Dear Canada - What Will You Leave Behind?

On May 7th, the Public Arts Institute of Canada invites you to the second exhibition of Dear Canada — held, deliberately, at Eden Brook Funeral Home in Calgary. We chose this space not to be provocative, but because it asks something of us the moment we walk through the door: What are we doing with the time we have?

Every Canadian alive right now is shaping this country. Not passively — actively. Through the choices we make, the communities we build, the conversations we have or avoid, and the Canada we hand to the people who come after us. This exhibition asks you to sit with that. Not with grief, but with intention.

Multiple Calgarian artists have responded to the question at the heart of Dear Canada — What is Canadian culture? — through the lens of legacy, mortality, and the future we are building together. Their work lines these walls as a reminder: Canada is not finished. Neither are you.

But this show isn't just something you watch. It's something you contribute to. Woven throughout the exhibition are interactive survey stations where you'll be asked to weigh in — on what keeps you here, what you want Canada to look like in twenty years, what you'd change if you could, and what you'd protect at all costs. Your responses become part of a growing national dataset that Dear Canada is building across every city in this series. By the time this exhibition tour is complete, we aim to have over one million Canadian voices on record — the largest open conversation about Canadian identity ever assembled.

Come for the art. Stay for the conversation. Leave something behind.

Remarks begin at 7:00 PM.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Public Arts Institute of Canada