5. Public Art Curatorial Collection

PUBLIC ART CURATORIAL COLLECTION
ASSESSMENT COLLECTION PLAN

One of the first curatorial assessments of a municipal public art collection written in North America, it adapted best practices from museum curatorial assessments to analyze the City of Calgary’s Public Art Collection and provide key insights to inform the Public Art Collection Plan 2021–2026.

Using case studies, it analyzed the Public Art Program’s collecting and commissioning practices, collection management, and conservation protocols and made recommendations based on collection and public art commissioning best practices.

A separate document, The City of Calgary Public Art Collection Plan 2021-2026 guides the long-term curatorial development of the collection by outlining commissioning/collecting priorities for the development of the Public Art Collection, which contains over 1,200 objects.

The Plan privileged intentional, context-responsive commissioning and collection processes and criteria. It approached future collection development and management critically to address systemic colonial and patriarchal exclusion in collection development, access, management, and care.

CLIENT
The City of Calgary

DATE
2021 + 2022

PUBLIC ART CONSULTANT
CMCK Public Art

ADVISORS
Adrian Stimson, Artist
Nancy Tousley, Writer and Curator

PHOTOGRAPHY
Adrian Stimson