Peace Bridge (Calgary) – photo by Karen Anderson
When you go to a great city, what do you remember? For me after the people I meet and the food I eat, it’s the architecture, museums, parks AND – more and more – the public art. This post is about my favourite public art in Calgary. I haven’t captured it all yet, but this is a good start and if you find yourself in Calgary with a few spare hours, check out the link in this article to a map produced by the city.
Filed under Art Installation, Travel
I’ve written about my love of Aretha Franklin before. She’s left us now physically, but I will play my Aretha playlist loud and sing along in my car for all the days of my life. Just like dear old Murphy Brown’s character so wonderfully played by Candace Bergman in this 1991 video from her show, I will never sound like the Queen of Soul, but I appreciate that she knew how to make us all feel like a natural woman and that’s why I loved her so.
In my life Aretha, you will have an eternal encore. Thank you for helping me savour it all.
Filed under Art Installation
Terra Lightfoot is a Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist with a voice that delivers in multi-octave waves. I hope you’ll enjoy this song, Paradise. Let it be the gateway song that leads you to dig a little deeper. Find out who she is and how she rolls and you’ll have found yourself another great Canadian artist to support. The lyrics follow. Continue reading
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“If something doesn’t exist, that you want to exist – create it,” says The Maritime Edit magazine editor James Mullinger in the video above.
I’m just back from a quick trip home to New Brunswick to check in on my folks. I picked up the first edition of this magazine at the Saint John airport and devoured it on the Halifax to Calgary leg of my trek back to where I live with my husband and son. The magazine is fresh in that it exists “to celebrate and highlight the discreet luxury of living in Atlantic Canada.”
I love that wording.
The people of the Atlantic are discreet, low key, unpretentious, muted, restrained and intentionally unobtrusive as they go about the luxury of living their lives. Their lives are a luxury because living at a slower pace, in proximity to ocean and earth and connected to family and culture is an antidote to the fast pace world of carpools and commutes, distance and indifference that is existence for most of us. I’m so happy someone will be celebrating and highlighting this wee corner of Canada. I’ve subscribed.
I’m looking forward to including this quarterly art installation in my life. My Atlantic roots and values help me savour it all.
Filed under Art Installation, Travel, Writing
This summer Alberta Food Tours, Inc. is involving as many Alberta food lovers as possible in an Instagram contest called #eatalberta150. Why? The goals are to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday and to compile a very visual answer to the question, “what is Alberta’s food story?” Alberta has a number of signature foods and this contest will show the world what a fabulous food travel destination the province is. Every winner also gets a piece of birthday cake in the form of a Crave Cupcake (see above) and great prizes from Alberta food businesses and hotels.
In my work as a food and travel writer, I’ve had the chance to work with a lot of great photographers. In this post I’ll share some food photography tips I’ve picked up over the last decade. Hopefully they will boost your bravado and increase your likelihood of joining in the #eatalberta150 fun.
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Filed under Art Installation, Travel
Fondation Louis Vuitton – photo credit – Karen Anderson
I’ve got several friends heading to Paris this spring. I won’t make it myself this year but in helping my friends plan their trips, I’ve arrived at my top three recommendations of things to do in Paris.
Otherwise, just get a metro pass and a museum pass and wander. There’s no better city in the world to just walk the streets and get lost for a while. I’m continuously discovering old museums I was unaware of and two years ago I visited the (then) brand spanking new – Fondation Luis Vuitton (FLV).
Dedicated to the history of art, the museum itself also an art installation. The latest work of Canadian-born architect Frank Gehry it appears as a tall ship sailing through Bois de Boulogne park. I hope you’ll include it in your next visit to Paris. Because I’m such a fan of Gehry’s, the rest of this post is just a collection of photos from my visit. Continue reading
Filed under Art Installation, Travel
#ArtInstallation No. 22 – @michaelkiwanuka – Love and Hate
Sometimes a record, a song, a voice, just creep into your soul. Michael Kiwanuka’s album and single both entitled Love and Hate are filled with enough sorrow to reach me there.
The Guardian’s review of the album spoke of authenticity. I hear the authentic sorrow for the deep contrast of how far we are from the dream of how we could be. This is an artist rising to the challenge of sharing his feelings in a time when we need a reminder of the common thread holding us together.
Surely that thread is our humanity. Though masked in an infinite expression of genetic code that unseen oneness exists. If our our every act is guided by what is humane, no one will take us down, no one will break us down. Choosing what’s humane, that is the something wonderful Kiwanuka is asking for, I believe. The lyrics follow.
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Filed under Art Installation, Grief
Tagged as art installation, commentary, humaneness, humanity, Michael Kiwanuka, music