One of Calgary's wildest art events is back this weekend

Sep 20 2022, 10:18 pm

If you have been around downtown Calgary and saw an art display that made you ask, “What is that crazy thing?” odds are Beakerhead was there.

The event that intersects art and science in the best way is back this weekend with more wild innovations and a bigger purpose.

It all gets going on September 23 with a free night at Telus Spark. Parker Chapple, the executive director for Beakerhead, says you will see a preview of the giant plan they have for the rest of the weekend.

“We will have a sneak peek of ‘Prosthesis’ which will be at Century Gardens on the 24th and 25th. And it’s sort of our premier activation. It’s a 4,000 kg, 200 horsepower all-terrain racing machine that is human and battery powered.”

Chapple says Mayor Jyoti Gondek will be piloting that machine Sunday, September 25 after it makes its way to Calgary from Burning Man. This won’t be the first appearance by a Calgary mayor at Beakerhead after Mayor Naheed Nenshi piloted a spider in 2013.

They say it is “monumentally important” to have that kind of involvement from city officials like that.

But that is not all for Friday night.

“We will also have the biodome which is 50 feet in diameter. And we can project imagery on the inside of the dome as well as the outside of the dome and for the entirety of the two days we’ll have a bunch of programming happening inside of the dome.”

 

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People who check out Beakerhead will also see a turtle that breathes fire, a pirate ship, Cirque Nuit and fire dancers, and a whole lot more.

 

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Chapple says this is an important event for Calgary as it starts to make a name for itself on the tech scene.

“Beakerhead is a unique experience in that it finds the intersection between science, technology, and arts and then amplifies that voice in an accessible and exciting way. Particularly right now in Calgary with a big push on welcoming tech companies into our sector. Beakerhead is a public beacon for those sectors.”

They say it is also important to highlight all the great Calgary art that this city provides.

“We definitely have incredible talent here in the city. And Beakerhead is very much an effort of collaboration,” Chapple says. “That talent has consistently year over year brought new things to the table. So not only is it sort of a beacon to organizations and individuals in those communities outside of Alberta, but it allows us to really rah rah sis boom bah, what we have locally.”

Beakerhead

When: September 23 to 25
Where: Telus Spark (September 23); Century Gardens (September 24 and 25)
Cost: Free

 

Peter KleinPeter Klein

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