Upcoming Events and Workshops
Home Residency - Artist Talk with Kseniia Koshmai, Ezgi Türker and Shea Iles
FREE, please register
Join HOME Residency artists Kseniia Koshmai, Ezgi Türker, and Shea Iles for an artist talk exploring memory, belonging, play, and the many meanings of home. Kseniia will speak about her miniature paintings on wooden objects as containers for memory and personal stories, while Ezgi will share her project "Letters from/to my homes", an intimate correspondence between past and present selves. Shea will share how beadwork, music, and games come together in his practice as ways of exploring heritage, pattern, improvisation, and relationship. Together, the artists will reflect on how home and identity can be carried through objects, letters, gestures, sound, and play.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
“Letters from/to my homes” Workshop with Ezgi Türker
Tickets $0-$25, please register
This workshop invites participants to address their personal homes by writing letters. A lived home or a home yet to come, or an imagined home. A past or future self, a person, the land and the inhabitants of the land. We’ll write together to write letters where we find refuge and we’ll listen to letters from these ‘homes’.
This workshop is facilitated by resident artist, Ezgi Türker, who is working on her project “Letters from/to my homes”. This project began as an intimate exchange between her two selves: one who remains in Istanbul and one who now lives in Calgary/Mohkinstsis. Through this correspondence, she reflects on memory, longing, and the simultaneous act of losing and creating home. Each letter becomes a dialogue between two temporal selves, reimagining the parallel lives that might have unfolded elsewhere.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 at Sparrow Artspace and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
What Do You Carry When Home Changes? Workshop with Jona Redwood
Tickets $0-$25, please register
This hands-on workshop invites participants to explore their personal understanding of home through reflection and making. Guided by prompts and material exploration, participants will create a small, intentional object using fiber, thread, and mixed materials inspired by dreamcatcher techniques. Rather than focusing on traditional forms, the workshop emphasizes personal meaning—what we hold onto, what we release, and how our sense of home evolves over time.
Participants are invited to bring in their own artifact or trinket to represent what home means to them or what they would want to contribute to the idea. We will also have lots of supplies on-hand as well. Participants will have the option to contribute their piece to a collaborative installation within the exhibition or take it home. Taught by artist-in-residence Jona Redwood.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Cyanotype Workshop: Experimenting with Paper and Fabric
$70, please register, ages 15+
This workshop expands the cyanotype process onto several kinds of paper and fabrics, using the different materials to create different results. Using both botanical materials and photographic imagery, participants will explore how light, texture can create different results to your cyanotype prints.
You will learn which fabrics and papers work best for cyanotype printing, and which to avoid, while being guided through the full process of preparing the surface, arranging compositions, exposing prints, and developing final results. Through a series of small studies, participants will build a collection of samples that highlight the unique qualities of cyanotype on cloth.
After experimenting we will print a composition in a mini canvas bag, that you can take home to store the samples we created.
All materials are included - but you can bring flowers and leaves! No experience necessary.
Stitch & B.I.T.C.H (Brave, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing) Circle
FREE - please register, for WOMEN ages 18+
Join us for an empowering women's circle at Sparrow Artspace.
Hey ladies! Join us for Stitch & B.I.T.C.H, a cozy in-person gathering where you can create while you connect with other amazing women. Bring your favorite project or just show up for good vibes and great company. Let's laugh, share stories, and create together in this welcoming circle. Can’t wait to see you there! Donations welcome but not mandatory.
Limited supply of crafting materials available for those wanting to try a new craft.
Free parking available in lot across the street. Located on bus routes #90 and #4/5.
Game Night: Parallel Play with Shea Iles
Tickets $0-$25, please register
During his performances/workshop/hang session, Shea Iles invites folks from the audience to join him on stage to play a solo card game while he improvises on guitar alongside them. (If you don't know any solitaire games, that's okay — Shea will teach everyone a really easy one at the start so that anyone can have a turn.) This is a kind of collaboration he has come to really enjoy: two people doing their own thing, side by side, connected only by circumstance. Shea will also talk about why he loves games, what he thinks they can do, and how he's working to integrate them into his artistic practice.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Cyanotype Workshop: Bleaching, Toning & Wet Cyanotypes
$70, please register, ages 15+
In this experimental workshop, participants will explore how water, bleaching, and toning can transform cyanotype prints on paper. Moving beyond the traditional process, we will embrace unpredictability to create expressive and varied results.
Participants will begin with a brief review of cyanotype printing on paper before experimenting with wet techniques—using water during the developing stage to alter tones, create movement, and introduce unexpected textures. We will also explore bleaching and toning methods using everyday materials such as coffee and a variety of teas, shifting the classic blue into a range of earthy colours.
Through a series of small studies, you will build a collection of sample prints that reflect each technique. This workshop encourages curiosity, play, and a willingness to explore the unexpected.
You will leave with a selection of unique cyanotype samples and the knowledge to continue experimenting with wet processes and toning methods on your own.
All materials are included - but you can bring flowers and leaves!
No experience necessary.
Tiny Homes Workshop with Kseniia Koshnai
Tickets $0-$25, please register
This workshop invites participants to reflect on what home means to them through painting. Each person will create a small wooden box inspired by a memory, a place, a feeling, or something important. Participants will be guided through simple painting techniques and supported in developing their ideas. The focus is on creating something personal and meaningful rather than perfect. Each box becomes a small container for a story. Participants leave with an object they can keep and carry as a piece of home.
This workshop is facilitated by resident artist Kseniia Koshmai, whose practice explores memory, belonging, and the idea of carrying home within. Through her work with miniature painting on wooden objects, she creates pieces that connect people with their personal stories and the warmth of their memories.
No experience required and all supplies will be provided.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Home Residency - Artist Talk with Jona Redwood and Yu Chen
FREE, please register
Join HOME Residency artists Jona Redwood and Yu Chen for an artist talk exploring identity, belonging, cultural memory, and the personal meanings carried through handcrafted objects and portraiture. Jona will share their practice creating dreamcatchers, jewelry, and interactive craft experiences as intentional forms of grounding, self-expression, mindfulness, and connection. Yu Chen will speak about her oil painting practice, which uses portraiture and traditional attire to explore immigrant identity, cultural exchange, and collaboration. Together, the artists will reflect on how art can hold personal stories, honour cultural meaning, and create space for connection across lived experiences.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Artists Trading Cards for NEWCOMERS
FREE - please register, All ages welcome (accompanied by an adult), no experience necessary.
Join us at Sparrow Artspace for a fun and creative event where you can make and trade your own Artists Trading Cards with other newcomers in Calgary! This is a great way to meet fellow newcomers and creatives, share your work, and connect with the local art community. All suplies will be provided.
Board members Yiting Hui and Sandra Neill will be in attendance to answer any questions about our artists-in-residence program and connect newcomers to other artists resources in the community!
What Are Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)?Artist Trading Cards are miniature works of art measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches—the size of a standard playing card. Originating in the 1990s, the ATC movement began in Switzerland with artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who envisioned a way for artists to exchange their creations without monetary transactions. The concept quickly gained global popularity, fostering artistic expression and collaboration. Today, ATCs are celebrated as an inclusive and accessible way to share art and build connections within creative communities.
Basic Cyanotype & Memory-Making
$70, please register, ages 15+
In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore ways of preserving the beauty of our short Calgary summer through the historic cyanotype process. Using locally gathered botanical materials, we will create a series of rich blue-and-white prints that capture details of seasonal plant life.
Participants will learn about the history of cyanotypes and be guided through each step of the process, including preparing paper, composing images, exposing prints, and developing the final works. Along the way, we will reflect on the act of noticing—paying attention to small, often overlooked details in the landscape as a way of documenting and preserving our experience of summer in the city.
Using some of the samples created, each participant will create a small handmade book of botanical cyanotypes, designed to be stored in a tin. This becomes a personal archive of the season, bringing together individual prints into a meaningful and personal collection.
All materials are included - but you can bring flowers and leaves! No experience necessary.
Multicultural Life Drawing with Yu Chen
Tickets $0-$25, please register
This drawing session invites participants to draw from life while models wear traditional attire from different cultural backgrounds. The session focuses on close observation of form, texture, and detail, while also encouraging awareness of the cultural context behind what is being drawn. Open to all levels (no instruction will be given), it creates a relaxed and inclusive environment for artistic practice and cultural exchange. Bring your own supplies and we will also have some art supplies on-hand. Hosted by artist-in-residence Yu Chen.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
HOME Opening Reception
Free, please register
Join artists-in-residency Kseniia Koshmai, Yu Chen, Jona Redwood, Shea Iles and Ezgi Turker for the reception of HOME residency, which creates space for dialogue between these perspectives, fostering connection while honouring the distinct histories, relationships, and experiences each artist carries.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Game Night: Parallel Play with Shea Iles
Tickets $0-$25, please register
During his performances/workshop/hang session, Shea Iles invites folks from the audience to join him on stage to play a solo card game while he improvises on guitar alongside them. (If you don't know any solitaire games, that's okay — Shea will teach everyone a really easy one at the start so that anyone can have a turn.) This is a kind of collaboration he has come to really enjoy: two people doing their own thing, side by side, connected only by circumstance. Shea will also talk about why he loves games, what he thinks they can do, and how he's working to integrate them into his artistic practice.
This is part of the HOME residency in July/August 2026 and gratefully funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Stitch & B.I.T.C.H (Brave, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing) Circle
FREE - please register, for WOMEN ages 18+
Join us for an empowering women's circle at Sparrow Artspace.
Hey ladies! Join us for Stitch & B.I.T.C.H, a cozy in-person gathering where you can create while you connect with other amazing women. Bring your favorite project or just show up for good vibes and great company. Let's laugh, share stories, and create together in this welcoming circle. Can’t wait to see you there! Donations welcome but not mandatory.
Limited supply of crafting materials available for those wanting to try a new craft.
Free parking available in lot across the street. Located on bus routes #90 and #4/5.
Artists Trading Cards: Trash!
FREE, all ages (accompanied by an adult), please register
Turn trash into art - create and trade mini artworks made from recycled materials! Bring your own trash or use ours!
Artists Trading Cards are miniature works of art, created by hand and exchanged with others—tiny canvases that spark conversation, connection, and creativity. No prior art experience is needed, and people of all ages and backgrounds are welcome. All supplies are provided, with a wide range of materials—from paints and markers to collage paper, and, trash of course.
**ATC show here by Lorraine Stratkotter
What Are Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)?Artist Trading Cards are miniature works of art measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches—the size of a standard playing card. Originating in the 1990s, the ATC movement began in Switzerland with artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who envisioned a way for artists to exchange their creations without monetary transactions. The concept quickly gained global popularity, fostering artistic expression and collaboration. Today, ATCs are celebrated as an inclusive and accessible way to share art and build connections within creative communities.
Sparrow Pop-Up!
Free, drop-in, Stephen Avenue
Introducing SPARROW POP-UP — free art, out in the community! 🌳
This summer, Sparrow Arts Society is bringing free, drop-in art-making right to Calgary's community markets and public spaces. No experience, no required skills, no cost — just show up, make something, and meet the working artists behind it. Every pop-up is co-designed with our artists-in-residence, so what you create connects to real, living artistic practice. All ages, all skill levels, all welcome.
📅 WHERE TO FIND US
📍 The Downtown Markets — Stephen Avenue (@thedowntownmarkets)
Tuesday, June 23 · ⏰ 11am–6pm 📌 Stephen Ave (8 Ave SW), Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: Ellie Ryan 🤝 Sparrow board: Sandra Neill ✨Theme: Sep, Sew Sprawl - sewing fabric apples
📍 Bridgeland Riverside Farmers' Market
Thursday, June 25 · ⏰ 3:30–7:30pm 📌 917 Centre Ave NE, Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: Page Cowell 🤝 Sparrow board: Jamie Mason ✨Theme: Sep, Sew Sprawl - sewing fabric apples
📍 Canopy Art Market (@canopyartandwellness)
Sunday, June 28 · ⏰ 1:30–7pm 📌 Canopy Studios, 1723 9 St SW, Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: TBA 🤝 Sparrow board: Mellissa Fonseca
📍 Canada Cultural Day (@cityofcalgary)
Wednesday, July 1 · ⏰ 11am–5pm 📌 Sien Lok Park, Riverfront Ave & 1 St SW, Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: Ezgi Turker 🤝 Sparrow board: Danielle Piper, Dorothea Buchlinski & Sandra Neill ✨ Theme: HOME — Badges & Beads
📍 Bridgeland Riverside Farmers' Market
Thursday, July 2 · ⏰ 3:30–7:30pm 📌 917 Centre Ave NE, Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: Jona Redwood 🤝 Sparrow board: TBD
📍 Dalhousie Farmers' Market 🗓 Thursday, July 9 · ⏰ 3:30–7:30pm 📌 Dalhousie Community Centre, 5432 Dalhart Rd NW, Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: Yu Chen 🤝 Sparrow board: TBD
📍 Heritage Park Market Nights 🗓 Saturday, July 11 · ⏰ 12–6pm 📌 Heritage Park Plaza, 1900 Heritage Dr SW, Calgary 🎨 Featured artist: Kseniia 🤝 Sparrow board: TBD
Cyanotype Summer Series #3: Out of the Blue: Wet Cyanotypes & Toning
For adults, no experience required, $70 - please register
This workshop expands the cyanotype process onto several kinds of paper and fabrics, using the different materials to create different results. Using both botanical materials and photographic imagery, participants will explore how light, texture can create different results to your cyanotype prints.
You will learn which fabrics and papers work best for cyanotype printing, and which to avoid, while being guided through the full process of preparing the surface, arranging compositions, exposing prints, and developing final results. Through a series of small studies, participants will build a collection of samples that highlight the unique qualities of cyanotype on cloth.
After experimenting we will print a composition in a small canvas bag, that you can take home to store the samples we created.
-
Cyanotype is basically a SUN PRINT. It is a photograph printing technique which involves adding a photo sensitive solution to paper or fabric, layering plants or other objects on top of it to create a resist (or shadow), and exposing it in the sun. After that the print is rinsed in water to develop it. It produces interesting artistic images in a beautiful cyan blue.
This three-part workshop we will learn and explore the cyanotype process through paper and fabric, moving from foundational techniques to experimental approaches. Together, we will document the fleeting qualities of summer while developing hands-on skills in alternative photography.
In all three workshops we will be exposing our prints in SUN LIGHT, although we will also have a UV light inside as an alternative in case of bad weather.
Each workshop can be taken individually or as part of the full series.
-
Ana Zanella is a Calgary-based mixed media artist with a passion for exploring new techniques and materials. She was drawn to cyanotype for its experimental nature and the beautiful unpredictability of the process. For many years, Ana has used cyanotype as a way to document her travels and everyday life, creating prints that capture moments and memories. During the workshop, she will share a selection of her cyanotype works and insights into her creative process.
Cyanotype Summer Series #2: True Blue: Cyanotype Experimenting with Paper and Fabric
For adults, no experience required, $70 - please register
This workshop expands the cyanotype process onto several kinds of paper and fabrics, using the different materials to create different results. Using both botanical materials and photographic imagery, participants will explore how light, texture can create different results to your cyanotype prints.
You will learn which fabrics and papers work best for cyanotype printing, and which to avoid, while being guided through the full process of preparing the surface, arranging compositions, exposing prints, and developing final results. Through a series of small studies, participants will build a collection of samples that highlight the unique qualities of cyanotype on cloth.
After experimenting we will print a composition in a small canvas bag, that you can take home to store the samples we created.
-
Cyanotype is basically a SUN PRINT. It is a photograph printing technique which involves adding a photo sensitive solution to paper or fabric, layering plants or other objects on top of it to create a resist (or shadow), and exposing it in the sun. After that the print is rinsed in water to develop it. It produces interesting artistic images in a beautiful cyan blue.
This three-part workshop we will learn and explore the cyanotype process through paper and fabric, moving from foundational techniques to experimental approaches. Together, we will document the fleeting qualities of summer while developing hands-on skills in alternative photography.
In all three workshops we will be exposing our prints in SUN LIGHT, although we will also have a UV light inside as an alternative in case of bad weather.
Each workshop can be taken individually or as part of the full series.
-
Ana Zanella is a Calgary-based mixed media artist with a passion for exploring new techniques and materials. She was drawn to cyanotype for its experimental nature and the beautiful unpredictability of the process. For many years, Ana has used cyanotype as a way to document her travels and everyday life, creating prints that capture moments and memories. During the workshop, she will share a selection of her cyanotype works and insights into her creative process.
Artists Reception: Seep, Sew, Sprawl
FREE, drop-in
Join artists-in-residency Ellie Ryan & Page Cowell for the reception of SEEP, SEW, SPRAWL: an exhibition investigating the resilience of nature in urban environments through immersive, kinetic installations.
Stitch & B.I.T.C.H (Brave, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing) Circle
FREE - please register, for WOMEN ages 18+
Sitch & B.I.T.C.H Circle (Bold, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing)
Hey ladies! Join us for a cozy, come-as-you-choose space for WOMEN only who crave connection, creativity, and candid conversations. Whether you are stitching, creating, conspiring, or sipping tea and taking it all in, this is the space for you.
Please note that this is a CHILDREN free space
Cyanotype Summer Series #1: Happy Blues: Cyanotype & Memory-Making
For adults, no experience required, $70 - please register
In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore ways of preserving the beauty of our short Calgary summer through the historic cyanotype process. Using locally gathered botanical materials, we will create a series of rich blue-and-white prints that capture details of seasonal plant life.
Participants will learn about the history of cyanotypes and be guided through each step of the process, including preparing paper, composing images, exposing prints, and developing the final works. Along the way, we will reflect on the act of noticing—paying attention to small, often overlooked details in the landscape as a way of documenting and preserving our experience of summer in the city.
Using some of the samples created, each participant will create a small handmade book of botanical cyanotypes, designed to be stored in a tin. This becomes a personal archive of the season, bringing together individual prints into a meaningful and personal collection.
You will leave with a completed mini book of cyanotype images, along with the knowledge and confidence to continue exploring and documenting the natural landscape in seasons to come.
-
Cyanotype is basically a SUN PRINT. It is a photograph printing technique which involves adding a photo sensitive solution to paper or fabric, layering plants or other objects on top of it to create a resist (or shadow), and exposing it in the sun. After that the print is rinsed in water to develop it. It produces interesting artistic images in a beautiful cyan blue.
This three-part workshop we will learn and explore the cyanotype process through paper and fabric, moving from foundational techniques to experimental approaches. Together, we will document the fleeting qualities of summer while developing hands-on skills in alternative photography.
In all three workshops we will be exposing our prints in SUN LIGHT, although we will also have a UV light inside as an alternative in case of bad weather.
Each workshop can be taken individually or as part of the full series.
-
Ana Zanella is a Calgary-based mixed media artist with a passion for exploring new techniques and materials. She was drawn to cyanotype for its experimental nature and the beautiful unpredictability of the process. For many years, Ana has used cyanotype as a way to document her travels and everyday life, creating prints that capture moments and memories. During the workshop, she will share a selection of her cyanotype works and insights into her creative process.
Intro to Projection Mapping
PWYC ($10+), for adults, please register
Projection mapping uses everyday projectors to transform space and objects into interactive displays and captivating 3D video content. This workshop teaches the very basics of projection mapping, serving as an easy entry point for all levels, from going over projectors to learning the software (MadMapper). Taught by artist-in-residence Ellie Ryan.
Women in Photography Print Exchange: Renewal
FREE, please register
Looking to meet fellow photographers, while making female friends who share your passions and interest? So are we! Whether you are a professional, semi-professional or passionate hobbyist, we want to get to know you and what you love to photograph. Bring yourself, bring your friends — this one is for the ladies!
The evening will start with refreshments and the opportunity to mingle and get to know each other. Then we’ll move into the print exchange.
How does that work? Please bring an 8 x 10 print in an envelope exploring the theme of “Renewal.” The anonymous print will be placed on a central table. The envelopes will be shuffled and handed-out at random. When you get a print, share with the group what you love about it! (Kind words only, this is not a critique but a celebration!) Then the photographer will reveal themselves, talk a little about the print, and about their work in general.
Once all the prints have been exchanged, guests are welcome to stay and chat, and hopefully make a new friend or two along the way.
Animating at Home: A Beginner’s Animation Workshop for Families
FAMILY WORKSHOP: For kids 7-13 AND an adults, registration
This hands-on workshop introduces children ages 7–13 (plus an adult) to the magic of animation! From character design and drawing to stop motion and photography, participants will learn how to bring their ideas to life on screen using accessible software and materials. Perfect for beginners, this session encourages imagination, storytelling, and plenty of fun. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring a phone or tablet if possible. Kids must be accompanied by an adults. Taught by artist-in-residence Page Cowell.
Artists Trading Cards for NEWCOMERS
FREE - please register, All ages welcome (accompanied by an adult), no experience necessary.
Join us at Sparrow Artspace for a fun and creative event where you can make and trade your own Artists Trading Cards with other newcomers in Calgary! This is a great way to meet fellow newcomers and creatives, share your work, and connect with the local art community. All suplies will be provided.
Board members Yiting Hui and Sandra Neill will be in attendance to answer any questions about our artists-in-residence program and connect newcomers to other artists resources in the community!
What Are Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)?Artist Trading Cards are miniature works of art measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches—the size of a standard playing card. Originating in the 1990s, the ATC movement began in Switzerland with artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who envisioned a way for artists to exchange their creations without monetary transactions. The concept quickly gained global popularity, fostering artistic expression and collaboration. Today, ATCs are celebrated as an inclusive and accessible way to share art and build connections within creative communities.
Stitch & B.I.T.C.H (Brave, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing) Circle
FREE - please register, for WOMEN ages 18+
Sitch & B.I.T.C.H Circle (Bold, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing)
Hey ladies! Join us for a cozy, come-as-you-choose space for WOMEN only who crave connection, creativity, and candid conversations. Whether you are stitching, creating, conspiring, or sipping tea and taking it all in, this is the space for you.
Please note that this is a CHILDREN free space
Floral memories: An Introduction to Hairwork
For adults, no art experience required, FREE with Registration
In this workshop, participants will explore the historic craft of hairwork while creating delicate floral forms from horsehair. Drawing from Victorian traditions, the session introduces a foundational technique for shaping sculptural flowers with this unusual material. Participants are encouraged to reflect on themes of intimacy, memory, and the body, considering how personal associations can be woven into the making process. No prior experience is required; all materials and step-by-step guidance will be provided. Taught by artist-in-residence Claudia Chagoya.
Closing Reception for Share Flight Collective
FREE, drop-in
To conclude the residency, the Shared Flight Collective invites the public to an open evening bringing together the works, ideas, and encounters that emerged during the residency. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the artistic processes of Doro Buch, Diana Olarte, and Claudia Chagoya and experience how the project developed over time. The closing reception is a moment for exchange and reflection—an opportunity to meet the artists, look back on the residency together, and celebrate the connections created with the community. Everyone is warmly invited to join.
Calgary Artists Studio Tour
Fri May 1: 4-8pm
Sat May 2: 12-5pm
Sun May 3: 12-5pm
FREE, drop-in
In conjunction with the Calgary Artists Studio Tour!
During their April–May residency at Sparrow Artspace, the artists of the Shared Flight Collective will open their studio practice to visitors and are pleased to be part of the Calgary Artists Studio Tour from May 1–3. The Calgary Artists Studio Tour is a city-wide event that invites the public to explore working artist studios across Calgary. Visitors travel from studio to studio, discovering where artists create their work, seeing artworks in progress, and meeting the artists behind the work.
At Sparrow, the Shared Flight Collective — three international artists working across borders — is exploring stories of migration, movement, and belonging, with birds as poetic guides along the way.
During the Studio Tour weekend, visitors can stop by to meet the artists, exchange stories, see works in progress, and contribute to a shared piece — leave a mark, leave a story.
Throughout the residency, the studio will also have open doors at different moments, but the Calgary Artists Studio Tour weekend (May 1–3) is a special opportunity to visit Sparrow as part of the city-wide tour. Visitors can plan their route using the free Toureka! app or the interactive map provided by the Calgary Artists Studio Tour.
Calgary Artists Studio Tour
Fri May 1: 4-8pm
Sat May 2: 12-5pm
Sun May 3: 12-5pm
FREE, drop-in
In conjunction with the Calgary Artists Studio Tour!
During their April–May residency at Sparrow Artspace, the artists of the Shared Flight Collective will open their studio practice to visitors and are pleased to be part of the Calgary Artists Studio Tour from May 1–3. The Calgary Artists Studio Tour is a city-wide event that invites the public to explore working artist studios across Calgary. Visitors travel from studio to studio, discovering where artists create their work, seeing artworks in progress, and meeting the artists behind the work.
At Sparrow, the Shared Flight Collective — three international artists working across borders — is exploring stories of migration, movement, and belonging, with birds as poetic guides along the way.
During the Studio Tour weekend, visitors can stop by to meet the artists, exchange stories, see works in progress, and contribute to a shared piece — leave a mark, leave a story.
Throughout the residency, the studio will also have open doors at different moments, but the Calgary Artists Studio Tour weekend (May 1–3) is a special opportunity to visit Sparrow as part of the city-wide tour. Visitors can plan their route using the free Toureka! app or the interactive map provided by the Calgary Artists Studio Tour.
Calgary Artists Studio Tour
Fri May 1: 4-8pm
Sat May 2: 12-5pm
Sun May 3: 12-5pm
FREE, drop-in
In conjunction with the Calgary Artists Studio Tour!
During their April–May residency at Sparrow Artspace, the artists of the Shared Flight Collective will open their studio practice to visitors and are pleased to be part of the Calgary Artists Studio Tour from May 1–3. The Calgary Artists Studio Tour is a city-wide event that invites the public to explore working artist studios across Calgary. Visitors travel from studio to studio, discovering where artists create their work, seeing artworks in progress, and meeting the artists behind the work.
At Sparrow, the Shared Flight Collective — three international artists working across borders — is exploring stories of migration, movement, and belonging, with birds as poetic guides along the way.
During the Studio Tour weekend, visitors can stop by to meet the artists, exchange stories, see works in progress, and contribute to a shared piece — leave a mark, leave a story.
Throughout the residency, the studio will also have open doors at different moments, but the Calgary Artists Studio Tour weekend (May 1–3) is a special opportunity to visit Sparrow as part of the city-wide tour. Visitors can plan their route using the free Toureka! app or the interactive map provided by the Calgary Artists Studio Tour.
Artists Trading Cards: theme - HOME
FREE, please register
What does *home* mean to you? Is it a place, a memory, a community, or a feeling that lives within you? For some, home is where they’ve come from. For others, it’s where they are building a future. For some, home is deeply connected to ancestral land, traditions, and resilience.
Sparrow Artspace invites you to explore these ideas at an **Artists Trading Card (ATC) session**. ATCs are miniature works of art, created by hand and exchanged with others—tiny canvases that spark conversation, connection, and creativity.
This community art-making experience is connected to our upcoming **HOME Residency** in July/August 2026, which brings together newcomer and Indigenous artists to reflect on, reimagine, and share perspectives on home through art. Some of the artists will be in attendance at this trading card session.
Come create, share, and trade art that speaks to what HOME means to you. Leave with a pocket-sized collection of original artworks that hold many voices and many visions of home.
No prior art experience is needed, and people of all ages and backgrounds are welcome. All supplies are provided, with a wide range of materials—from paints and markers to collage paper, and more.
What Are Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)?Artist Trading Cards are miniature works of art measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches—the size of a standard playing card. Originating in the 1990s, the ATC movement began in Switzerland with artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who envisioned a way for artists to exchange their creations without monetary transactions. The concept quickly gained global popularity, fostering artistic expression and collaboration. Today, ATCs are celebrated as an inclusive and accessible way to share art and build connections within creative communities.
Red Dress Awareness Workshop
For Adults, no experience required, tickets by donation starting at $10
Create your own beaded or fabric red dress pin and learn about the significance of the red dress symbol in raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2-Spirit people. Artist Pearl White Quills will teach edge beading technique with other teachings and storytelling.
Pearl White Quills, from the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy), Niitsitapi(The Real People) Siksika, Kainai and Amskapi Piikani Nations. Blessed with the name Aa koa miyanist tsi'nih kiaki ~ Sings Many Different Songs Woman, Pearl is the owner and founder of Bright Swan Creations, which began simply with beads, needles, thread and earring hooks in 2008, bringing her skills back to life from childhood knowledge. By 2012, Pearl and her children began selling her beadwork on small displays walking around the pow wows. In 2013, she gained basic sewing skills. By 2016 drum and songs began to play a significant role in her life. In 2019 her and her grandson were initiated into pow wow.
Facilitating workshops in all these areas is the highlight to pass teachings on to many. Bright Swan Creations mission statement is: "Empowering First Nations in all forms of artistry having our Spirituality as the foundation. Inspiring healing throught unity, as one".
Stories Beneath the Surface – Inspired by Max Ernst
For adults & youth 16+, no art experience required, FREE with Registration
This workshop brings together storytelling and creative mixed media techniques to explore migration, movement, and personal pathways. It builds on the work of Max Ernst, a German artist and key figure of Dada and Surrealism, whose life and work were shaped by migration and exile. Ernst found playful and inventive ways to turn memory, movement, and personal experience into images, developing experimental techniques such as frottage, grattage, and decalcomania. In his paintings, ideas of migration and transformation often surface through bird figures and hybrid forms, where technique, biography, and imagination flow together.
These ideas and methods form the starting point for the workshop and invite participants into an open, creative journey of their own. Building on this approach, participants work with creative art techniques and collage, drawing from Max Ernst’s methods and way of working. The focus stays on the creative process: layering, shifting, combining, responding. Images unfold step by step, following their own rhythm and direction. Rather than aiming for a finished artwork, the workshop invites an open exploration, where one choice naturally leads to the next.
The workshop connects to the Shared Flight artist residency, which focuses on migration and on how individual and collective paths, stories, and experiences can take visual form. It is open to people with migration histories, as well as those who are curious to learn more about migration stories through creative painting, art history, and shared exchange. Taught by artist-in-residence Doro Buch.
Paisaje Interior / Inner Landscape
This is a 2-day workshop on Fri April 17 AND Fri April 24, 6-8pm
For adults & 16+, no art experience required, Free: Please Register
This workshop enables participants to explore the basic principles of watercolour and apply them to the creation of a monochromatic postcard inspired by the landscape, sky, or atmosphere of the place where they grew up. Working from memory and emotion, participants will translate personal experiences into visual form.
Taught by artist-in-residence Diana Olarte.
Opening Reception - Where The Wings Carry Us
FREE, drop-in
Join us at Sparrow Artspace for the opening of Where Wings Carry Us, a collaborative exhibition by the Shared Flight Collective — Diana Olarte, Claudia Chagoya and Doro Buch. We are three artists working between Calgary and Monterrey (Mexico), exploring migration not only as geography, but as emotion, identity, memory and resilience. We send unfinished artworks across borders and intervene in each other’s pieces — layering paint, thread, ink, and digital elements. Our process mirrors migration itself: identities shifting, stories overlapping, forms transforming through movement and connection.
Supported by Calgary Arts Development, this project grows from our shared interest in intercultural dialogue, co-creation, and artistic exchange across borders. Meet us and learn about upcoming workshops and collaboration opportunities. Come celebrate the beginning of this first chapter with us. Drinks and snacks provided. Everyone is welcome!
Stitch & B.I.T.C.H (Brave, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing) Circle
FREE - FREE - please register, for WOMEN ages 18+
Sitch & B.I.T.C.H Circle (Bold, Inspired, Thriving, Connected, Healing)
Hey ladies! Join us for a cozy, come-as-you-choose space for WOMEN only who crave connection, creativity, and candid conversations. Whether you are stitching, creating, conspiring, or sipping tea and taking it all in, this is the space for you.
Please note that this is a CHILDREN free space
