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Art of Community Building: Community Conversations

artsPlace is exploring the feasibility of a larger community arts and culture facility in the heart of Downtown Canmore. A space built with purpose that reflects the creativity and character of our mountain town; one that honours Canmore’s past while embracing its future.

To understand what our community needs and wants in a new facility, we need to hear directly from the people who live, work, create, and gather here.

Everyone has something to contribute to this conversation. If you live, work, learn, create, volunteer, run a business, raise a family, or spend time in the Bow Valley, your everyday experiences can help us understand what spaces our community needs now and in the future.

There are many ways to participate!

Stay closely involved.

Work closely alongside the project team in a series of sessions.

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Join selected conversations.

Join conversations at key moments connected to your experience.

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We want to understand what people should be able to do, experience, and access in a shared community facility. The conversations will start with broad questions about arts, culture, and community space needs, then become more focused as we explore how those needs could be met in a building.

  • Creating, learning & sharing art: What creative spaces do people need to create, exhibit, perform, and share their work?
  • Watching & experiencing art: What would make concerts, theatre, film, exhibitions, festivals, and other arts and culture experiences better for audiences?
  • Meeting & gathering: What kinds of spaces would allow people to come together for meetings, events, celebrations, cultural gatherings, or simply to spend time with others?
  • Serving the community: What other community activities, services, and needs could a larger facility support?
  • Advancing reconciliation: How could the facility reflect Indigenous cultures, relationships, ways of gathering, and connections to this place?
  • Getting here & getting around: What would make the facility easy to access and well connected to the streets and businesses around it?
  • Making the facility accessible for all: What would help people of different ages, abilities, incomes, and backgrounds access and use the facility?
  • Building with nature in mind: How could the facility reflect the character of our mountain town, strengthen connections to the outdoors, and reduce its environmental impact?

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Late October 2026 | Getting Started
We’ll bring together a small group of people to help lead deeper community conversations and start building relationships.

Late Fall 2026 / Winter 2027 | Discovering
We’ll invite more people into the conversation to hear about the kinds of arts, culture, and community spaces the Bow Valley needs.

Winter 2027 | Designing
We’ll begin to explore how these needs can be met in a larger community arts and culture facility, with input from an expert support team of facilitators, architects, and feasibility consultants.

Spring 2027 | Testing & Refining
We’ll bring ideas back to the broader community to understand what works, what doesn’t, what may be missing, and what needs to change.

Summer 2027 | Sharing What We Heard
We’ll share what we heard and what it means for the next stage of the project.

“This is about much more than what artsPlace needs. It’s about what becomes possible when a community has the right places to gather, create, learn, perform, celebrate, and connect with each other, their community, and this place. We have an opportunity to imagine something beyond a bigger artsPlace—something entirely new, built around what this community needs now and in the future.” — Jeremy Elbourne, artsPlace Executive Director

Questions & Answers

The process we're using is called codesign. Community codesign is a different way of working together, and it naturally raises questions about who will be involved, how the process will work, how much time it will take, how input will be used, and how decisions will be made. This FAQ shares how the process will bring community members together to help guide the work ahead.

What is codesign?

To understand what our community needs and wants in a new facility, we need to hear directly from the people who live, work, create, gather, and access services here. That’s where codesign comes in.

Codesign is a creative process that brings together lived experience and expertise, cultural knowledge and technical experience to learn from each other and design something new together.

What makes codesign different from traditional community engagement?

Codesign is about making with the community, not for the community. Rather than asking for feedback on decisions that have already been made, we’re inviting people to be active participants in the design process from the very start. That means exploring ideas, hearing different perspectives, testing assumptions, and helping guide the work as it unfolds. Codesign is an ongoing process of learning, discussion, and problem-solving together as a community.

Who can participate in the codesign process?

We are looking for both lived experience and subject-matter expertise: people who understand this community because they live, work, create, and gather here, and people who bring technical knowledge that can help us explore the opportunities, challenges, and practical realities of the project.

How can I get involved?

There are many ways to participate. Opportunities to contribute will come at different points over the months ahead.

If you’d like to be involved—or simply have thoughts, questions, ideas, or concerns to share—complete the expression-of-interest form or contact us at engage@artsplacecanmore.com

We’ll use what you share to inform the work and connect you with opportunities that may be a good fit based on your interests, experience, and availability.

How will community input be used?

Community input will help us determine whether, how, and under what conditions the project should move forward. We’ll develop concept designs, cost estimates, and business models based on what we hear during the codesign process, and report back on the financial and operational feasibility of each.

Where can I find out more?

Subscribe to our newsletter for updates, milestones, and opportunities to get involved. Or reach out to engage@artsplacecanmore.com to share your thoughts.

Get Involved

Use this form to tell us what you’re interested in, what perspective or experience you’d bring, and how you’d like to be involved. We’ll use what you share to inform the work and connect you with opportunities to contribute as they come up.

What would you like to talk about? Select all that apply.
How would you like to participate? Select one.

Have thoughts or questions? Email us anytime at engage@artsplacecanmore.com

Background image for: Learn About the Project

Learn About the Project

Explore artsPlace’s vision for a larger community arts and culture facility in downtown Canmore, including the need, work to date, and next steps.

Read More
Background image for: Learn About the Project

Learn About the Project

Explore artsPlace’s vision for a larger community arts and culture facility in downtown Canmore, including the need, work to date, and next steps.

Read More
Background image for: Learn About the Project

Learn About the Project

Explore artsPlace’s vision for a larger community arts and culture facility in downtown Canmore, including the need, work to date, and next steps.

Read More