Local artists through the publicly-funded Calgary Arts Development have launched a hotline to “call” the Bow in a project dedicated to “reconnecting” with the river. Anyone from anywhere can call toll-free 1-855-BOW-LSTN to hear the sound of rushing water — or, the "rushing, gurgling and babbling voice" of the river, Calgary Arts Development (CAD) wrote on its website. The public art project, called Reconnecting to the Bow and created by Hiba Abdallah, Joshua Babcock and Justin Langlois, an artist collective called Broken City Lab, will run to the beginning of January 2025. CAD is a “civic partner,” much like Calgary Tourism, Calgary Economic Development and the Calgary Library, Interim Public Art Director Gregory Burbidge told the Western Standard. “The city provides most of our funding, but we're an independent agency with our own board,” as per the City of Calgary’s public art policy, which allocates 1% of its budget capital to local art projects, or the “1% for public art program,” said Burbidge. “This isn’t a city project,” City of Calgary media spokesperson told the Western Standard. According to CAD’s website, the City of Calgary in 2023 allocated nearly $20 million in funding.The project was launched this summer to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of a 2014 Broken City Lab project based on the same premise, Call the Bow, “which was a number at the time that you could call and listen to the Bow River. “(The Bow) is just as, if not more, important in our daily lives and stories right now than ever before,” said Burbidge. “More people are using the bow to float down the bow.” The 2014 project was part of Watershed+, a program through the City of Calgary “that embeds artists and artistic practices within … the Calgary watershed” with the purpose of building “an emotional connection between people and their watershed.”Burbidge said as it stands there is no estimate of how much the project will cost — because it will “depend on usage.” The first week there were 2,174 calls.“So a toll free number, you actually get billed based on how many people are calling it. So the more people that call it, the more the cost incrementally goes up," explained Burbidge.When asked who will foot the increasing cost of the phone bill, he confirmed the bill would be covered with the funds from the capital dollars of the 1% public arts program.“They've addressed the data to deliver that program,” he said. The sound of the river flowing is “a series of recordings,” with the sound of the river changing every month or so. “Through the fall, the phone number will be live. If you call once a month, you’ll probably hear different recordings," he said. Burbidge said one of the recording locations was by Reconciliation Bridge and Harvie Passage. In 2021, Calgary Arts Development was “contracted by committee to take over management of the public art program,” he said. Art direction prior to 2021 was “in the hands of the city.”The city “maintains” and the CAD “manages the creation of new work programming," meaning "the city continues to own and maintain the collection," he said. “Permanent pieces of public art will go into the city's collection.”The Bow River project is also going into the city’s collection, including the “copy of the recording and all the documentation related to the project.”“So in 10 years, when they want to bring it back, somebody's got a copy of it, right? Additional costs of the project include “various visual artworks displayed across the city on posters, billboards, transit station screens” and social media platforms, the CAD website states. There are “eight newly designed advertizements that act as the relaunch frame for the artwork, we use billboard space and street level ads throughout the city, as well as online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as targeted ads for Calgarians to call in and reconnect to the Bow.“Several text-based artworks enticing people to listen to the Bow will appear throughout the city on billboards, at transit stations and on social media platforms.”“In addition to broadcasting the phone number, these artworks suggest different feelings or intentions the river may wish to share.”“Through a simple phone call, anyone can connect to the Bow, experiencing its wisdom, secrets and songs, creating a unique opportunity to access and explore our relationship with this important body of water.”
Local artists through the publicly-funded Calgary Arts Development have launched a hotline to “call” the Bow in a project dedicated to “reconnecting” with the river. Anyone from anywhere can call toll-free 1-855-BOW-LSTN to hear the sound of rushing water — or, the "rushing, gurgling and babbling voice" of the river, Calgary Arts Development (CAD) wrote on its website. The public art project, called Reconnecting to the Bow and created by Hiba Abdallah, Joshua Babcock and Justin Langlois, an artist collective called Broken City Lab, will run to the beginning of January 2025. CAD is a “civic partner,” much like Calgary Tourism, Calgary Economic Development and the Calgary Library, Interim Public Art Director Gregory Burbidge told the Western Standard. “The city provides most of our funding, but we're an independent agency with our own board,” as per the City of Calgary’s public art policy, which allocates 1% of its budget capital to local art projects, or the “1% for public art program,” said Burbidge. “This isn’t a city project,” City of Calgary media spokesperson told the Western Standard. According to CAD’s website, the City of Calgary in 2023 allocated nearly $20 million in funding.The project was launched this summer to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of a 2014 Broken City Lab project based on the same premise, Call the Bow, “which was a number at the time that you could call and listen to the Bow River. “(The Bow) is just as, if not more, important in our daily lives and stories right now than ever before,” said Burbidge. “More people are using the bow to float down the bow.” The 2014 project was part of Watershed+, a program through the City of Calgary “that embeds artists and artistic practices within … the Calgary watershed” with the purpose of building “an emotional connection between people and their watershed.”Burbidge said as it stands there is no estimate of how much the project will cost — because it will “depend on usage.” The first week there were 2,174 calls.“So a toll free number, you actually get billed based on how many people are calling it. So the more people that call it, the more the cost incrementally goes up," explained Burbidge.When asked who will foot the increasing cost of the phone bill, he confirmed the bill would be covered with the funds from the capital dollars of the 1% public arts program.“They've addressed the data to deliver that program,” he said. The sound of the river flowing is “a series of recordings,” with the sound of the river changing every month or so. “Through the fall, the phone number will be live. If you call once a month, you’ll probably hear different recordings," he said. Burbidge said one of the recording locations was by Reconciliation Bridge and Harvie Passage. In 2021, Calgary Arts Development was “contracted by committee to take over management of the public art program,” he said. Art direction prior to 2021 was “in the hands of the city.”The city “maintains” and the CAD “manages the creation of new work programming," meaning "the city continues to own and maintain the collection," he said. “Permanent pieces of public art will go into the city's collection.”The Bow River project is also going into the city’s collection, including the “copy of the recording and all the documentation related to the project.”“So in 10 years, when they want to bring it back, somebody's got a copy of it, right? Additional costs of the project include “various visual artworks displayed across the city on posters, billboards, transit station screens” and social media platforms, the CAD website states. There are “eight newly designed advertizements that act as the relaunch frame for the artwork, we use billboard space and street level ads throughout the city, as well as online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as targeted ads for Calgarians to call in and reconnect to the Bow.“Several text-based artworks enticing people to listen to the Bow will appear throughout the city on billboards, at transit stations and on social media platforms.”“In addition to broadcasting the phone number, these artworks suggest different feelings or intentions the river may wish to share.”“Through a simple phone call, anyone can connect to the Bow, experiencing its wisdom, secrets and songs, creating a unique opportunity to access and explore our relationship with this important body of water.”
