In downtown Calgary, colour has taken over concrete. Once-gray underpasses and blank building facades have become vast canvases for local and visiting artists. The transformation began quietly a few years ago but has now turned into one of Canada’s most ambitious public art initiatives — one that’s changing not only the city’s appearance but also its spirit.
The Beltline Urban Mural Project, known locally as BUMP, started in 2017 as a small grassroots effort to beautify neglected walls. Today, it features more than 100 large-scale murals that span entire city blocks. Each summer, painters, illustrators, and graffiti artists gather with cranes and spray cans to give Calgary’s downtown a new layer of life.
“Murals invite people to look up,” says organizer Erin Gibbs, one of the project’s coordinators. “They make art accessible. You don’t have to buy a ticket — the city itself becomes the gallery.” Her team works year-round to secure wall permissions, coordinate funding, and ensure that each artwork reflects the diversity of the community it serves.
This year’s festival brought together artists from across Canada and beyond, including collaborations with Indigenous creators who weave traditional motifs into contemporary designs. Murals featuring prairie wildlife, geometric abstractions, and human portraits now mingle across alleyways and high-rises, telling Calgary’s evolving story one brushstroke at a time.
Local residents have embraced the initiative. Businesses once hesitant to surrender their walls now see murals as a sign of pride and cultural identity. Coffee shops and bars have even built patios to face the art, turning quiet corners into social hubs. For tourists, the murals have become a new kind of map — one that guides exploration through creativity instead of commerce.
“It’s incredible how quickly this changed our downtown,” says photographer Carlos Jiménez, who documents the artworks each year. “People linger now. They take photos, talk to strangers, and start conversations about what each piece means. That kind of engagement didn’t exist before.”
The city’s mural movement has also sparked mentorship programs for young artists. Through BUMP’s apprenticeship initiative, emerging painters learn technical skills and mural safety while working alongside established professionals. Many graduates have gone on to lead projects in other Canadian cities, spreading Calgary’s influence far beyond Alberta.
Not everyone has embraced the shift. A few critics argue that murals, while visually engaging, risk overshadowing deeper social issues like affordable housing and public transit. Project leaders acknowledge the criticism but insist that art plays a vital role in shaping how communities imagine progress. “Murals can’t fix everything,” Gibbs says, “but they remind us that we care enough to try.”
Each mural has its own lifespan, often weathering for several years before being repainted or replaced. For artists, that impermanence is part of the beauty. “It’s like music,” says muralist Kiya Cardinal. “It exists for a moment, then fades. What matters is that it brought people together.”
As the sun sets over Calgary’s skyline, painted walls glow beneath streetlights, transforming once-forgotten alleys into open-air galleries. In a city known for its glass towers and energy industry, the murals stand as bold declarations of creativity — proof that art can do more than decorate space; it can define it.