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 (over 1,200 objects) 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. Its curatorial approach privileged intentional, context-responsive commissioning and collection processes and criteria over policy-driven ones. The Plan approaches future collection development and management critically to address systemic colonial and patriarchal exclusion in collection development, access, management, and care.
Curatorial Assessment Team: Ciara McKeown, Diana Sherlock CMCK Public Art
Nancy Tousley, Adrian Stimson (advisors)
Collection Plan Team: Ciara McKeown, Diana Sherlock CMCK Public Art
Adrian Stimson and Nancy Tousley (advisors)
Image: Courtesy Adrian Stimson
CMCK PUBLIC ART 