Talk: Interrupt, Reframe

Who is making the design decisions?

Register for October 28th

When we talk about city-building and placemaking, often we come to solutions that are practical improvements to the sitting, walking, and ability to “hang out”. While building better benches is good, it’s a single layer of the onion that makes good urban design. How our city is designed is informed about who is making the decisions. Who has access to education to become an architect or planner? What mentorship structures exist that support a diversity of representation within the field? How can we bring a level of support to anti-racism initiatives by encouraging new voices to the conference table defining the access and experience of our city design?

Hear from:

Destiny Kirumira holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics (University of Alberta) and a Master of Architecture (University of Calgary). She is currently a second-year Ph.D. student at the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture at McGill University. Her research explores the architecture of Black settlements in Canada. In addition to being a Ph.D. candidate, Destiny is also a visual artist interested in using Black portraiture to address Anti-Blackness. As both an architect and artist, her work attempts to uproot and reconcile the roots of racism in both fields with a current emphasis on Black spaces and narratives.

Ipek Türeli is the Canada Research Chair in Architectures of Spatial Justice and an Associate Professor at the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture at McGill University. Her research interests include spaces of education and campus landscapes, low-income housing and participatory design, and spatial activism. She has many publications on visualizations of the city in photography, film, exhibitions, and museums. Her research on Istanbul was awarded several fellowships and grants including those by the Graham Foundation and the Middle East Research Competition in the US and SSHRC, FRQSC and CFI in Canada. Her books include the co-edited book Orienting Istanbul (2010) and authored book Istanbul Open City (2018). In addition to her scholarly work, she has organized and contributed to several exhibitions in recent years. One of her ongoing projects is Architecture Playshop: Developing critical literacy with young children around climate change, forced migration and the built environment, which originated as an invited program for the Korean Pavilion at the 2020 Venice Biennale. More detail here.

Wendy Koo is a Coordinator at The City of Calgary that leads one of the many teams that contribute to the daily work of city-building. As a Chinese-Canadian immigrant, she has lived in 4 countries and many interesting cities that have influenced her professional practice. She currently works and lives in the Treaty 7 area with a family that includes two energetic kids. Wendy has over 15 years of experience that has centred on downtown and inner city redevelopment. Over the last few years, her focus has been more on people and places, including creating space for the hard conversations around equity, diversity and inclusion within the planning profession. Prior to joining The City of Calgary in 2013, she was a planner at The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta, an urban planner and designer at HOK and a redevelopment planner for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

Friday October 28, 7pm MT (online)

This talk is produced in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and with the support of Canada Council for the Arts. The events are free, open to the public. RSVP to receive a link to attend.

The talks are part of the Interrupt, Reframe issue of FOLD. The issue is published by d.talks with the support of Canada Council for the Arts, in addition to the ongoing support of Calgary Arts Development and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Talk: Interrupt, Reframe

Becoming Urban, Differently

Register for October 27th

What does it mean to be urban? In the Americas, the word “city” calls up images of buildings, streets, and infrastructure for public services like processing wastewater and waste. Planning is done above ground: there is little relationship to the wildlife, insects, the water and trees. What systems (colonial, structural, unequal) shape quotidian life? Are we ignoring voiceless populations…do wildlife or the rivers have a voice?

Hear from:

Ana María Durán Calisto is an Ecuadorian architect, academic and urban-environmental planner. For more than two decades, she has been investigating urbanization processes in the Amazon basin with an emphasis on the oil urbanisms of Ecuador and indigenous systems of settlement. Ana María has co-edited the books Beyond Petropolis: Designing a Practicable Utopia in Nueva Loja and Ecological Urbanism in Latin America. She is currently a professor at Yale School of Architecture and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Fernando Huambutzereque is a Shuar architect working in Ecuador. He led the team that developed the Achuar Life Plan, a territorial planning scheme advanced by the Achuar First Nation of Ecuador. He has collaborated with several Amazonian municipalities, and is currently envisioning a forest resurgence program for the highway that leads from Macas to Huamboya. 

Greves Pouchette is Eyathka (Stoney) born, raised and still residing in Mini Thni (Morley) on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, east of Calgary. He is a well-traveled artist who has attended celebrations, shows, and festivals as a performer and participant. He relishes the opportunity to make new friends, connect with old friends, and learn about other cultures and customs…something he continues to do today.

Thursday October 27, 7pm MT (online)

This talk is produced in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and with the support of Canada Council for the Arts. The events are free, open to the public. RSVP to receive a link to attend.

The talks are part of the Interrupt, Reframe issue of FOLD. The issue is published by d.talks with the support of Canada Council for the Arts, in addition to the ongoing support of Calgary Arts Development and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

TALK: INTERRUPT, REFRAME

Learning from what wasn’t built

Register for October 14th

What can’t quite be understood from the plaques at designated historic places is: what wasn’t built. “Non-visible architectures,” writes Cheryl Foggo, foster a sense of belonging through music and stories. There’s a story of a Black drywaller, trained, but limited from practice. What could he have built, she wonders? Suzanne Chew recalls discovering the Blackfoot name for Turtle Mountain—the site of the partially-buried early 20th century town of Frank. The Blackfoot called it, “the mountain that moves”.  What might not have been built? Moderated by Sikomh Kokomii, the discussion will explore how below-the-radar narratives have shaped our sense of belonging and relationship to the land and the community—the place that we call home.

Hear from:

Cheryl Foggo is an award-winning author, playwright, and filmmaker whose work over the last 30 years has focused on the lives of Western Canadians of African descent. Her books include the recently released 30th-anniversary edition of Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. Her plays Heaven and John Ware Reimagined have been seen on multiple stages across Canada. Her film John Ware Reclaimed can be found at nfb.ca and her film Kicking Up a Fuss: The Charles Daniels Story can be found on youtube. She is currently working on a documentary about the Shiloh Baptist Church and Cemetery in Saskatchewan.

Sikomh Kokomii (Calling Crane) is a biracial Blackfoot (Niitsitapi) multidisciplinary artist, musician/sound artist (music teacher), Blackfoot/Treaty 7 art researcher/amateur historian, author, activist and inventor.

Suzanne Chew is an international doctoral student at the University of Calgary who has published poetry and stories reflecting on her research and experiences as a newcomer to Canada, navigating spaces of race during the pandemic and her responsibilities living in Treaty 7 of being in-relation with the peoples to whom these traditional territories belong. Learning from Inuit communities in western Nunavut, Suzanne researches voice and marginality, and explores how the different ways in which we speak and endeavour to be heard, both spoken and unspoken, might bring hearts and minds together for inclusive participation in environmental decision-making.

Friday October 14, 7pm MT (online)

This talk is produced in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and with the support of Canada Council for the Arts. The events are free, open to the public. RSVP to receive a link to attend.

The talk series is part of the Interrupt, Reframe issue of FOLD. Published by d.talks, the issue is made possible with the support of Canada Council for the Arts, in addition to the ongoing support of Calgary Arts Development and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Join us for a discussion with the Stoney Nakoda Youth Council as we make an exchange. This event celebrates a 15-month collaboration as we together explored the meaning of an exchange.

This event will discuss the transition that on-reserve students experience as they connect with Calgary’s post-secondary education. Watch the premier of a documentary created by Youth Council members. Hear Youth Council members discuss the film and their process of developing an exchange platform, Stoney Exchange, for members of the Stoney Nakoda Nation.

This event will be hosted online and in person.

MONDAY JUNE 13

6:00 PM MDT

CENTRAL PUBLIC LIBRARY (800 THIRD STREET SE, CALGARY)

This event is free and open to the public. Hosted in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and produced in partnership with the Stoney Nakoda Youth Council, this event is made possible with the support of Canada Council for the Arts.

We are grateful to the contributions of individual and organizational members, along with additional support from Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Calgary Arts Development, making possible free access to our events.

An earlier exchange, initiated by d.talks in collaboration with the Calgary Public Library and Momentum, invited Calgarians to participate in an exchange.

In partnership with Calgary Public Libarary…

Join us online to hear critical urban planning and environmental social science scholar Julian Agyeman speak about the role of systemic inequity in creating sustainability. In Just Sustainabilities (MIT Press, 2003), Agyeman argued that environmental degradation, racial inequity and economic structures were linked; and that policies for sustainable development must consider both social and environmental justice. Authoring 13 books on the effects of planning policies and urban design, Agyeman’s recent book, Sacred Civics co-edited with Jayne Engle, explores the tension between “belonging” and “becoming.” As designers set sights on cities that aim to become sustainable, smart and resilient, Agyeman argues paying attention to who is allowed to belong in the city.

“Our greatest challenges are not scientific or technological; they are deeper than that—they are spiritual and cultural.”

Noon (MDT) June 8th, Online

Agyeman was co-founder in 1996, and is now Editor-in-Chief of Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability. He is Series Editor of Just Sustainabilities: Policy, Planning and Practice published by Bloomsbury Books/Zed Books. He is Co-Editor of the Routledge Equity, Justice and the Sustainable City Series and the Bristol University Press/Policy Press Series Creating Smart and Sharing Cities. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Environmental Education.

In addition, Agyeman was co-founder in 1988, and chair until 1994, of the Black Environment Network (BEN), the first environmental justice-based organization of its kind in Britain. He is a Founding Senior Advisor/Thought Leader at PlacemakingX and sits on the Academic Board of The Centre for the Future of Places (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden), the Board of Directors of EcoDistricts (Portland, OR, USA) and is chair of the Advisory Board of Shareable (San Francisco, USA). He is also on the Advisory Boards of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy - US (New York City), Biophilic Cities (University of Virginia), Participatory City (London, UK), Urban Sharing (Lund, Sweden), Equiticity (Chicago) and Sharecity (Dublin, Ireland).

The World After This is a research creation series produced by d.talks in partnership with ActionDignity and Alberta EcoTrust. It seeks to understand the intersection of climate change and systemic inequity and the role of design in addressing the deep challenges ahead.

Let’s talk about…horizon

At this very moment, amidst global unrest and a two-year pandemic, we feel the need to look forward. Facing the horizon, the meeting point of earth and sky, we have much to gain from listening and learning from Elders and different world views as we begin to navigate a way forward. Join us in conversation about Indigenous architecture from the lens of Douglas Cardinal and Wanda Dalla Costa, both Alberta-based architects who have earned international acclaim. Listening deeply, what is the way forward at this time?

This discussion is online and free of charge, but requires an RSVP to obtain a link to the talk.

Wanda Dalla Costa, AIA, OAA, AAA, LEED A.P.

Wanda Dalla Costa is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, a practicing architect, a professor and a YBCA 100 2019 honoree, an award which celebrates people, organizations, and movements shifting culture through ideas, their art, and their activism. Dalla Costa was the first, First Nation women to become an architect in Canada. Her firm, Tawaw Architectural Collective (www.TawArc.com), is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Recent projects include the Indigenous embassy in Ottawa, an Indigenous urban early learning center in Saskatoon and a tribal college in Alberta. Dalla Costa was also invited to the 2018 Venice Biennale, world festival in architecture, as part of the Unceded team, where she joined 18 Indigenous architects from across Turtle Island, to share an Indigenous vision of the future. At Arizona State University, she is the director and founder of the Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community-driven design and construction program, which brings together tribal community members, industry and a multidisciplinary team of ASU students and faculty to co-design and co-develop solutions for tribal communities. Dalla Costa holds a Master of Design Research in City Design from SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Calgary.

Douglas Cardinal

As a master-builder, Douglas Cardinal’s life is dedicated to creating beautiful, thriving, and harmoniously built environments. His architecture springs from his observation of Nature and its understanding that everything works seamlessly together. His work has defined contemporary Canadian, Indigenous, and organic architecture. Throughout his career, Mr. Cardinal has been a forerunner in philosophies of sustainability, green buildings, and ecologically designed community planning.

Born in 1934 in Calgary, Alberta, his architectural studies at the University of British Columbia took him to Austin, Texas, where he received his architectural degree and found a life experience in human-rights initiatives. Mr. Cardinal then became a forerunner of philosophies of sustainability, green buildings and ecologically designed community planning.

In recognition of his work, Mr. Cardinal has received many national and international awards, including 20 Honorary Doctorates, Gold Medals of Architecture in both Canada and Russia, and an award from United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) for best sustainable village. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada — one of Canada’s highest civilian honours — and was named a “World Master of Contemporary Architecture” by the International Association of Architects.

Douglas Cardinal is one of the visionaries of a new world — a world where beauty, balance and harmony thrive, where client, architect, and stakeholder build together with a common vision.

HORIZON is GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY ATB FINANCIAL. THIS PROGRAM IS HELD IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND CMLC.

We can paint a garage door, it's private space. Painting or personalizing the public realm, however, becomes more complex. 

If done right, the public realm involves deeply engaging with numerous members of the community representing differing viewpoints. We're taking stock of the social cohesion and wellbeing that may result from this small move. What's to be said, then, about the addition of "public art" to the private realm? Or rather, is it private art to the public realm...?

Join us for a tour of the garage art movement in Sunnyside, with community organizers Gerald Wheatly, Christie Page, and artist John Ross. We'll hear about the progression of the movement and about a variety of private/public murals painted by residents and professional artists. We'll explore the various ways a neighborhood can change when private art blurs into the visibility of the public domain.

This is an online tour and will be free and open to the public. We're cooking up a surprise invitation for d.talks Individual Members  as part of this tour. Stay tuned!

Catch the tour live online here. You can RSVP for free to receive a link and a special post tour packet.

Our first WriteON residency in partnership with the Calgary Public Library explores the role of public infrastructure at a neighbourhood scale. What is the relationship between the public realm and the community?

Join our resident writers, Nowshin Matin and Linus Tan, in conversation to share their research process. From afar, they explored the Hounsfield Heights Briar Hill neighbourhood. What development transitions are anticipated? What's the role of public transit? What have we learned from a pandemic that underline connections through a virtual space? What's behind a conscious decision to go to a library? What untold history can possibly be revealed?

These are big questions, and there were many more that the writers explored when learning about the Louise Riley Community Library. Join us to hear from them what they became intrigued by...

Nowshin Matin: Growing up adjacent to a River, water life and man’s relationship with it always intrigued me. Embarking on tertiary education, Architecture has allowed me to explore the lives of various people and their relationships with the natural and built environment. Through my journeys I have come to understand – Architecture is not just about design, but people in design. Since then, my research and interests have pivoted around communities, namely their social construct and relationship with the natural environment, also, how our regional practice philosophies must evolve to be relevant in this spectrum.

Linus Tan is a researcher and team developer at Design Factory Melbourne, Australia. His research focuses on architectural and design teams’ learning and reflecting behaviours to enable team members to use their tacit knowledge in their collective design processes. His broader interest is on understanding and influencing human behaviours in architectural environments. He can be contacted on his website, www.linustan.com.

Tawab Hlimi (moderator) is Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary. His design, research, and teaching overlap in the fields of ecology, infrastructure, and urbanism. Tawab has held academic positions at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as Visiting Designer in Residence and as Visiting Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University where he taught design studios on ecological infrastructure, and laboratories on landscape visualization and design communication. Prior to academia, Tawab practiced professionally in the design offices of Janet Rosenberg & Studio in Toronto, Hapa Collaborative in Vancouver, and Hargreaves Associates in San Francisco.

A special thanks to Calgary Arts Development for making possible the WriteON 2021 program and our first critic-in-residence program. We'd also like to thank our partner the Calgary Public Library for, well...everything they put into making this residency a deep learning experience. 

Art as Resistance and Revelation in Academia

Featuring: Suzanne Chew who has invited Romani Makkik for a conversation on their experiences in graduate student research, and how they have used art as a means to tell new stories, rooted in strength and self-determination. How might art uplift the voices of communities with whom student researchers work, within the framework of academia today?

Registrants are encouraged to watch Romani’s Wounded Healers short film online, and read Suzanne’s short story Country Food, Soul Food, and poem Notes on a Caribou Hearing prior to the talk.

About the talk:

In partnership with Esker Foundation, we’re delighted to share a series of talks borne out of the WriteON writing workshops. This first residency features two authors who were invited to develop a response to RELATIONS: Diaspora and Painting curated by Cheryl Sim, and organized by the Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montréal. The exhibition is currently on view at Esker Foundation.

Romani Makkik is an Inuk film director who produced “The Wounded Healers”, an intensely powerful film based on her Master’s research with a counsellor training program in Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), about the powerful story of how one community transforms lives by drawing on its strengths.

Suzanne Chew is an international student at the University of Calgary who has published poetry and short stories as part of reflecting on her role and responsibility as a doctoral researcher. Her research focuses on inclusive participation and environmental decision-making, learning from Inuit communities in western Nunavut. Suzanne also co-convenes a research working group led by graduate students called Voice and Marginality at the Nexus of Racism and Colonialism, a research working group led by graduate students, hosted by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities. This working group is a collaborative and creative research space that aims to build a community focused on critical reflection, interdisciplinarity, and engaged scholarship that contributes to social change. We validate different ways of knowing and being, and seek to uplift voices of students and scholars from Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities. Suzanne is a WriteON 2021 alum. 

A special thanks to Calgary Arts Development for making possible the WriteON 2021 program and our first critic-in-residence program. We'd also like to thank our partner Esker Foundation for creating space for these writers and making this residency a deep learning experience.

We Were Once People: A Conversation About Displacement and Belonging

Featuring: Sue-Shane Tsomondo, who has invited fellow African artist JustMoe to discuss the loss of language and voice. This topic is loosely inspired by a quote from NoViolet Bulwayo’s debut novel We Need New Names, “Because we were not in our country, we could not use our own languages, and so when we spoke our voices came out bruised.”

About the conversation:

In partnership with Esker Foundation, we’re delighted to share a series of talks borne out of the WriteON writing workshops. This first residency features two authors who were invited to develop a response to RELATIONS: Diaspora and Painting curated by Cheryl Sim, and organized by the Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montréal. The exhibition is currently on view at Esker Foundation.

Writer in residence Sue-Shane Tsomondo is a poet, educator, book curator and the creator of Sue’s Stokvel, a Calgary-based literary arts platform. Sue’s Stokvel highlights the work of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) writers. She has previously performed for Woolfs’ Voices and Single Onion. In 2020, Sue-Shane appeared onthe cover of the Calgary Journal. Sue-Shane has also been featured in Arts Commons, Avenue Magazine, The Calgarian podcast, In Rehearsal podcast and the Artful Conversations podcast. In 2021, Sue-Shane (Sue’s Stokvel) partnered with Humainologie to create The Khumbul’ekhaya project + workshop for Empathy Week. Sue-Shane is a WriteON 2019 alum.

In conversation with:

Mohamed Ahmed (Just Moe) is a multidisciplinary artist from Sudan and developed on the Southside of Edmonton, in Millwoods. A recent graduate of the acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada and a musician under the name Just Moe. Authenticity is a main force of his work, and he hopes to share himself as authentically as possible with the world.

A special thanks to Calgary Arts Development for making possible the WriteON 2021 program and our first critic-in-residence program. We'd also like to thank our partner Esker Foundation for creating space for these writers and making this residency a deep learning experience.

Join our Untold City tour!

#SierraPlace

September 29 at Noon MDT

If our urban core is where one can live, work and play…how can we ensure that access to living includes every Calgarian? Affordable Housing is a crucial part of creating an equitable city. How do we create a vibrant downtown, complete with unique building challenges, while taking care of the those who are in need of housing?

Join d.talks on a tour of an office building conversion called Sierra Place that will provide 92 units of affordable housing downtown. Developed by HomeSpace, a non profit organization that provides safe, appropriate and affordable housing for vulnerable Calgarians, and in partnership with the Inn from the Cold, this 10-storey development will be converted from office to residential in the summer of 2022.

The tour will take us through the history of the building and discuss the process of the conversion. From the massive HVAC system in the basement to the office floors that will be converted into residences, we will visit the present and the future of the design.

To view the tour, visit @dtalks_calgary at noon on the 29th.

Or register below for a link.

Hear from:

Jonny Hehr, Managing Director of Design at Gibbs Gage Architects (Architect AAA). Joining GGA in 2011, Jonny has taken his education from Emily Carr Institute Art & Design and University of Calgary MArch to achieve award winning designs in furniture and architecture. Jonny is active in the community as a guest critic of the SAPL program and also works with local high schools to teach emerging students about the opportunity and impact design can have on our world. Jonny is passionate about fostering creativity and wonder in today's youth and the power of place-making in architecture. 

Matt Vermunt, Director of Acquisition and Development at HomeSpace Society. Matt has been in his role since 2010 working to grow the HomeSpace portfolio of affordable and supportive housing units to serve some of Calgary’s most vulnerable citizens. In recent years Matt’s focus has been delivering HomeSpace projects through the RESOVLE Campaign. Working with 11 local developers and philanthropists Matt has developed projects ranging from downtown mid-rise concrete tower, wood-frame multi family and stacked townhome developments. For Matt, the bottom line of helping folks who are in need is a wonderful consequence of simply doing a job that he loves. 

In conversation with d.talks volunteers:

Lili Wang is an Intern Architect with Kasian Architecture. She holds a BA (Hons) Architecture degree from the UK, Newcastle and a MArch degree from U of C. Originally from Uruguay, she has Taiwanese roots. Lili is passionate about cultural differences and how design has the power to bring communities together, bridging the gap through place-making and thoughtful design. 

Darshan Tailor and Mark Cooper have also contributed to the planning of this tour.

The d.talks mx Committee is focused on building unique and uncanny experiences for d.talks members to connect with their city. This public tour is free and open to all, no membership is required.

UNTOLD CITY: MORE THAN A PARKADE

How do we design for the future while making sure it still works for the present moment? A crystal ball might point towards shared mobility and multi-modal transportation options that could alter future demand for parking a single occupancy vehicle. How can we design to meet today’s demand for parking in our city, while designing in enough flexibility to adapt to how we might get around in five- or ten-years’ time? We invite you to tour an innovative new building in East Village: a parkade that is designed to adapt to different uses over time.

Join d.talks on a virtual tour of the new “innovation heart” in Calgary’s East Village. We’ll tour the seven stories of parking at Calgary’s newest future-forward parkade, Platform Innovation Centre & Parkade (it’s a parkade, after all) and the 50,000 square feet of office space that Platform Calgary and 50 partner institutions will use as an innovation hub later this year.

Integrated within the first two floors of the building, the Platform Innovation Centre contributes to a rapidly growing tech community, providing access to innovators across Alberta to programming and mentorship to support their start-ups. Also on the tour, we’ll visit the public sport court and a rentable outdoor event space that features city-scape views and safe distancing on the rooftop.

Hear:

Kate Thompson, President & CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC).  Joining CMLC in January 2013 to lead the delivery of the master plan vision for East Village, in January 2020, after seven years as Vice President of Development, Kate stepped into her new role as President & CEO. Under Kate’s leadership, CMLC is overseeing the development of the BMO Centre Expansion, Event Centre, and critical infrastructure projects in east Victoria Park, delivering on the vision for Calgary’s Culture + Entertainment District. 

A registered member of the Alberta Architects Association (AAA) and active Member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (MRAIC), Kate manages architectural controls for East Village, ensuring all plans for new development align with CMLC’s vision for the neighbourhood. 

Kate is active in the community through her role as a member of the Dean’s Circle of School of Architecture, Planning + Landscape (SAPL) at University of Calgary, where she has been an Adjunct Professor since 2014. In both teaching and practicing architecture, she continues to highlight the importance of a well-built urban fabric and support projects that strengthen Calgary’s urban spaces.

Joanne Sparks, currently an Associate and Registered Architect at Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning. Joanne has over 10 years’ experience and has a keen eye for design that stems from her passion for the arts, this adds to her curiosity of the interrelationships between buildings, streets and art that make up the urban fabric. She has worked on projects both nationally and internationally, as well as been a guest critic for both the RAIC Syllabus and the University of Calgary’s Architecture programs.

In conversation with: Sukhpreet Kaur, who is a registered Architect with Zeidler Architecture. She looks to create spaces that inspire its users, fostering a connection and experience within the surrounding environment. She moved to Calgary in 2012 and instantly fell in love with ‘the design spirit’ of our city. She has been a d.talks volunteer since 2019.

The tour will be held online and is free of charge. Register here for a link and more details.

Want to capture a memory? Have you a desire to reflect upon something that made you feel connected to the built environment?

We're hosting an informal writing session to shape and to share your story.

Join us online: June 24 (6:30-8:00 p.m. MDT.)

Bring an image, drawing or illustration that represents a memory tied to a place for you. Use the workshop to turn the image into a mini-story. You’ll end up with a memory that is tied to a place.

The informal working session is facilitated by the following conversation brokers:

• Veronica Briseño Castrejon is a Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Design in the School of Architecture Landscape and Planning at the University of Calgary who is focused on the importance of cultural and historical meanings in the collective and transdisciplinary building towards holistic habitability.

• Sally El Sayed is a recent Master of Architecture graduate at Carleton University with a research focus around the connection between the destruction and construction of physical space and memories, narrative and storytelling. She is also interested in collective and community-driven design thinking and documentation.

• Alfred Gomez is a recent graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Calgary who continues to explore the design of client resilient spaces and spatial justice. He is also interested in integrating unique narratives within the landscape. 

• Joy Olagoke is a recent Master of Architecture graduate at the University of Calgary this spring who was initially drawn to architecture for its potential to be used as a communication tool and social bridge. She likes to design spaces that act as mixing pots for society.

• Sasha Simic is in her final year as a Masters of Architecture student at the University of Calgary. She has always been interested in discovering ways in which to use architecture for social change and to question the status quo. Sasha was always drawn to architecture because of its power to change people’s lives.

• Sergio Veyzaga describes himself as: Just a mere individual passionate for the arts and philosophy who tries to obtain a better understanding of his surrounding material culture.

• Vincent Yong

Read more about the Share Your Story project and how you can be a part of it.

Invitation for Individual Members and Volunteers

Online Conversation

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Passcode: 360642

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Join d.talks in conversation with K. Jake Chakasim and Neena Verma on diaspora and belonging. This discussion is co-presented with the Calgary Public Library.

As we navigate isolating lockdowns, masking, and even mourning, what does it mean to care for others? What is the role of architecture in creating a feeling of belonging? What stories of occupation and conflict can be amended with new ways forward? 

Hear from:

K. Jake Chakasim, a Cree architect from the Mushkegowuk Territory (Northern Ontario) and a doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning. 

Neena Verma, a practicing architect, teacher and writer based in New York City. Her work queries the limits of contemporary architectural discourse—culturally, geographically and temporally.

Moderated by: Alicia Ta, Co-chair of the FOLD Editorial Committee who works in Planning at the City of Calgary and is an active volunteer with local community organizations.

This discussion is open to the public and free of charge. Register to receive a link.

This program is part of WriteON 2021, a critical writing workshop series calls attention to the ethics and meaning of design. The theme of this year’s series is: amend. A call for applications is open through April 4, 2021.

Find Amend here. 

Thanks to Calgary Arts Development for support of this program and to the ongoing support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Calgary Public Library.

Memory is something that we hold, we carry it forward. Sometimes memory is heavy. What is the relationship between memory and the land?

Join a panel to discuss the role of planning, architecture and landscape design in understanding the collective memory contained in the land. From the horizon to the cartesian grid, what have we built and how does this influence a sense of belonging that one feels? 

Hear from:

• Jessie Andjelic

• Iman Bukhari

• Tiffany Shaw-Collinge

• Moderated by: Suzanne Harris-Brandts

This event is made possible with support from Canada Council for the Arts and the Calgary Public Library; along with ongoing support from Calgary Arts Development and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Jessie Andjelic is an architect, urbanist, educator, and founding partner of SPECTACLE Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism. Jessie regularly mentors students and interns, and in 2019 was awarded the Young Architect prize from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. With her work, Jessie seeks opportunities to create works of architecture that critically examine and influence our cities.

Iman Bukhari holds a Masters in Multimedia Communications and is the CEO of the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation. She has worked and volunteered in the not-for-profit sector for more than 11 years. Iman received the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation’s 30 Under 30 award, and is the producer of the documentary YYC Colours, which examines racism in Calgary. In turn, she has been a trailblazer in both multimedia storytelling and anti-racism advocacy.

Tiffany Shaw-Collinge (Métis) is an interdisciplinary artist, curator and registered architect in Alberta and working at Manasc Isaac Architects. Oscillating between digital and analogue methodologies, her work gathers notions of craft, memory and atmosphere. She has been the recipient of multiple public art commissions such as Edmonton's Indigenous Art Park and Winnipeg’s Markham Bus Station. Among her public art projects Tiffany has produced several notable transitory art works and is a core member of Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective. 

Moderator: Suzanne Harris-Brandts PhD, OAA, is an architect, urban scholar and Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at Carlton University. She is also a co-founder of Collective Domain, a practice for spatial analysis, urban activism, architecture, and media in the public interest. Her interdisciplinary work bridges design and the social sciences to explore issues of power, equity, and collective identity in the built environment.

Untold City

What do you think of when you hear the term “affordable housing”? How about “artist housing”? Is it something you would welcome in your neighbourhood?

The Maillot Castle is a private residence comprised of artists. Maillot Homes supports Calgary artists by offering this affordable and inspiring community living space as a two-year pilot project. From drawing sessions to spoken word poetry, this space is seeking to become part of the permanent cultural landscape of our city.

This is the first of a series of membership tours with d.talks. Join us to hear about the building’s history, its journey to become an arts & culture hub, and the challenges it faces in the near future.

Tour led by: Deseré Pressey, a native Albertan, abstract painter, curator and founder of the Maillot Castle Artist Residency. As an active member in her local arts & culture scene, she runs ongoing interdisciplinary art events, providing inclusive gatherings for musicians, visual artists, writers, poets and photographers to co-create in community. As an Art Therapy Facilitator, Deseré believes in the healing benefits of expression through the arts, and as such she provides art experiences, as a wellness practice to individuals and groups.

In conversation with: Sarah Bramley, who works in workplace strategy and innovation at Colliers International in Calgary. With a background in architecture and theatre, she is keenly interested in the intersection of people and their environments, and employs Design Thinking to help her clients get more out of their workspaces. A born-and-raised Calgarian, she has been a dtalks volunteer and committee chair since 2017.

What is Untold City?

Untold City is a new series revealing hidden histories and the architectural gems: the weird, the wild and the uncanny that make up the urban fabric of our city. Each instalment in this series will feature a single unique building and will explore its design, history, uses, and inhabitants. 

Through tours and conversations with people who know these buildings best, we will begin to uncover and understand the awesome and inspiring spaces that make Calgary our own. You won’t find these places in a guidebook. Only the locals know. We’ll take you inside.

This series is hosted and produced by Members Extension (m/x), a part of d.talks. The kick-off event will be held on October 28, 2020. To become a member and join future tours, you can find detail here.

A special thanks to volunteers Sarah Bramley, Sukhpreet Kaur, Madyson McKay, Kate van Fraassen and Chair Lindsay Fischer for conceiving and developing this program.