Glossary of Terms

BIA (Business Improvement Area): A designated district where local businesses collectively invest in initiatives that support economic vitality, placemaking and street-level improvements.

CADA (Calgary Arts Development): As the City of Calgary’s designated arts development authority, CADA supports and strengthens the arts to benefit all Calgarians.

The City (The City of Calgary): The City of Calgary, including its departments, agencies, boards and elected officials involved in planning, approvals and public-realm investment.

Co-creation: A collaborative process where artists and community members create work together.

Community feedback: Input shared by community members through engagement activities, reflecting lived experiences, priorities and perspectives.

Community-led public art: Art projects initiated, shaped or guided by community members and local collaborators.

Community suggestions: Ideas and proposals offered by the community that point to potential opportunities, themes, locations or approaches for public art.

Engagement process: The structured approach used to gather community feedback through surveys, interviews and focus sessions.

Family Associations: Clan based organizations with varied functions for early immigrants such as translation, employment assistance, health care and advocacy. Today these societies function primarily as vehicles for cultural transmission.

Funding pathways: Different ways public art projects can be resourced, including grants, partnerships and sponsorships.

Interested parties: Individuals, groups or organizations with a stake in public art projects, including residents, artists, businesses and property owners, visitors and residents.

Location framework: A planning tool that identifies types of places where public art is most desired.

Natural edges: Boundaries shaped by landscape features such as rivers or green corridors within Chinatown.

Placemaking: The process of shaping the public realm to support social connection, comfort and community life.

Public art: Artistic works or experiences created by artists and situated in publicly accessible spaces, intended to engage people and contribute to a sense of place.

Public Art Plan: A strategic document that sets out a vision, priorities and guidance for the planning, commissioning and delivery of public art over time.

Public realm/space: Streets, sidewalks, plazas, parks and other shared spaces accessible to everyone.

Strategies: Action-oriented approaches that outline how the plan’s goals and themes can be advanced through concrete steps and decisions.

Stewardship: Long-term care, maintenance and cultural responsibility for public artworks.

Themes: Broad focus areas that reflect community priorities and guide the types of stories, ideas and experiences explored through public art.

Tongs: Community organizations that can be based on clan, county, dialect, religious or political affiliations, or recreational interests that historically provided social services, support and mutual aid for Chinese immigrants and still serve today as critical points of community connection and cultural preservation.

Values: Shared principles that shape decision-making and express what the community and partners believe public art should represent and achieve.

Wayfinding: Visual elements that help people navigate and understand a place.