MURAL PAINTING COMPETITION

Celebrate Alberta Wilderness with the 2010 Calgary Tower murals!

Margaret Main, the mural painting competition coordinator, says that each year the variety and quality of the artwork produced has been impressive. “The dull, grey interior of the tower is gradually being transformed into the tallest art gallery in town,” she says.

This year's theme is Alberta Native Species in its Habitat. Murals should feature an Alberta native species in its habitat. No specific style requirements are defined.

2010 Winners:

The scores were all very high this year, including the winning entry from the Elementary School category, which garnered a perfect score! Margaret Main writes: “The marks for the murals have never been so high. The winners in some categories had only one half-point difference. We are thrilled with the paintings and the tremendous support from the public and the artists.”

• Adult category — Landing 6B (Sherri Sharpe)
• Junior High School category — Landing 00B (A.E. Cross School: Jayleen Tobak, Kayla Crawford, Sammy Kyle)
• Elementary School category — Landing 5B: The Painters of Nature (Westmount Charter School: Rosalie Cormier, Sravya Kakumanu)
• Family category — Landing 7B: The Fab 4 (Zach Hambly-Britton, Lindsy Hambly-Britton, Allen Trites, Julie Trites)

Winning teams will be awarded prizes at the Climb and Run for Wilderness on April 17, 2010.

2009 Winners:

Picking the winners from among this year's 14 entries was no easy task! All the teams produced very worthy murals and after much deliberation, the judges ended up picking the following winners by only a very few points:

• Adult category — Landing 38A: Mr. Withers (Fortis: Thea McCaffery, Kevin Waterman, Matt Froese, Josie Soles)
• High School category — Landing 2B: Pack of Owls (Central Memorial High School: Sally Lee, Nancy Caughey, Erica Davis, Carly Barton)
• Junior High School category — Landing 46B: The Scorpions (Clarence Sansom Junior High School: Sarah Hogan, Ryley Schultz, Katianna Blackmore, Selina Kim)
• Elementary School category — Landing 33A: Wetlands (Unitarian Church of Calgary: Mahni Bruce, Lindsay Hill-Tout, Jeremy Hildebrand, Kiran Elias-Singh, Madisen Stringer)
• Family category — Landing 18B: The Farley Sisters (Laura Farley, Sarah Farley)
• Honourable mention / family category — Landing 48B: The Besters (Brent Bester, Luke Bester, Katie Bester, Shameer Jina)

2008 Winners:

• Adult category — Landing 3: Banff Springs Snail (Helen Jull)
• Junior High School category — Landing 11: Black-Throated Green Warbler (R.T. Alderman Junior High School: Alexis Agourdis, Kimberly Rude, Miranda Maxwell Wilson, Emily Mangos)
• Family category — Landing 35: Team HCTM (Thea McCaffrey, Hannah Cawsey) [overall competition winners]
• High School category — Landing 29: Deep Like an Ocean (Caitlin Hamilton, Jessie Lincoln, Leigh Pierce, Justine Bratberg)

Each year individuals, families, and groups come to the stairwells of the Calgary Tower to use a 2 by 2.6 m (6’ tall and 8’ wide) canvas to express an appreciation for Alberta's wilderness and wildlife. The murals are a stunning testament to the value of wilderness by a wide range of Albertans. This gallery is a wonderful legacy for the City of Calgary.

Important Dates

• Friday, March 5 2010: registration forms and preliminary sketches must be submitted to AWA.
• Wednesday, March 10 2010: all teams will be notified of acceptance.
• Saturday, March 20 2010: all accepted teams paint their murals in the Calgary Tower between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
• Monday, March 22 2010: judging will be complete and winning teams will be announced.
• Saturday, April 17 2010: prizes are awarded during the Climb and Run for Wilderness award ceremony at 2:00 PM.

Prizes

• All winning teams will be awarded a free lifetime AWA membership, for each team member, and an Earl's Restaurant gift certificate.

While the stairway is not usually open to the public, the masterpieces can be viewed at this year's Climb and Run for Wilderness.

Thank you to the Calgary Tower for their generous support of the Mural Painting Competition, Tim Hortons for refreshments and to our art and mural advisors and judges, David Harrison and Natalie Marsh. Our outstanding Mural Painting Competition coordinator is Margaret Main, tireless AWA volunteer. We also thank the participants and all our volunteers for making this annual competition such a great success!

You may click on any of the images on this page to see the murals in more detail. More mural photos can also be found in the photo gallery.