Tag Archives: art

Mapping History Exhibition Launch

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

The launch of Mapping History: The Calgary Atlas Project at Lougheed House is more than a conventional exhibition opening; it is a layered reimagining of how cities remember themselves. Running from April 2 to May 17, 2026, the exhibit transforms historical maps into immersive artworks, inviting visitors to explore Calgary through stories that are often overlooked or erased.

*The Lougheed House Exhibition runs April 2 – May 17 at 707 13 Ave SW.*

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) founded the Calgary Atlas Project ten years ago. The idea was to create maps that recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that illuminate, in surprising ways, the character and diversity of the city. Overlooked stories from Calgary’s history are mapped onto the city’s geography, highlighting significant sites, events, and people. This is cartography as a cultural practice, an evolving atlas of human experience.

We were delighted to be involved with the Calgary Atlas Project at its inception. A Queer Map: A Guide to the LGBTQ+ History of Calgary was notably the first map produced in the series. The queer map documents community spaces, activism, and everyday life, tracing a history that has often been underrepresented in official records. By mapping sites of resistance and belonging—from nightlife venues to organizing hubs—the project demonstrates how queer communities have shaped the city in both visible and hidden ways.

*The Queer Map Launch on November 21, 2019, with the CIH’s Jim Ellis, artist Mark Clintberg and historian Kevin Allen // Photo by Hesam Rezaei, The Gauntlet.*

The Lougheed House itself has queer history, as the site of the Fruit Loop. With that in mind, Mapping History has programmed special events such as August Klintberg’s Queer History Artist Workshop, which invites participants to engage directly with 2SLGBTQIA+ histories through creative practice, drawing on archival research and artistic interpretation.

Guided walks, like the Beltline Gay History Walk, take participants into the urban landscape itself, connecting archival knowledge to physical space. These experiences underscore a key idea: that history is not confined to museums but embedded in streets, buildings, and everyday environments.

For anyone interested in art, history, or community storytelling, this is an exhibition worth experiencing firsthand. Mapping History offers not just something to look at, but an opportunity to see Calgary differently and to understand how its stories have been shaped. Whether you attend a workshop, join a guided walk, or simply spend time with the maps themselves, the exhibition invites you to become part of the conversation.

{KA}

2 Comments

Posted in Gay history, Press Release

Tagged A Queer Map, art, August Klintberg, bisexual, books, Calgary, Calgary Atlas Project, Calgary Institute for the Humanities, CIH, gay, Gay history, Jim Ellis, Kevin Allen, lesbian, Lougheed House, Mapping History, photography, queer, transgender, writing

Freedom to Read: Why Calgary Libraries Are Standing Up for 2SLGBTQ+ Voices!

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

In an era where book bans are returning to North America, the Calgary Public Library’s “Freedom to Read” initiative stands as a powerful reminder that access to ideas matters. Rooted in the principle of intellectual freedom, the initiative highlights not only the importance of freedom of expression but also the growing challenges faced by 2SLGBTQ+ literature.

Each year, the library participates in Canada’s national Freedom to Read Week, a campaign that pushes back against censorship. Through curated displays, events, and outreach, the library encourages readers to engage with ideas that may challenge or expand their worldview. As CEO, Sarah Meilleur noted in a press release, libraries exist to provide access and not to filter viewpoints, because meaningful dialogue depends on exposure to difference.

One of the most compelling initiatives is the Central Library’s “Book Sanctuary,” which showcases titles that have been challenged or banned. The display is meant not only to inform, but to spark reflection. As the Library’s Leanne Hooper explains, “The Book Sanctuary is designed to raise awareness around the freedom to read and to share more about your right to access books that have been challenged or banned.” That mission feels especially urgent as censorship debates increasingly target books by and about 2SLGBTQ+ people.

A display at the Central Library’s Book Sanctuary. Photo: Calgary Public Library

In that vein, the Alberta Government has specifically targeted graphic novels such as Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and Flamer by Mike Curato, which explore identity, belonging, and coming-of-age experiences. Ironically, it is these same qualities that make them targets of social conservatives, with critics labelling them inappropriate and pornographic despite their literary and social value.

Efforts to remove “sexually explicit” material from the Alberta school libraries have disproportionately affected books with 2SLGBTQ+ themes, raising concerns among educators and limiting the diversity of stories available to young readers. And of course, when one reads the graphic novels listed above, the claim that they are pornographic is laughable {they were not on our radar before the ban, but we read them and found them incredibly tame—and excellent}.

Against this backdrop, Calgary Public Library’s stance is clear: banning books does not protect communities—it limits them. Intellectual freedom means ensuring access to a wide range of ideas, even those that may be controversial or challenging. These stories foster empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of one another.

Ultimately, the “Freedom to Read” initiative is about more than books. It is about protecting the right to explore identity, to question norms, and to hear voices that historically have been marginalized. By championing banned 2SLGBTQ+ literature, Calgary’s libraries are not just preserving stories—they are defending the idea that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and read.

{KA}

p.s. Here is a recent CBC video featuring Elamin Abdelmahmoud interviewing author Ira Wells, explaining why book banning initiative is ‘an affront to democracy.’

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged Alison Bechdel, art, bisexual, Book Sanctuary, books, calgary public library, CBC, Central Library, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Flamer, Freedom to Read, Fun Home, gay, Gender Queer, intellectual-freedom, Ira Wells, Leanne Hooper, lesbian, lgbt, Maia Kobabe, Mike Curato, queer, Sarah Meilleur, transgender

From the Calgary Winter Club to Olympic Ice

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

{This is part one in our Winter Olympic Series, written by William Bridel. Enjoy!}

Brian James Pockar was born in Calgary on October 27, 1959. He began skating as a young boy at the Calgary Winter Club. According to Skate Guard, a figure skating history blog, in his early days on Winter Club ice, a coach, Winnie Silverthorne, approached Pockar’s parents after noticing his “daredevil-ness” and natural athleticism. While initially interested in ice hockey, Pockar chose to focus on figure skating and quickly rose through the competitive ranks within Canada.

At the age of 12, Pockar competed at his first national championships. Four years later, he won bronze at the 1976 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and two years after that, became the national men’s champion of Canada for the first time. At the completion of his amateur competitive career, Pockar was a three-time national champion. He had also won several international medals, most notably the bronze at the 1982 World Figure Skating Championships. Pockar’s third-place finish in 1982 launched a 14-year medal-winning streak by Canadians in the men’s event at the global competition.

*Pockar competing at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. Photo retrieved from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s website.*

Pockar was the lone Canadian entry in the men’s event at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, a place he earned having won his third national title earlier that year. He finished 12th in all portions of the Olympic competition, an event won by the incomparable Robin Cousins of Great Britain. Pockar remains the last male from Calgary to compete in the Olympic Winter Games in figure skating. Pockar was also involved in the 1988 Calgary Olympics, credited as the artistic director of figure skating performances in the Closing Ceremonies.

As a young boy in the sport at the time of Pockar’s greatest successes, Brian was my idol. I marvelled at his technical abilities, but even more so, I loved his musicality, his style, his flair. I was nine when he finished third at the 1982 World Championships. I could execute his entire medal-winning performance in the basement of my family home in my sock-feet. The many triples he completed in his program? Well, those were only imagined in my rendition…but I knew the order of elements by memory and believed I “was” Brian Pockar in those moments. I also most certainly had a crush on him. He was a beautiful man. As Ryan Stevens of Skate Guard described him, he was “like the romantic lead in a silent movie.”

Frequently described as a private person, Pockar never declared his sexuality publicly, which was not unusual in the 1970s and ‘80s in sport generally, and in figure skating specifically. Only Great Britain’s John Curry, the 1976 Olympic champion in the men’s event, had discussed his sexuality in mainstream media at the time. According to sociologist and historian Dr. Mary Louise Adams, the first time Pockar’s sexuality was likely specifically mentioned publicly was in a media story published in 1998 about Brian Orser, another great Canadian figure skater. Orser was quoted as saying he was concerned about his own sexuality impacting professional opportunities in and outside of skating and used Pockar as an example. According to Orser, Pockar was fired from his broadcasting position with CTV—a role he held for several years after he retired from amateur competition—when network executives learned he was gay.

Pockar died of AIDS-related illness in Calgary on April 28, 1992. He was 32 years old. According to a statement issued by a family friend at the time of his passing, “Brian wanted to be remembered for his accomplishments in life and not for the cause of his death” (Maki & Toneguzzi, 1992, p. D1). Honouring that statement here, in addition to his many achievements in the sport noted above, Pockar is also credited with landing the first-ever one-foot triple Salchow/double flip combination in international competition—which is wildly difficult! He was inducted into the Alberta Sport Hall of Fame in 1989 and posthumously into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2012. Per one of Pockar’s final wishes, a bursary was established in his name to help support young male figure skaters in the province—a bursary still given out annually.

Brian Pockar: Olympian. World medalist. Choreographer. Broadcaster. Calgarian.

{WB}

Sources

Adams, M. L. (2011). Artistic impressions: Figure skating, masculinity, and the limits of sport. University of Toronto Press.

Skate Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut. (n.d.). About: Athlete Awards. https://skateabnwtnun.ca/about/awards-2/athlete-awards-athlete-funding/

Maki, A., & Toneguzzi, M. (1992, April 30). Friends mourn death of Pockar. Calgary Herald, D1.

Stevens, R. (n.d.) Brian Pockar. Skate Guard: Figure Skating History Blog. https://www.skateguardblog.com/p/brian-pockar.html?m=0