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A roundtable discussion with Deeter Schurig, President and CEO of cSpace, Patti Pon, President and CEO of CADA, Sandra Vida, Artist and former Contract Administrator with Elephant Artist Relief Society, Larissa Tiggelers, Artist and Former Director of Stride Art Gallery, Frank Frigo, Leader, Watershed Analysis, Water Resources, City of Calgary, and artists and community leaders, Eveline Kolijn and Mandy Stobo.

Moderated by Katherine Ylitalo.

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The roundtable is part of a series titled I Remember the Flood organized by Contemporary Calgary to explore the devastating impact of the 2013 Calgary flood on art and artists, as well as our community at large. Considered one of the worst and costliest natural disasters in Canadian history, we revisit the herculean efforts of local leaders and organizations in the art community. The series is dedicated to individuals, who in the midst of chaos, through sheer determination and ingenuity effectively contained the damage and loss to artworks. 

The series is a public program of the two-part exhibition Everywhere We Are, that comprises several artworks damaged during the flood. The exhibition is co-curated by Contemporary Calgary and the University of Calgary Nickle Galleries. 

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MODERATOR

Katherine Ylitalo

Katherine Ylitalo was born in the settlement known as anaquashatanik to the Nacotchtanks of the area and grew up in various places in the world thanks to the diplomatic life of her parents. In 1986, she came to Calgary where she continues to work as a curator, writer, educator, garden historian and gardener. She experienced the flood and the time that followed directly as an instructor in the art department at the University of Calgary, the curator of the Bow Valley College collection, the wife of an artist whose work was in basement storage in the most severely impacted area of downtown, and a member of the arts Calgary community.

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PARTICIPANTS

Deeter Schurig

President & CEO, cSPACE Projects

Deeter is the President and CEO of cSPACE Projects, a social enterprise developing affordable and sustainable space for artists, non-profits and creative entrepreneurs. The award-winning cSPACE King Edward Arts Hub is the first in a network of large scale, multidisciplinary creative workspaces in Calgary. Building on his practice as a stage designer in theatre and opera projects for over a decade, Deeter also has a Masters in Architecture and a Strategic Leadership Certificate from Haskayne School of Business from the University of Calgary. These inform an inspired approach to designing, developing and managing spaces for creatives to thrive while building vibrant communities.

Eveline Kolijn

Eveline Kolijn is a printmaker and installation artist living and working in Calgary. 

She spent her childhood beachcombing along the shores of Venezuela and in her teens, diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean. These early experiences influenced her development as an artist and fostered her interest in the connections between art, science, environmental awareness, and climate change. 

Eveline received a MA in Cultural Anthropology from the Leiden University in the Netherlands and a BFA from the Alberta College of Art+ Design. She has participated in national and international exhibitions and residencies, public art projects and community engagement. 

Sandra Vida

Embracing a time-based, multi-disciplinary approach that explores innovative combinations of media, Calgary artist Sandra Vida has been an important contributor to the coming of age of performance, film and video practices. Her art work over the past three decades has been exhibited locally, regionally, and internationally. In addition to her art practice, she is known for her dedication to other artists through Calgary’s artist-run centres and as an advocate for the arts. She has been involved in leadership roles with such entities as The New Gallery, The Banff Centre, the University of Calgary, the Artist-Run Network, herland film & video collective,  and most recently, Elephant Artist Relief Society.

Frank Frigo

Frank is a Water Resources Engineer with over 24 years of experience focused on applied hydrology, hydraulics, river morphology, water quality, water control structures design and drainage systems design. As Leader of the Watershed Analysis section, Frank has driven flood mitigation, river flood preparedness planning and response, watershed monitoring, river morphology and fish habitat programs. He was directly involved in the preparation, emergency response, recovery and public engagement for the June 2013 flood. Frank has had deep involvement in Calgary’s flood resilience programs, having supported its strategic development and led key parts of the program working closely with other experts in water supply and source water protection. He holds a BSc. Eng. from University of Guelph 1995 and previously worked on water resources projects across Canada as an engineering consultant with firms based in Ontario and Alberta.

Mandy Stobo

Mandy Stobo is a visual artist living in Calgary, Alberta. The creator of Bad Portraits, an international project, Stobo splits her time between creating large scale Contemporary pieces, Live projection performances, illustration and design, animation and most recently she has landed in the world of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality content creation with a desire to combine low tech and high tech all while connecting with the viewer on an emotional level. Recently her Augmented Reality Portraits helped honour all the inductees at Canada’s Walk of Fame, an installation in the newest Westjet lounge and a few more surpises that she hopes will inspire. Never afraid to be vulnerable and always willing to tell stories in an authentic way, Stobo tries to relate to the hearts of others and allow space for everyone to discover, share and heal. Stobo loves big color and exploring a child-like aesthetic within her works. She devotes her world to her two boys and will never stop trying to prove to them that dreams can always come true. Find more about the artist at stoboart.com and on Instagram @badportraits.

Larissa Tiggelers

Larissa Tiggelers holds an MFA from the University of Guelph and a BFA with distinction from the Alberta University of the Arts. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, she served in a number of positions within Calgary-based artist-run centres, culminating her service in 2015 as the Director of Stride Gallery. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Regina on Treaty 4 lands. Tiggelers is represented by Norberg Hall Gallery in Calgary and Christie Contemporary in Toronto.

Patti Pon

Calgary Arts Development President & CEO Patti Pon (she/her/hers) is a veteran community and arts champion. Her extensive track record of leadership and service in Calgary include staff leadership positions at EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts (now Arts Commons), Alberta Performing Arts Stabilization Fund, and Alberta Theatre Projects, and volunteer positions with Calgary Foundation (board), Calgary Stampede (committee), the Asian Heritage Foundation of Southern Alberta (founding board member), imagineCalgary (steering committee), and CKUA Radio Network (board). In 2021 Patti was the first woman of colour to be appointed to the board of the Calgary Stampede. Patti has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal as well as the 2013 Harry and Martha Cohen Award, recognizing significant contribution to Calgary’s theatre community.

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