A partnership with Calgary Arts Development and Recess Calgary to build a culture of artist-led civic participation

At the start of 2025, we were approached by Canada’s Calgary Arts Development (CADA), a city agency committed to supporting and strengthening the arts to benefit all Calgarians. They had been focused on supporting arts for social change in Calgary, and Calgary had an election coming up in October. CADA had an idea:

What if artists led the charge to the polls? 

We knew from our Unstoppable Voters program that artists excel at using their unique skills to mobilize their peers to vote. So we partnered with CADA — and local artistic activist Tyson Bankert — to develop Creating our Calgary: a six-month program to empower artists and community organizations in developing and launching innovative, impactful civic participation projects.

Throughout 2025, we worked with five Calgary artist collectives, selected through a competitive application process, to develop artistic activism projects to support participation in Calgary’s October municipal elections. These collectives held 30 events with 14 community partners that reached over 17,500 Calgarians. They focused on reaching young and future voters, recent immigrants, and BIPOC communities, and they helped them: register to vote, learn how to engage with local government, envision and share about the city they want and need, and believe in their civic power. Read on to learn about each incredible project and how the collectives developed and realized their ideas.

The Projects

Dr. Vote’s Clinic for Not Caring

by Fem Assembly

The Dr. Votes Clinic with their Mascot

A mock medical clinic that treated voter apathy. Set up at student centers in universities, Dr. Vote’s Clinic for Not Caring provided prescription of hope through civic participation — and trustworthy voter information.

“We had so many meaningful conversations. Several were new voters, and seeing them grow their excitement to vote was so wonderful. We had several eligible voters who planned not to vote thinking they couldn’t, but they learned they could. We also had many people who planned to vote but couldn’t find information, and we filled that information gap.”

A university student gets vital voting information
Some of the clinic’s themed pamphlets about voting and overcoming civic apathy

Project Your Voice

by CRATE-IVE CREW

A hands-on, art-meets-action pop-up that invited Calgarians to illuminate their hopes for the city’s future. Participants created messages and mini projectors that became part of public projection artworks, lighting up the city with community voices and ideas.

“Participants were energized by the idea of literally illuminating their voices — casting their words and hopes onto public spaces. The projections transformed their creative messages into something visible and shared, sparking curiosity among both participants and onlookers.”

A future voter shares her voice about installing more parks in Calgary
The Crew projects teen voices on a local school building

Make Your Move Matter

by Error 404 Dance Collective Not Found

An action to connect, dance, and feel the power of moving to vote. This interactive street performance was a playful opportunity for Calgarians to learn their civic power.

“It was wonderful to witness how eager people were. Participants were enthusiastic to dance, move, and watch, showing genuine excitement and openness. In a very short amount of time, we were able to build a beautiful community, connecting people who hadn’t met before through movement, shared words, and playful interaction.”

Error 404 moves the community to uplift the vote

Silent Protest

by Ayo Collective

An invitation for BIPOC Calgarians to reclaim their presence in civic decision-making. Columns of empty chairs filled with cardboard signs and paper silhouettes represented voices that are all-too-absent in civic spaces. Members of the collective talked to people who stopped to view the interactive installation about participation, visibility, and belonging.

“One visitor stopped in front of the empty chairs and said, ‘It feels like this is what our community looks like at the polls — half the seats are still empty.’ That comment sparked a group conversation among strangers about what it means to ‘show up,’ not just for yourself but for your city. It was a reminder that art can create space for reflection and connection in everyday public places.”

Facilitator Tyson Bankert listens to recordings of BIPOC Calgarians sharing why they do or don’t vote
An early prototype of Ayo’s silent protest

Crafting Chinese Civic Engagement

by Triple A Club

A community art initiative to help Chinese newcomers understand Calgary’s civic systems. The multimodal project included a civic toolkit in Mandarin, a ceramic tile workshop, and group visits to local art events that fostered belonging and participation.

“We were surprised by the depth of community engagement. What started as a single project evolved into a self-sustaining community, where members now help each other navigate Calgary’s civic and cultural life.”

Triple A leads a prototype of their ceramics for civic engagement event
A facilitator helps participants at the main event envision the Calgary that their family can create via civic engagement
Some of the tiles painted by participants

The Process

Creating Our Calgary was a four-part program.

1. Kickoff Intensive


We started with a 3-day, in-person inspiration and ideation intensive in the summer. The collectives ended the intensive with starter ideas for their projects — plus lots of new friends and tools for their work.

2. Campaign Testing and Development

In the late summer and early fall, the collectives continued to develop their projects. They workshopped, prototyped, and iterated, and they also connected with local community groups for greater reach.

3. Final Activations


In the lead-up to the elections, the collectives realized the full versions of their projects. Together, they reached over 17,500 Calgarians!

4. Evaluation


We wrapped up the program by evaluating everything that happened and strategizing how to continue to advance a culture of artist-led civic participation in Calgary.

Key Findings

  • There’s a huge appetite for creative civic engagement in Calgary: the public was all too eager to engage in these creative projects.
  • Acting in public works: it was easy for the collectives to get passersby to engage, especially when centering playfulness and fun and building a sense of community.
  • Talk with rather than at: people want to have conversations about civics, not be told what to do. The collectives excelled at getting deep with people quickly, when they showed how willing they were to listen.
  • Use striking visuals to get attention: outrageous costumes, provocative displays, huge projections, and more all helped to lure people in
  • Partner: the groups benefited greatly through smart partnerships with a variety of organizations, including universities, libraries, and community groups. As one collective summarized, “Partnering with good places who had the audience was essential.”

Success Together

The program was only a success because of our partners. A HUGE thanks to:

  • Helen, Cherie, Greg, and everyone at CADA for their vision in the program and trust in us to help lead it,
  • Tyson of Recess Calgary, who was a seamless partner in facilitation and vital faunt of local activism and art,
  • the 16 incredible artist participants, who pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and made projects more successful than we could have dreamed, and
  • all the Calgarians who came to learn about the projects in November.