BURNS VISUAL
ARTS SOCIETY
born in 1979
The Burns Visual Arts Society and its name originated in Calgary’s historic Burns Building located downtown on 8th Avenue SE. In the mid-1970s some fifty independent artists took advantage of low rental rates caused by inner-city decline and secured studios in the Burns Building’s lush marble and brass interior. Though the resident artists were not yet officially associated, they were aware of each other and interacted.
In 1979, the Burns Building was proposed for demolition to make room for the Calgary Performing Arts Centre. The controversial demolition of the building was defeated in Calgary City Council by a single vote. Instead of being torn down, the building was incorporated into the new construction. The evicted artists, united by a loss of studio space in the Burns Building, held a meeting. The result was the establishment of the Burns Visual Arts Society of Calgary who founding members included: Ron Moppet, Evan Penny, Naboru Sawai and Bill Rogers.
The primary mandate of the cooperative society was to provide low cost individual studio spaces for visual artists. In this way, BVAS differed from other visual art societies such as potter’s guilds or print-making collectives that shared a single space and equipment.
The newly dubbed Burns Visual Arts Society immediately located space a block west of the Burns Building in the historic Neilson Block. BVAS members took over the top two floors of the building and facilitated the construction of studio spaces.
In 1998, after nearly two decades, Burns Visual Arts Society was forced to relocated for the second time when the Neilson Block was slated for redevelopment as part of a hotel and convention centre. It took six months to secure a new space, a lengthy period during which time many artists found alternatives. The remaining members rented a building in the Ramsey area, an industrial part of Calgary. This location, at 828 – 24 Avenue SE, for the foreseeable future, remains home to Burns Visual Arts Society.
The current building BVAS occupies was constructed in 1959 and has hosted a medley of varied businesses including an automotive garage, a chemical shop and a winter garment factory. A floor plan was devised to create studios within the open space and materials were acquired with help of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Members once again provided the necessary labour. Renovations were started in 1998 and by 2000 all studios in the new building were occupied.
There are currently sixteen studios at the Burns Visual Arts Society hosting twenty artists. There has been a waiting list for BVAS studios for some time, a reminder of the indispensable resource Burns Visual Arts Society provides to Calgary artists.
Beyond the valuable benefit of providing affordable studio space, members of BVAS foster an underlying commitment to engage with community. There are few chances for the public to see where art is created or to view an artist’s tools and works in progress. BVAS facilitates face-to-face interactions between artists and the community through a variety of initiatives. Visits from post-secondary art classes are welcomed and a series of annual events is offered including Eastside Studio Crawl, Studio Stomp, and workshops during Alberta Culture Days. In this way, Burns Visual Arts Society connects beyond its own history to the history of buildings, neighbourhoods and community members.
History is an evolving creation that grows through the shared experiences of those who know it. If you have information or material that would help create a more detailed history of Burns Visual Arts Society, please write in our visitor book or send us an email.
COMPLETE LIST OF BVAS MEMBERS
PAST & PRESENT
Last Update: July 25, 2021
A
Peter Ackerman
Thayre Angliss
Melanie Archer
Jill Armstrong
Billie Avery
B
Kevin Baer
Jackie Bagley
Randa Bakir
Leslie Bell
Carmen Bellingham
Martin Bennett
Tivador Boté
Janet Boydol
Marilynn Bracken
Dawn Brawley
Joelle Breit
Stuart Brinker
Kathy Brock
Tony Brownless
Kim Bruce
Susan Bruce
Dennis Burton
P. Byrne
C
Sandra Cariou
Debra Carlson
Connie Carruthers
Anne Marie Carson
Mary Carwardine
David Chaney
Louise Chong
David Clark
Elizabeth Clark
Richard Cole
Anne Connelly
Brian Cooley
Laurie Cormack
Jody Corner
Stewart Cummings
D
Almut S.T.A. Dale
Carl Danker
Caroline DeMoby
Melissa Decluse
Derek Dennett
Mark Dicey
Laura Dickson
Irene Duffy
Leah Dufresne
Norman Dupuis
E
Greg Edmonson
Marjan Eggermont
Brenda Estill
Benjamin Evans
F
Doug Farries
Cherry Fewell
Maureen Fijal
Kyra Fisher
Brian Flynn
Suzanne Franks
Mona C. Frederiksen
Rick Fries
Bev Fyvie
G
Bill Gardner
Paul Garnett
Willie Geczi
Lena Georgousis
Marianne Gerlinger
Cindy Giesbrecht
Wayne Giles
Allison Glenn
Jimmy Golden
Diane Gordon
Cecilia Gossen
P. Grams
Vera Greenwood
H
Kevin Hagen
Pat Hardy-Deszynski
Laura Hargrave
Myrna Harvey
Mona Hayes
Brian Jon Helman
N. Hendricks
Alana Hiebert
June Hills
Kevin Hinton
Jill Hobson
Brian Hohner
ML Holden
Isabelle Hunt-Johnson
Geoffrey Hunter
I
Dixie Inman
Haim Itzhaki
Peter Ivens
J
Mavis James
Sarah John
Karen Johnston
Mark Joslin
K
Garry Kan
Ron Kanashiro
Sharon Karst
John Keating
Pam King
Lorna Kinsella
Don Kottman
L
Sami Ladner-Zech
Katherine Lakeman
Chin-Shek Lam
Tania Laniel
Kathy Leson
Gary Lundgren
M
Cynthia Mackenzie
Mychael Maier
Mary Jo Major
Dale Mackenzie
Janusz Malinovski
Judith McCrae
Nina McDonald
Diane McGeachy
Geoff McKay
Kari McQueen
Celia Meade
Brian Meehan
Laura Millard
Rob Milthorp
Kathy Mitchell
David Moore
Ron Moppett
Marion Morrison
Melanie Morstad
Maria Muszynski
N
Jeff Nachtigall
Patricia Natrass
Noreen Neu
Sharon Neufeld
K. Nicholls
Arthur Nishimura
O
Petronella Overes
P
Joan Packham
Graham Page
Ulrich Panzer
Jennifer Park
Jan Paulus-Maly
Evan Penny
Judy Perrin
Jane Poole
Leslie R Pinter
Debra Proskow
Bruce Puhach
J. Pulas
R
Shona Rae
Colleen Rauscher
Judy Reid McRae
Rob Renpenning
Sally Reesmaw
Elsbeth Rodger
Bill Rodgers
Debra Rushfeldt
S
Janine Samuelson
Naboru Sawai
Sandra Sawatzky-Cariou
Helen Sebelius-Snyder
Michael Shumiatcher
Anne Simmie
Shantael Sleight
Morgwn Smith
Christine Sowiak
Maeve Spain
Jeffrey Spalding
Caroline Stanley
Diane Stearne
Derek Stefanuk
Shamit Sthankiya
Peter Stinson
Robert Stowell
T
Pat Tarr
Jim Tinios
Gary Tucker
Stephen P Turner
Bev Tosh
V
Yolanda Van Dyck
Peter Van Thiessienhausen
Florin Vlad
W
Christine Wagner
Kevan Walkes
Candace Weir
Libby Weir
Norman White
Sharon Williams
Louise Williamson
Adele Woolsey
Carole Woodward
X
Elmer Xavier
Robin Yaeger
Y
Sebastian Yoon