Richard Florida, who spoke on Monday as part of ACAD's Stirring Culture series, referred to culture using biological metaphors at least twice. Once talking about DNA components of culture and again drawing Darwin into the discussion. It's a apt analogy and one that seems to always be referenced sooner or later when trying to understand a system of meaning. There is much talk of memes on the internet which are ideas that get transmitted through culture that undergo Darwinian style natural selection and evolution. The Lol cats phenomenon is one of my favourite examples.

Biomimicry is a buzz word that you may have heard circling around the idea flowers recently. The concept of modeling after nature is often used a in scientific context. Using the design of termite mounds to create passive climate control in modern housing is a good example. This approach has worked very well with engineering endeavors and there is the added bonus that naturally occurring systems usually have some kind of built in sustainability. There is no reason that biological systems can't be used to understand any naturally occurring system of organization. Having sustainable, fully integrated cultural systems is becoming increasingly important. Ad hoc, organically forming systems tend to be more resilient and adaptable. What ways can we learn from nature in how we approach culture?  read more »

Somehow the first month of my work term with Calgary Arts Development has flown by without a blog post. Not a single one. As a public relations student at Mount Royal College, I understand the importance of communicating with the public, so I figured it was time for me to jump on the blog train with reckless abandon. And there's no better time to start than now.

The other evening I had the good fortune of attending the dress rehearsal of Alberta Ballet's Dangerous Liaisons. I was pleasantly surprised. Take everything you thought you knew about the ballet and throw it out the window. Dangerous Liaisons pushes the boundaries by having a play and a ballet going on simultaneously. The choreography was visually stunning as dancers held poses that at times were painfully beautiful to watch. This truly is a must see, even if you don't think you like the ballet. Go. I promise you won't be disappointed.  read more »

Looking back at the blogs for the past week or so, there seems to be a thread running through all of them and that is creativity.

Creativity and creating creative cities are very much buzz ideas developing in the early years of the 21^st century. With organisations such as Toronto's Artscape addressing how to create the conditions for creativity to thrive within a city and companies such as Pixar and Google addressing creating conditions for creativity within their workforce, there is no escaping the fact that this is an important movement.

Being an historian by trade, this got me thinking about the importance of creative thinking in the past and the revolutions this has created, why they occurred and how that compares to our situation here. Unsurprisingly, there are common themes running through all of them.  read more »

Another quick note from South America: I found a culture house in Buenos Aires, care of Lonely Planet and confirmed by a hip, young porteña (local woman) walking her dog. It´s called El Catedral. If you were every lucky enough to go to The Night Gallery in Calgary, then you´d love this place. It’s located in a warehouse just outside of the centre of Buenos Aires. It’s cavernous filled with art and eclectic furniture with gigantic chandeliers with red lights, vegetarian food, and a big dance floor. We drank the local beer, Quilmes, and watched stylish, young couples do a sensuous tango lesson. It was mesmerizing… Check out the photos on this website. I hope the link works!  read more »

Writing on location from Curico, Chile. It´s a small city two hours south of the capital, Santiago. Curico is not unlike the Okanagan, surrounded by vineyards and orchards. (The wine is cheap and delicious… and so is the fruit.) It´s spring here: the sun is shining and I´ve slathered sunscreen all over my fair skin. I´m staying with a visual artist whom I met several years ago when studying art in Spain. She has regular exhibitions and teaches art and yoga by day (not at the same time). I´m here on vacation but our work at Calgary Arts Development never escapes me. There´s nothing like a trip to South America to offer some perspective on development in general…  read more »

I recently heard a woman that worked for a city (not Calgary) in the area of arts & culture saying that the attitude of her police department when it came to the arts was "what do the arts have to do with a hurt child lying in the middle of the street?"

Even upon typing that statement I can't help but see a clear image of a hurt child lying in the middle of the street. That's the power of a visual statement . That's the fodder of artists - and that's what the arts have do with a hurt child lying in the middle of the street.  read more »

Having only been in Calgary for eight and a half months and working at Calgary Arts Development for 2 of those months, I'm still on a steep learning curve about what the city has to offer in the way of arts. This learning curve doesn't only involve discovering the vast amount of performances and events, but also how the arts community in Calgary has developed and is developing. It is in exploring this that I realise just how different my own background and experiences are. Not only do I not come from Calgary originally, I am not even Canadian, hailing as I do, from the UK. Moving away from my familiar cultural references has been more of a shock than I had anticipated and certainly more of a challenge. Suddenly, I can't reference contemporary or historical authors, artists, musicians and organisations. My cultural landscape has disappeared and I'm moving through new and alien territory.  read more »

In my work, I often think about change – how to manage it, inspire it, and lead it. But changing the systems within which we operate often involves changing minds and shifting paradigms.

Last Friday, the Calgary Arts Development team had the opportunity to have breakfast with Johann Zietsman, Executive Director of the Mesa Arts Center. Johann shared a story with us that I feel illustrates how the arts, and field bands specifically, can be a powerful catalyst in shifting paradigms and transforming lives.  read more »

I left the comfortable environment of the Kensington Pub, last night, to go to my first (ever) Hip Hop dance class at SAIT. Stepping into the mirrored studio, I suddenly wished I hadn't declined the pint at the pub beforehand. Surrounded by fearless, young students (many with dance experience, by the way), I spent an hour blushing compulsively, tripping over myself, and laughing my way through the body waves. It was a humbling experience. I see the need to practice in my living room or in a local dance club near you. So watch out, Calgary!

Speaking of hip hop, did you know that one of the two actors in the last (fantastic) show at The Grand, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, is also a Belgian rap star? Check this out! His name is Pitcho Womba Konga and he has a website and a MySpace. When I was testing out my Hip Hop moves at Broken City last weekend, the DJ played one of his songs, which I thought was pretty darn cool.  read more »

Last Night I had the pleasure of watching the thought provoking documentary Good Copy Bad Copy about the current state of copyright and culture (hop on BitTorrent and download the XviD: the film's creators want you to).  read more »

The danish filmmakers take a very global approach and interviewed Swedish pirates, Nigerian film producers, and Brazilian Tecno Brega artists. Not to mention famous folks like Danger Mouse, Girl Talk, and Laurence Lessig. (Speaking of Laurence Lessig, if you haven't read Free Culture yet, put it on your list; it's a free CC licensed download.)