Navigate the past and present of Calgary with Lougheed House! This Spring, Mapping History: The Calgary Atlas Project brings the maps of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities' Atlas Project to life at Lougheed House.
When: April 2 - May 17
Where: 707 13th Ave SW
Cost: Included in museum admission
Each map is literally a work of art, carefully crafted by local Calgarians like queer history expert, Kevin Allen, folk artist Karen Mills, and literary historian Shaun Hunter. From the Bison Robe that creates the First Nations Stampede map to the tapestry that weaves Making Place: A Map of Black Calgary, you’ll explore the art behind the paper here at the House from April 2nd until May 16th.
As if that weren’t enough, the artists themselves will be leading a series of tours, workshops, speaker series, and more to take you down to the basemap of the city you know and love. We guarantee you’ll re-emerge with a totally new view of Calgary, the people who give it so many living layers, and the many means of mapmaking.
Step into the Map
pROGRAMS & eVENTS
Mapping History Exhibit Launch Party
April 2, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Free - registration recommended
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Step into the map with us as we celebrate the opening of Mapping History: The Calgary Atlas Project at Lougheed House.
Fill a plate with snacks, grab a drink at the bar, and explore the maps and their accompanying art pieces displayed throughout the museum! We’ll keep the party going from 6:30 pm (doors at 6:15 pm) until 8:30 pm.
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is recommended.
Queer History Artist Workshop
April 10, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
$20 per person - registration required
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In this workshop, participants will be introduced to key dates, locations, and people in Calgary's queer history, drawing on the research of local historian Kevin Allen and the artistic interpretation of that history by August Klintberg.
You will encounter visual culture of nightlife, social spaces, businesses, and more related to these histories. Klintberg will demonstrate ways his own artistic practice has drawn on queer Canadian print. You will work alone or in groups to make your own commemorative fabric patches (either sewn or hand painted/drawn on material) related to a place, idea, or person you want to celebrate from the regions 2SLGBTQIA+ communities!
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This event is $20 per person. Registration is required.About August Klintberg:
August Klintberg (formerly Mark Clintberg) is an artist who works in the field of art history, and is an Associate Professor at the Alberta University of the Arts. His research studies queer archives and print networks, artworks that highlight the non-visual senses, and sensory accessibility in exhibitions and museums. He is currently writing about frottage as technique, sexual practice, and metaphor in contemporary Canadian art.
Beltline Gay History Walk
April 18, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Free - registration required
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Kevin Allen’s Beltline Gay History Walkuncovers the rich, often overlooked queer history of Calgary’s Beltline.
This guided walk highlights key sites of activism, social spaces, and everyday life that were central to the city’s 2SLGBTQ+ community. Through storytelling and place-based history, participants gain a deeper understanding of how queer people built connection, visibility, and resilience in the heart of Calgary—including the gay history of the Lougheed House itself!
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is required.About Kevin Allen:
Kevin is a fourth-generation Calgarian who has documented and profiled queer people and events for more than 30 years. Kevin started the Calgary Gay History Project in 2012 to uncover and preserve stories from Calgary’s 2SLGBTQ+ past (www.calgarygayhistory.ca). The Project has achieved national recognition and led to the award-winning documentary film Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story, the best-selling book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary, and the inaugural Calgary Atlas Project’s A Queer Map.
Calgary's Architecture in 40 Buildings: Behind the Map
April 21, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Free - registration required
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From the creators of Calgary's Architecture in 40 Buildings, join us for a talk with Graham Livesay, Phil Vandermey and Jessie Andjelic on the creation of the map and the 40 different buildings represented within.
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is required.
Mapping the Literary Geography of 1920s Calgary: A City-building Story
April 23, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Free - registration required
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A century ago, Calgary was considered a “city of romance” — a unique and storied place brimming with literary inspiration. Join author and public historian Shaun Hunter at this free evening talk as she explores how the city captured the imagination of writers and other city builders during an overlooked decade in Calgary’s history.
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is required.About Shaun Hunter:
Shaun Hunter is a Calgary writer, reader and public historian passionate about the city’s literary landscape. Her 2018 book Calgary Through the Eyes of Writers offers a reader’s journey around Calgary, from before its beginnings to the contemporary city. During her term as 2020 Historian in Residence at the Calgary Public Library, Shaun created a digital literary map of the city now marking over 600 sites. Her work has been featured in an exhibit at the Lougheed House, in the map “City of Romance: The Literary World of 1920s Calgary” with the Calgary Atlas Project, and on guided walks and presentations.
Map Launch Party
April 30, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Free - registration required
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Eager to see what new map the Atlas Project has created? Join us in launching the next map in the series - more details coming soon!
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is required
A Century of Worker’s Rights: Calgary’s Labour History Walk
May 2, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Free - registration required
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This 90-minute walking tour, beginning and ending at Lougheed House, will cover about 3 kilometres of distance and more than a century of history, discussing some of the major events in Calgary's labour history from the formation of Calgary's first union in 1886 to the teacher's strike of 2025.
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is required.About Kirk Niergarth:
Kirk Niergarth has taught Canadian history at Mount Royal University in Calgary since 2011. He is the author of The Dignity of Every Human Being: New Brunswick Artists and Canadian Culture between the Great Depression and the Cold War (2015), and is co editor of the journal Labour/Le Travail. He first gave a labour history walking tour of Calgary in 2016 and continues to learn new and surprising things about the history of workers and their organizations in this city.
Illustrate the Past: Using Photographs and Texts
May 16, 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Free - registration required
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Bring the past to life through traditional hand sketching using photography as a reference! This workshop, led by artist Karen Jeane Mills, will guide you through the theory and practice of transforming photos into hand sketches. You can expect an emphasis on local history, Calgary art traditions, and respectful representation while you explore a new, old art style! All materials are provided.
Inspired to explore Calgary through new eyes? Pick up a copy of any of the maps on display from the gift shop and prepare to get to know the city in a whole new way!
This is a FREE event. Registration is required.About Karen Mills:
Karen Jeane Mills is an illustrator based in Calgary, Alberta. She studied art at NSCAD University and graphic design at NSCC, both in Nova Scotia. Within her freelance studio Prairie Crop Design, she creates art pieces, brand suites, and education resources drawing on local history, the prairie bioregion, and public life.
About Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH):
Created at the University of Calgary in 1976, the CIH has a proud history of supporting research excellence in the humanities for 50 yeas. One of their key works is the Calgary Atlas Project, which seeks to recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that illuminate in surprising ways the character and diversity of the city. Forgotten or overlooked stories from Calgary’s history are mapped onto the city’s geography, highlighting significant sites, events, and people in Calgary’s past. Ultimately the project will produce eighteen to twenty maps, spanning the earliest moments of habitation and settlement to the latest re-developments in the East Village.
About Lougheed House:
Lougheed House was built in 1891 by Senator James A. Lougheed and his wife, Lady Isabella Hardisty Lougheed. Over its long life, the House evolved to meet the needs of a changing city and world. After a decade-long, citizen-led restoration, the House opened to the public as a museum in 2005. Today, the House and Gardens are an immersive historic site and vibrant community hub.
History comes to life through permanent and temporary exhibits, themed house tours, compelling speaker series, and hands-on, inquiry-based school group programs. The House builds community through free and low-cost community programs like trivia nights, craft workshops, artisan markets, and Santa Comes to Lougheed House. A proud backyard to our Beltline community, the gorgeous Beaulieu Gardens welcome 100,000 people (and numerous neighbourhood pups) every year.
Mapping History: The Calgary Atlas Project is on exhibition in partnership with the Calgary Institute for the Humanities.
Funding generously provided for this project by the City of Calgary.
