Embedding Artists within Planning: Calgary’s Watershed+ Initiative

Since 2011, artists have been embedded within Calgary’s Utilities and Environmental Protection department as part of the public art program Watershed+. In particular, artists are given workspaces alongside municipal staff to encourage interaction and new ideas. Watershed+ has led to innovative examples of public art that are meant to provoke thought about the local environment. Through interviews with artists and municipal staff engaged in the project, this paper explores the specific avenues through which the initiative has embedded artists within municipal planning. The paper also considers the transferability of the Watershed+ model to other cities.