilot that takes over when people like her take the bus, instead gets turned into some daydreaming as a result of the art.

Her bus was the first time she’s done an entire bus as an artwork, she said.

That too was the same for artist Katie Green, whose bus embodies the use of fantasy to explore the different emotional reactions of her painted characters, reflective of the people getting on and off the bus.

“When I think about when I take transit, I have so many memories of daydreaming, or looking out the window and entering these other imagined spaces in my mind,” Green said.

“I think it’s like a really neat project because it is a surprise for people when they’re in urban environments, to see this pop of colour, and this piece of public art that is actually moving through different communities and through the city.”

Her work, like the other artists, also extends to the interior of the bus, with QR codes and examples of her other art pieces on display to spark conversation and interest among riders.

Reflection of what it means to be part of Calgary

Among the themes that Calgary Arts Development wanted artists to consider as part of the project, said Pon, were the multiple contexts of Calgary/Mohkinsstsis, honouring Indigenous stories and perspectives, public transit as a social space, and sharing stories of communities.

Artists Kevin Chow and Jamie Mason, aka Rawry & Pohly, said that the Art Bus project was an amazing opportunity to take their work with Calgary’s Chinatown and the exploration of Canadian Chinese Culture to all areas of the city.

“We’ve done so much work in Chinatown here in Calgary, that we felt we know, ‘why not do one more project for them?’ So we consulted with the seniors, the elders, on the symbolism of the colours all the way to designs and the festivities you see on the bus,” said Chow.

“Because we’re so involved in Chinatown, we’re able to celebrate those moments in the sense that it reminds you to come down to Chinatown for some bubble tea or dim sum, or just to come see the festivities, or explore the Chinese Museum at the Chinese Cultural Center.”

Mason said that their design was based on fine china, with the cobalt blue edging that people might see on the edge of a plate.

“Originally our concept, the entire work, was going to be just in variations of the blue, but when we were consulting with the Elders, they said the blue on the dragon is actually more of a funeral element. So, we were like, ‘oh, OK, well, let’s not do that.’ So, we fast-forwarded a few years in the Chinese porcelain history, and took on the like reds and yellows that you see on some of the mid-century pieces.”

A pair of their murals adorn one of the busiest stretches of road into downtown Calgary in Chinatown, receiving up to 30,000 visitors per day—but their art is being taken to 30,000 people throughout Calgary.

“The way that this bus kind of can go anywhere in the city, it’s really bringing our artwork to a much larger audience of people who could be at any area of the city. I think that that’s just amazing, because I mean, what greater thing could you ask for than having a giant advertisement of your artwork driving around?” said Mason.

Under budget, and good value for Calgarians

The entire art project cost approximately $280,000, which came in under the maximum budget of $48,142 per bus or $337,000.

“I think that’s pretty good value, and always we think about value. Impact is as much as it’s financial and economic, and I think social. When you heard me talk about the four themes, it’s a pretty good way for us to share a story,” said Pon.

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong, who also serves on the Calgary Arts Development board, said that there were two sides to the equation when it comes to funding public art in Calgary.

One of those is that artists and the work they produce isn’t free. The other, he said, was the impact.

“Having the appropriate support from Calgary Arts Development and from council, it’s just a recognition that art is something that permeates through everyday life,” Wong said.

“You may ride or walk past a bus and see the bus, and may not think about it, but there will be a time, place where that art will reflect back to you. Whether it was the Asian art, or Indigenous art, or the comic book art. There’s going to be different places and times where you’re going to say, ‘ah,’ and remember that moment.”

Artists Katie Green, Lyndon Navalta, Michelle Ku, Natalia Ionescu, Paityn Savoie / WÂPOSHPYII, Phoebe Riel, and Rawry and Pohly were all involved in the project.

Calgarians can look for the art on busses numbered 7873, 7908, 7921, 7959, 7961, 7976, and 8041, although each will be assigned to different routes throughout the three months of the program.

For more details on the Art Bus, and for individual artist profiles, see calgaryartsdevelopment.com/public-art/projects/art-bus-connecting-communities-with-public-art.