About the Project:
Seven local artists/artist collectives have each created an original artwork to wrap on two buses, for a total of 14 buses bringing art directly into the everyday lives of Calgarians. The wrapped buses will travel across city routes for approximately six months starting in May 2025.
Selected artists were invited to respond to one of four themes:
Honour Indigenous stories and perspectives
Public transit as social space
Share stories of your community
Bring beauty, joy, whimsy and hope
This project celebrates Calgary’s diversity, history and geography, while making art more accessible and visible in public spaces. It also provides opportunities for local artists to gain experience in public art and connect with new audiences. You can learn more about the project here.
My Artist Statement:
The illustration for my Art Bus celebrates all the rescue dogs that have made an impact on my life and, in some small and big ways, become a part of my family. Each dog depicted is inspired by a real dog rescued here in Calgary. The Métis, known as ‘the flower beadwork People,’ show pride and honour family through their beadwork. Li Tāpis’ (meaning ‘small carpet’) named by the French Michif and known as ‘tuppies’ by the English and Scottish Michif, are traditional dog blanket regalia. Historically, these wool blankets were decorated with beadwork, silk embroidery, ribbon, yarn, bells and pompoms. To honour my dog friends, each adorned with a tapis or kokom scarf. The beadwork-inspired landscape is filled with native plants found in Calgary, such as blue-eyed grass, buffalo bean, fireweed, Jacob's ladder, nodding onion and wild strawberry.
Fostering rescue dogs has taught me resilience, patience and compassion — lessons I’ve also learned from beading. This combination of dogs, art and nature has been a form of medicine for me. I hope the silly dogs on this bus make folks smile. I hope it sparks some curiosity about making a rescue animal a part of their family.
