An Afternoon at the Glenbow Museum

Earlier this week I had to travel downtown to get my passport renewed, so I thought I might as well check out the Glenbow Museum down the street, as I hadn’t been to it yet.  I knew nothing about the museum going in, and what a lovely surprise it was!  It’s a museum of art and culture with both temporary and permanent exhibitions, currently showcasing a few exhibitions very unique to what I have seen before.  The permanent exhibitions were also of interest, particularly on the history of Calgary and Alberta.

Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta

Niitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life

The museum is divided into three floors; I started on the top floor and worked my way down.  I was so excited about being there that when I went into the first exhibition, I spent far too much time reading and absorbing everything presented that I ended up having to rush through a lot of the rest of the museum due to the limited amount of time I had.  In all honesty, I tend to do this at every museum I go to…perhaps it’s time I learned my lesson.  Thankfully in this case, however, I live in the same city as Glenbow so I have lots of time to return!  So I recommend pacing yourself, or if you are keen to read everything, then definitely plan for a full day visit, or plan to go multiple times. 

Where Symbols Meet: A Celebration of West African Achievement

Paul Hardy’s Kaleidoscope Animalia was my favourite exhibition by far.  From the perspective of a fashion and interior designer, Hardy created various life-sized shadow boxes, so to speak, featuring the influence of these perspectives and the relationships between social culture, animals, and eras.  The displays utilized symbolism and humour in both the art itself and the names of the pieces given.  The two pieces I most enjoyed were “Man’s Best Friend” for it’s humour and “Beyond the Looking Glass” for it’s interesting appeal and the fact that I felt I could relate to it on some level.  I highly recommend checking this exhibition out, which I believe will remain open until the spring of next year. 

The entrance to Kaleidoscope Animalia

Kaleidoscope Animalia

The two other temporary exhibitions were also worthwhile.  If all things strange and curious allure you, then Lyndal Osborne’s Cabinets of Curiosity is a fun place to wonder and experience stimulation through various senses.  Road Trips and Other Diversions, by David Thauberger, features acrylic with glitter paintings of landscape and common architecture, and some ceramic sculpture as well.  I could have stared at his painting, “Lake Reflecting Mountains”, for hours! 

Cabinets of Curiosity

All in all, a wonderful museum, and an even more wonderful way of making a trip to the over-crowded passport office much more worthwhile.