Providing a rich and engaging context for the recently reawakened Centennial Planetarium, Brutal Visions invites viewers to explore the history, architecture and future ambitions of Contemporary Calgary’s new home. The exhibition will provide an overview of brutalist architecture situating the Jack Long designed Planetarium, winner of a Massey Medal for Architecture, as one of Canada’s superlative examples of the movement. The project continues with a short survey of Canada’s 1967 Centennial building projects celebrating the Planetarium as Calgary’s officially designated contribution. With optimism and space exploration shaping the zeitgeist, the Centennial Planetarium captured the hearts and imaginations of our communities and continues to provoke strong sentiments some 50 years later. It’s only fitting that, today, the building transforms into Contemporary Calgary—a world class art gallery and community hub that continues to inspire and foster new perspectives of the world. With sketches and preliminary models, joined by historic photographs, original posters and artifacts, Brutal Visions revisits a past driven by raw honesty and optimism to serve as the foundation of a promising future.