Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you all ate your weight in turkey and had good visits with your families and friends. The weather has certainly turned a crispy edge towards us and it’s the perfect time of year to head inside where it’s warm and toasty and take in some of the marvelous art this city has to offer. Here’s your Arts Round Up for this week Calgary.

THE MAN IN THE BOX: Calgary artist daniel j kirk spent a work week locked inside this cube in the middle of Stephen Ave as part of Cavernous isolate iii – the third in a series of isolation and art making projects. Armed with only water, a sleeping bag, a portable septic system, art materials, a video camera, a lamp and the clothes on his back (but no food), he spent five days (from 9am October 1 to 5pm October 5) painting the clear walls of the space, slowly removing himself from view of the public. Although gone from Stephen Ave, the cube will be dismantled and auctioned off and you can continue to follow its progression here.
Photos by Amy Jo Espetveidt, Quadrophonic Image

YYC Represents at the Governor General’s Literary Awards
Well look at that. A whole gaggle of Calgarians are finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, particularly for drama. Way to go!
The finalists were announced early last week and it was great to see so many awesome local names on the list.
Karen Hines was nominated for her play Drama: A Pilot Episode, Cathy Ostlere and Dennis Garnhum are up for Lost: A Memoir and John Murrell is representing in the French to English translation category for The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs & Thinking of Yu.
There’s even Old Trouts alum Judd Palmer, who’s a finalist for The Umbrella under Children’s Literature.
Congrats to all the nominees. We’ll be waiting with baited breath as the winners are announced on November 28 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Bee Kingdom goes Super Cute
The awesome dudes at the Bee Kingdom are inviting you all to the opening of their new show Super Cute. But there’s one catch. If you’re attending the reception, you should wear something cute, super cute.
The Bees describe this show as their most imaginative work to date and have pulled inspiration from the Pictoplasma character art festival in Berlin, Germany. I’ve seen some of the pieces and they are adorable. You just want to take them home and snuggle them. That is if they were alive.
Super Cute, a blown glass exhibition, opens Friday, October 12 from 5pm to 9pm at the Ruberto-Ostberg Gallery (2108 18th Street NW). And if you miss this one, another opening is set for Saturday October 13 from 2pm to 5pm and the show runs until November 3.

WordFest Kicks off
Calgary’s annual celebration of all things literary is upon us already and the book nerd in me just can’t wait.
WordFest 2012 kicks off this week and features over 70 writers including Martin Amis, Jian Ghomeshi, Rawi Hage, Annabel Lyon, Linden MacIntyre, Anne Perry, John Ralston Saul, Linda Spalding and many more.
One I’m looking most forward to is the Wednesday Night Showcase. From 7pm to 9pm on October 10 David Bergen, Steven Heighton, Vincent Lam, Pasha Malla, Susan Swan and Karen Thompson Walker will be filling the Vertigo Theatre Centre’s Playhouse with readings and stories about their inspirations.
Also on Wednesday, Name Your Sources runs from 5pm to 6:30pm at the Vertigo Theatre Centre’s Studio and will feature Deni Y. Béchard, Russell Wangersky, Julie Wilson and Rachel Wyatt. This event will show that “truth is stranger than fiction” by going behind the headlines and news stories with these awesome writers and journalists.
WordFest 2012 runs October 9 to 14. For more information and tickets head over to their website here.

Calling all LowBrow Art Lovers
It’s sometimes called Pop Surrealism, but in Calgary it’s lovingly known as LowBrow and you’re all invited to check it out starting this week.
The second annual LowBrow Art Show opening reception is this Sunday, October 14 at 6pm at Resolution Art Gallery (233 10th Street NW).
Within the past year, LowBrow has become recognized as a major art form in Calgary, combining inspiration from illustration, comic books, animation, tattooing, street art and graffiti. This year’s show features 25 artists including Nick Austin, Kelly Desouza and Charlotte Ward.
The show runs October 14 to November 4.

Do you have something cool and great coming up and want to be part of the Calgary Arts Round Up? Drop me a line at amy@calgaryisawesome.com!