For decades, the statue Family of Man has adorned the headers and correspondence as the very visual symbol of the Calgary Board of Education.

Even though the board has long since moved from their brutalist designed headquarters in the downtown core, next to the park in which the statue is located.

But on Feb. 28, eagle-eyed LiveWire Calgary readers would have seen something that has been previously undisclosed to the public: the potential that the Family of Man move to Contemporary Calgary, within renderings that the gallery provided about their plans for a transformative $150 million redevelopment of the former Centennial Planetarium and grounds.

Those speculative renderings showed Family of Man being located at the east side of a brand new park that would replace the current parking lot that wraps along 6 Avenue SW.

David Leinster, CEO of Contemporary Calgary, said that the gallery has been in conversation with the City of Calgary about the potential to move the statue.

“We are in conversations with the city, who have indicated support, and are currently doing conservation and engineering studies. From there we will work with the city to do the necessary engagement and make decisions together, community, city, and Contemporary Calgary,” Leinster said, in a response to LWC questions posed through Contemporary Calgary’s PR firm.

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong said that the conversations about moving the statues from their current location to Contemporary Calgary began in 2024, after requests by the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Status of Women and Premier Danielle Smith’s office.

“I think when the conversation was had way back when, between Contemporary Calgary and with the Premier’s office and Minister Fir’s office, I think there was a lot of that kind of imagining or dreaming,” Wong told LWC.

“Nothing was really consummated at the time. But we did an estimate that would be some obligations that we have with the Family of Man to move it.”

Connecting two centennial expressions into one

Leinster, for his part, said that as the statues were built in 1967, just like the Centennial building Contemporary Calgary is now in, that it would be a lovely new home for the statue.

“A good idea worth exploring. There’s a long time between now and when were doing the final landscaping in the plan,” he said.

Sophia Zweifel, Acting Public Art Team Lead for the City of Calgary said that the city was supportive of exploring the move of the statue to Contemporary Calgary.

“The sculpture and the building share a history connected to Expo ‘67. The sculpture’s potential relocation to the Planetarium would reconnect the artwork to the era and tie the history of the planetarium site to its exciting future as a vibrant hub for art and culture,” Zweifel said.

“It is expected the potential relocation of an artwork of this size and scale would involve a significant investment and would not be undertaken without significant community engagement. The City is currently in the process of initiating a technical study to better understand the costs and technical requirements involved.”

Coun. Wong said that there were additional steps that would need to be surmounted to move the statue.

That includes a direct control land use provision that was passed in 2010 by Calgary City Council to protect and preserve the statue and the surrounding parkland.

Additionally, said Coun. Wong, there were other obligations made by the City of Calgary to Maxwell Cummings and sons, who purchased the statues after their exhibition at the 1967 Montreal Expo.

“When he brought it here, there was a commitment with the city that the Family of Man would stay there, and if it had to be moved, there was an obligation, a condition associated with moving it,” he said.

He said that before the statues could be moved, the direct control issue would have to be brought before Calgary city council.

“So, somebody has to apply for land use amendment, remove that obligation, and the council obviously would have to approve it. There’s obviously a cost for doing the land use amendment, plus the cost to relocate it, which has to be negotiated.”