Jack & Jean Leslie RiverWalk Murals

Overview

Key Takeaways

• 1

  Kitao’wahsinnooni: What Sustains Us by Alex Kwong (2025)

  A series of six portrait-based murals that explores the many ways the river nourishes, connects, and sustains life.

  1

  Kitao’wahsinnooni: What Sustains Us by Alex Kwong (2025)

  Unveiled on June 27, 2025, Kitao’wahsinnooni: What Sustains Us is the sixth public art installation to animate the bridge abutments and surrounding surfaces along Jack & Jean Leslie RiverWalk in East Village. Created by Calgary artist Alex Kwong and commissioned by Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) through its Art in the Public Realm program, the project brings six large-scale, portrait-based murals to one of the most recognizable stretches of public pathway in the city.

  

  The series explores the powerful role of the Bow and Elbow Rivers as a life-sustaining forces—nourishing land, culture, memory, and connection. The title, Kitao’wahsinnooni—a Blackfoot term meaning “what sustains us”—was shared with the artist by Elder Rod Scout early in the engagement process and became a conceptual anchor for the project.

  

  Kwong’s process was rooted in deep listening. Through conversations, river floats, sweat ceremonies, and long walks, he met with individuals whose lives intersect with the Bow River in deeply personal ways. Each mural reflects one of those stories—distinct and complex—but together, they reveal a shared thread: we are all drawn to the river, and the river, in turn, offers something back. Sometimes guidance. Sometimes healing. Often, the unexpected.

  The subjects include: Alanna Bluebird, Elder Rod Scout, Jay Jones, Henri and Donna Boulanger with Dee, Parisa Radmanesh, and, symbolically, the residents of the Calgary Drop-In Centre.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Visually, the murals showcase Kwong’s signature realism fused with a gentle, almost watercolour-like diffusion—an effect that echoes the river’s own fluidity and softness. Rendered in spray paint, the works feel at once vivid and contemplative, blurring the line between portrait and environment.

  Installed just west of the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Kitao’wahsinnooni contributes a new layer of meaning to RiverWalk. As with past installations, the project connects art and place in a way that invites discovery and reflection—encouraging Calgarians to consider not only what sustains our city, but what sustains each of us.

  Kitao’wahsinnooni: What Sustains Us by Alex Kwong (2025)Unveiled on June 27, 2025, Kitao’wahsinnooni: What Sustains Us is the sixth public art installation to animate the bridge abutments and surrounding surfaces along Jack & Jean Leslie RiverWalk in East Village. Created by Calgary artist Alex Kwong and commissioned by Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) through its Art in the Public Realm program, the project brings six large-scale, portrait-based murals to one of the most recognizable stretches of public pathway in the city. The series explores the powerful role of the Bow and Elbow Rivers as a life-sustaining forces—nourishing land, culture, memory, and connection. The title, Kitao’wahsinnooni—a Blackfoot term meaning “what sustains us”—was shared with the artist by Elder Rod Scout early in the engagement process and became a conceptual anchor for the project. Kwong’s process was rooted in deep listening. Through conversations, river floats, sweat ceremonies, and long walks, he met with individuals whose lives intersect with the Bow River in deeply personal ways. Each mural reflects one of those stories—distinct and complex—but together, they reveal a shared thread: we are all drawn to the river, and the river, in turn, offers something back. Sometimes guidance. Sometimes healing. Often, the unexpected. The subjects include: Alanna Bluebird, Elder Rod Scout, Jay Jones, Henri and Donna Boulanger with Dee, Parisa Radmanesh, and, symbolically, the residents of the Calgary Drop-In Centre. Visually, the murals showcase Kwong’s signature realism fused with a gentle, almost watercolour-like diffusion—an effect that echoes the river’s own fluidity and softness. Rendered in spray paint, the works feel at once vivid and contemplative, blurring the line between portrait and environment. Installed just west of the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Kitao’wahsinnooni contributes a new layer of meaning to RiverWalk. As with past installations, the project connects art and place in a way that invites discovery and reflection—encouraging Calgarians to consider not only what sustains our city, but what sustains each of us.
• 2

  Touch Traces by Cassie Suche (2022)

  Cassie used repeating patterns of around 650 fingerprints from people in East Village to create this abstract interpretation of a hand mural

  2

  Touch Traces by Cassie Suche (2022)

  

  Unveiled on June 29, 2022, Touch Traces is the fifth public art installation to adorn bridge abutments and other surfaces along Jack & Jean Leslie RiverWalk in East Village. Created by Calgary artist Cassie Suche, the work is comprised of hundreds of fingerprints collected from the East Village community that have been layered and distorted to create contemporary and abstract images. Fingerprints reference intimate touch, tactility, and connection to the outer world. They are ghostly impressions overlapping and compiling everywhere while remaining mostly unseen. Touch Traces showcases the beautiful complexity of these organic marks while highlighting our individuality within community.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  The artwork was created using more than 640 fingerprints sourced from the East Village community, which Cassie collected in spring 2022 through pop-ups at the Drop-In Centre, carya Village Commons, East Village HQ, Kidko and other East Village locations.

  

  

  Touch Traces by Cassie Suche (2022)Unveiled on June 29, 2022, Touch Traces is the fifth public art installation to adorn bridge abutments and other surfaces along Jack & Jean Leslie RiverWalk in East Village. Created by Calgary artist Cassie Suche, the work is comprised of hundreds of fingerprints collected from the East Village community that have been layered and distorted to create contemporary and abstract images. Fingerprints reference intimate touch, tactility, and connection to the outer world. They are ghostly impressions overlapping and compiling everywhere while remaining mostly unseen. Touch Traces showcases the beautiful complexity of these organic marks while highlighting our individuality within community. The artwork was created using more than 640 fingerprints sourced from the East Village community, which Cassie collected in spring 2022 through pop-ups at the Drop-In Centre, carya Village Commons, East Village HQ, Kidko and other East Village locations.
• 3

  Bridge by Katie Green (2019)

  This project involved 13 diverse EV residents, aged 13 to 65, who worked with Katie to create the unique masks featured in the portraits

  3

  Bridge by Katie Green (2019)

  

  Katie Green’s Bridge was completed in summer 2019 as the 4th installation on concrete abutments and buildings along Riverwalk.

  

  

  The mixed-media installation engaged 13 East Village community members – aged 13 to 65, from various backgrounds – in a series of workshops where they each selected a portrait painting, and in collaboration with the artist, transformed it into a personalized mask. Participants were then photographed wearing the masks in spaces around East Village.

  

  

  

  Bridge by Katie Green (2019)Katie Green’s Bridge was completed in summer 2019 as the 4th installation on concrete abutments and buildings along Riverwalk. The mixed-media installation engaged 13 East Village community members – aged 13 to 65, from various backgrounds – in a series of workshops where they each selected a portrait painting, and in collaboration with the artist, transformed it into a personalized mask. Participants were then photographed wearing the masks in spaces around East Village.
• 4

  Window to the Wild by Curtis Van Charles Sorensen (2016)

  This series of images depicts plants and animals indigenous to southern Alberta and the Bow River—the beaver, fox, coyote, heron and more

  4

  Window to the Wild by Curtis Van Charles Sorensen (2016)

  

  The third artist commissioned for the RiverWalk temporary public art program was selected in Spring 2016. Curtis Van Charles Sorensen's installation represents his perspective on an authentic Canadian adventure - a new take on traditional wildlife and realism.

  

  Adorning RiverWalk’s bridge abutments, storage sheds and signature washrooms until 2018, the Van Charles installation is a series of images that depict flowers, leaves and animals indigenous to Southern Alberta and the Bow River – the beaver, fox, coyote, heron and many others.

  Window to the Wild by Curtis Van Charles Sorensen (2016)The third artist commissioned for the RiverWalk temporary public art program was selected in Spring 2016. Curtis Van Charles Sorensen's installation represents his perspective on an authentic Canadian adventure - a new take on traditional wildlife and realism. Adorning RiverWalk’s bridge abutments, storage sheds and signature washrooms until 2018, the Van Charles installation is a series of images that depict flowers, leaves and animals indigenous to Southern Alberta and the Bow River – the beaver, fox, coyote, heron and many others.
• 5

  The Field Manual by Light & Soul (2013)

  “The Field Manual: a compendium of local influence” is a playful multi-media interpretation of place, where past, present and future merge

  5

  The Field Manual by Light & Soul (2013)

  

  In summer 2012, CMLC initiated an open Request for Proposal to create the second curated art installation for East Village’s RiverWalk. The goal was to allow local artists to enhance the neighbourhood’s character and identity through works that “surprise, delight and provoke connection and memorable interaction; create engaging spaces that encourage people to visit the area; and add to Calgary’s cultural wealth and public realm.”

  

  

  

  From the throng of respondents, CMLC selected Light & Soul – a trio of Calgary artists (Daniel J. Kirk, Ivan Ostapenko and Kai Cabunoc-Boettcher) whose creative concept merges past, present and future into a playful interpretation of place. According to the artists, the installation “tells the story of what East Calgary may have been…and what it may become. Individual stories and collective history informed our personal ideas about this place of confluence. East Village is a place where past meets future. The work finds specific context where the Elbow River meets the Bow, where old traditions intersect and inform new trends.”

  The Field Manual by Light & Soul (2013)In summer 2012, CMLC initiated an open Request for Proposal to create the second curated art installation for East Village’s RiverWalk. The goal was to allow local artists to enhance the neighbourhood’s character and identity through works that “surprise, delight and provoke connection and memorable interaction; create engaging spaces that encourage people to visit the area; and add to Calgary’s cultural wealth and public realm.” From the throng of respondents, CMLC selected Light & Soul – a trio of Calgary artists (Daniel J. Kirk, Ivan Ostapenko and Kai Cabunoc-Boettcher) whose creative concept merges past, present and future into a playful interpretation of place. According to the artists, the installation “tells the story of what East Calgary may have been…and what it may become. Individual stories and collective history informed our personal ideas about this place of confluence. East Village is a place where past meets future. The work finds specific context where the Elbow River meets the Bow, where old traditions intersect and inform new trends.”
• 6

  I Am the River by Derek Besant

  The inaugural installation in our RiverWalk art program included 13 larger-than-life portrait photos of people floating in the river.

  6

  I Am the River by Derek Besant

  

  

  

  I Am the River by Derek Besant

Media & Recognition

2011 Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Art in the Public Realm, honourable mention

The Mayor’s Urban Design Awards (MUDA) recognize the contribution of Calgary urban designers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners and artists to the livability of our city Read More

LiveWire Calgary

Touch Traces: New iteration of public art on Calgary’s RiverWalk Read More

CBC

Art installation features murals of East Villagers in self-made masks Read More

Calgary Herald

East Village's eclectic artwork appears in surprising places Read More