Creative industries in Calgary

Creativity is the ability to take knowledge, ideas, and other resources and combine them with imagination to create new ideas and products. Inherent in this definition is the concept of human capital; innovative ideas and imaginative products are the result of the intellectual capabilities of people. The outcomes of these creative processes can include anything from a vibrant new performing arts production, the successful launch of a new product, to an improvement in the democratic process.

Calgary's creative industries sector is about more than just the jobs or products, it is about the process one goes through to generate a new idea. As intellectual capital and problem solving are tools used across all industries, the notions of creativity and innovation are increasingly being recognized in an interdisciplinary fashion as they intersect with all economic sectors.

Among its many highlights, Calgary's creative industries boast:

​Access to world-class facilities

• Calgary has an estimated 190 venues for live performing arts and over 100 establishments for the display of art including galleries, museums, and other cultural establishments;
• The EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts attracts nearly 300,000 patrons and more than 1,700 performances and events annually. This 400,000 square foot performing arts complex is one of the largest of its kind in Canada;
• The Glenbow Museum, Western Canada's largest museum, boasts over a million artifacts, along with 33,000 works of art, a library and archives under one roof.

​Dedicated education and training

• Over 7,000 students graduate from the city’s four major schools each year with creative industries-related degrees and diplomas;
• The Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD), founded in 1926, is one of four Canadian degree-granting, publicly-funded Art and Design colleges, and the only one in the prairie provinces;
• The Mount Royal Conservatory of Music, part of Mount Royal University, attracts more than 5,000 students each year, both locally and internationally, for unparalleled instruction in all areas of music, speech and theatre arts;
• SAIT Polytechnic's Information and Communications Technologies department offers 22 creative industries-related programs;
• The University of Calgary is a comprehensive research university with 17 faculties, 53 departments and more than 30 research institutes and centres. Its Faculty of Fine Arts offers degree and research programs in art, dance, drama and music, and its Faculty of Environmental Design is among only a few in Canada.

A thriving creative industries market

• Calgary is located in Alberta, with the highest level of per capita spending on performing and visual arts in Canada;
• There are nearly 19,000 establishments in Calgary that are related to the creative industries, employing over 67,000 workers;
• Major cultural events draw over three million in attendance to downtown festivals annually;
• Calgary ranks third among major Canadian cities for attracting cultural migrants.