The late scholar Sir Peter Hall, in his book Cities in Civilization, looks at factors that the world’s great “creative cities” have in common. Believe it or not, Calgary has most of the factors in spades: Rapid accumulation of wealth? Check. Attraction of ambitious and talented people from around the world? Check. High civic aspirations, aka “a world class city?” Checkity-check-check! Really the only thing we’re missing from Hall’s checklist? Cultural spaces that bring us together for shared experience and the formation of social capital.
Lucky us! We’re in the middle of a cultural space boom, with up to $1B in infrastructure either completed in the past few years, or under active development. Before 2017, we should be enjoying all of the following:
Inside the Bella Concert Hall
New MRU Conservatory and Bella Concert Hall: I recently had a hard-hat tour of this gem of a building. At 773 seats, the Bella is going to be a remarkable place to experience all kinds of music in beautiful, technologically advanced and intimate surroundings. The attached instructional and rehearsal facilities will make this a busy and globally-recognized arts incubator.
Contemporary Calgary in the Centennial Planetarium: A long-held dream to build a significant modern and contemporary art gallery in Calgary is well on its way to being reality, with on-site programming anticipated in 2015. The brutalist Planetarium and surrounding land, right on a C-Train line, provide an iconic location that promises to be the busiest visual arts facility in Alberta.
National Music Centre in East Village: The NMC is an architectural marvel that will hold one of the world’s great collections of musical instruments. Every tour of this collection results in dropped jaws. The coolest part of the NMC’s vision? It is going to be one of the liveliest places in town Canada with artist residencies, performance & recording spaces, community & education programs and highly interactive exhibits.
cSPACE King Edward in Marda Loop: Talk about a rare opportunity: a comprehensive redevelopment of a full city block, beautiful public spaces, housing and a revitalized century-old sandstone school that provides much needed affordable incubation space for Calgary’s creators.
Rendering of DJD building.
Decidedly Jazz Dance Centre in the Beltline: Given the vitality of Calgary’s dance scene, this space promises to be hopping every day of the week. It’s transparent design will bring the energy of this venerable Canadian dance company right out to the street.
Of course, we can’t forget the amazing New Central Library in East Village, the Calgary Film Centre, and the Stampede Park Development all of which are well under way, joining the recently completed Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, Nickle Galleries at the U of C, Folk Festival Hall and Esker Foundation in Inglewood.
So back to that checklist… will these spaces help Calgary become one of civilization’s greatest cities? Who knows? But it is sure going to be fun finding out!
Terry Rock, PhD is a strategy and leadership consultant, a member of the Premier’s Council for Culture, and could not be more passionate about making the most of this time in Calgary’s history.