Category: Edmonton

Building Edmonton Together Learning Symposium 2014

12/22/2014

Earlier this year I did some graphic recording at a symposium put together by the City of Edmonton and Edmonton's Urban Development Institute. I just came across some pictures taken by the event photographer, David Rauch (take a look here to see them. They are great!) I'm going to put some up here because I actually don't have any pictures of that poster and I enjoyed remembering how much fun this was to draw. Thanks for posting these pictures, David!!

P.S. Looking at David Rauch's photographs leads me to discover that he seems to be the man behind the very cool OpenPianoYEG, "Edmonton's first outdoor public piano project" (of which more here). Wow! I love this idea. And I know of an old upright piano which needs a home soon... or else! Could this kind of thing happen in Calgary? Is this a project for "find it" (of Inglewood & Ramsay pop-up event notoriety)? Oh... I'd better get to sleep before I start getting too inspired by all the possibilities! More soon!

sam.

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Summer 2014 Graphic Recording Catch-Up

8/15/2014

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This summer hasn't really afforded much time for blogging. With a lot of family stuff to look after (including a baby who still isn't interested in sleeping longer than about 4 hours at a stretch), and helping organize the find it Inglewood Night Markets, it's been pretty busy. But I just realized I haven't even posted any pictures from my most recent graphic recording projects. They have all been fun! So here's my attempt at playing catch-up!

In some ideal world (or at least in a world in which I was getting 6 hours of sleep every night), I'd write a whole lot more about the background stories, the amazing people, and the interesting anecdotes that arose from each of these individual projects. But for now these brief snippets will have to do!

Building Edmonton Together Symposium

The Urban Development Institute of Greater Edmonton and the City of Edmonton co-hosted the second annual Building Edmonton Together: Learning Symposium on May 22, 2014. This was a totally fascinating window into another city's challenges and success stories. Working in Edmonton is always an inspiring learning experience for me, as I try to get a handle on the things it does differently than (or the same way as) Calgary. There is cool stuff going on in this city!

I only just realized that the above picture is the only picture I have from this event. I'd better dig up some more!

Workshop for Studio C's "Empact" Program

I was really honoured to be invited by local videographer Michelle Sykes to lead a workshop about graphic recording for the participants of a very unique initiative: Studio C's "Empact." Studio C is a unique integrated Community Art and Resource Centre – a venue where artists with and without disabilities achieve collaboration, inspiration and immersion within Calgary’s art community. (Here's a stop-motion video of the creation of the mural outside their front door... I really like it.)

In the workshop I helped with, we talked about job interview strategies. This was the graphic recording I made from the participants' conversation. Thanks to Michelle for the pics of me in action!

Innovate West Conference at Telus SPARK

At this conference for a bunch of innovative educators from all over, I got to work at one of the coolest venues ever - TELUS Spark, Calgary's new Science Centre. Here's a picture of the fancy lighting in the hall, and my blank poster all ready to go!

The Innovate West Conference is hosted by Calgary's amazing Connect Charter School. (If you think you might like your child to go to school there, call now! There's a quite a waiting list!) The speakers whose talks I recorded were each inspiring in their own ways: Colorado-based educator Michelle Baldwin (who wrote this blog post about the conference); Joshua Hill (who has the cool job title of "21st Century Learning Specialist at Rocky View School Division"); and educator/master "sketchnoter" Brad Ovenell-Carter (whose blog A Stick in the Sand, features lots of cool illustrated notes).

It seemed a bit crazy for me to make a graphic recording of his talk, which also featured his own hand-drawn visuals. "This is very meta," is how he put it. Indeed. But so fun!

Speak Geek #2: Fierce Conversations!

Last of all... here are some pictures from the Chic Geek's second Speak Geek event at cool local venue The Uncommons. I had the opportunity to draw some pictures for this innovative group earlier this year (pictures here).

One of the most interesting parts of this evening for me was the chance to hear a talk by Mary Anne Moser of Beakerhead - an outrageously ambitious and brilliant festival taking place in Calgary this September. I'm particularly excited about this year's festival because my find it colleagues and I will be collaborating with the Beakerhead team and bringing one of their incredible spectacles to our last Inglewood Night Market of 2014 on Friday, September 12th. Just what kind of spectacle, exactly? Oh, just a giant flaming robot octopus... EL PULPO MECANICO. Yes, you read that right ! ! ! Now that we're all caught up, I'll be posting more about that soon... stay tuned!

And cue the baby waking up. All for now!

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Infill Action Collaborative

4/1/2014

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I live in Calgary. But when I was invited, a few months back, to contribute some graphic recording to a City of Edmonton initiative, I was really pleased to do so - and not only because it meant I'd be able to count on free babysitting from my in-laws. (That's my baby under the "welcome" sign!)

I was actually excited to learn about Evolving Infill, a City-led "collaborative project that is aiming to create an Infill Action Plan to shape the City’s plan to advance Infill." Infill housing is happening, whether people like it or not (and not just in Edmonton). The City of Edmonton is hosting a conversation between citizens from every different side of the story, gathering up as much information as possible from real people, in order to make the process better for everyone.

That's my short version of what the Evolving Infill team is doing - but you can find out much more about it on their website.

I happen to love this kind of project. I love civic engagement (one word: VoteKit!!!), and I love good urban design that makes for walkable and multi-generational neighbourhoods (if you actually make it through this whole post, you'll see a comic strip I wrote on this subject a while back - from which, a little snippet here). And, well, I love eavesdropping on interesting conversations.

And I have to say, speaking as a Calgarian who came to love Calgary by the long way around (here's a bit on that subject, in this post about Calgary books), I kind of love Edmonton, too.

The bridge!!!

I mean, it's cold, it's got a layout that's more messed-up than you'd think would be possible considering it's on a grid, it's full of all these passionate small-L (and big-L, I guess) liberal thinking artsy unpretentious educated culture-loving citizens, it's famous for its potholes, there's that insane bridge, and it's got the best Indian food outside of Bradford, UK (although its most beloved local dish is apparently the green onion cake). What's not to love?

Throughout the four days I've spent so far with Edmonton's Infill Action Collaborative (of whom more below), I found myself wishing I knew more about the nuances of Edmonton's city scene. A lot of what I heard sounds like what's going on in Calgary, too (although, interestingly enough, there are some big differences - for example, in Calgary there's still this ongoing debate about legalizing secondary suites (here's a passionate contribution to the debate by blogger Mike Morrison), whereas in Edmonton, these are accepted fare).

Anyway - here's my fly-on-the-wall view of this very cool Edmonton project.

Meet the Infill Action Collaborative

In "Step 1" of Evolving Infill (last year), project leaders gathered "infill stories" from citizens. Right now they're in the middle of "Step 2," and here's what their website says about that:

In Step 2 of Evolving Infill, a group of Edmontonians with diverse backgrounds and experiences has formed the Infill Action Collaborative. As a team they are identifying and prioritizing recommendations the City may consider to better support infill development, building on what we heard and learned in Step 1 of the Evolving Infill project.

That's City Planner Jeff Chase up there, speaking to the Infill Action Collaborative at their first workshop. Next, everyone introduced themselves, and while they were at it, mentioned their favourite kitchen utensil. I managed to catch most of them!

Next, our group facilitator Dave Robertson invited participants to help put together some guidelines to help us make the most of our time together. I quickly scribbled down the suggestions as they were called out by the group. Here are a few:

Dave Robertson, by the way, who's the principal at Calgary's Mistri Consulting, is leading these workshops, and he is the person who invited me to collaborate with him in doing so. Thanks Dave!

By the end of our second workshop, the group had worked through a lot of information. Here's Dave (above) leading a discussion about all of the stuff on the posters you can see behind him! Group participants discussed various "infill stories" (some that they came up with themselves, and others that had been contributed by Edmontonians during "Step 1" of the project).

They talked about challenges and obstacles for the infill process - from many points of view (i.e. speaking as neighbours, developers, realtors, architects, planners, builders, you name it!)

Oh, and another point of view that was pretty important in these discussions was that of "Community League" members. I had no idea that these neighbourhood organizations, which in Calgary are known as "Community Associations," are called "Leagues" in Edmonton.

I couldn't stop thinking of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed (Community) League" - ha ha.

Anyway, the group worked through infill stories, challenges and obstacles to the current process, and also listed their hopes and aspirations for the infill system. Plus, they drafted eight statements that they felt summed up what was happening in Edmonton infill currently. And all of this went on to a poster - details below.

Two random notes: First, a shout out to Under the High Wheel, the caterers who brought some really tasty food to the workshops. Now I know where I'll be going, the next time I have the chance to eat out in Edmonton!

And second: I was not the only one taking creative notes during all this. I noticed one of the Infill Action Collaborative participants, Geoff Abma, taking really lovely notes in his sketchbook, and I asked if I could take some pictures of them (here they are, below). (He has a pretty cool website, too.)

I really love sketchnotes. As a total aside, I recently took a look at some other great sketchnotes by Dave Wittekind from Chicago. And take a look at these truly amazing sketchnotes by Vancouver-based Brad Ovenell-Carter! If you can believe it, I'm actually supposed to do a graphic recording of a talk he'll be giving in Calgary in May (at the InnovateWest Conference). Um, just a little intimidating!!!

McKay Avenue School

But now, back to Evolving Infill for a few pictures from our amazing venue: the former McKay Avenue School in downtown Edmonton, which now houses the Edmonton Public Schools Archives & Museum.

Notes about the photos below: The golden-doored elevator reminded me of the elevator in the Calgary Public Building (there's a photo of it in this post). The pink couch was in the "powder room!" And what's with the painting in the hinged frame? Is it just so you can slide the picture into the frame? Or is it so that you can hide some classified document in there? (Shades of "The Secret Adversary.")

On my way to one workshop I listened to some glorious organ music on the radio (thanks, CKUA) and was delighted to find an actual organ at the venue when I arrived. The placard says it was donated by the grandson of William F. Puffer, Member of the erstwhile Alberta Provincial Parliament. I looked him up just because I liked his name (I liked the organ, too) - sounds like he was quite a progressive fellow. Ah, so much Edmonton history, so little time!

At the third workshop, the Infill Action Collaborative spent a lot of time in breakout groups coming up with strategies for supporting the evolution of established neighbourhoods through infill development.

Here is something else I noticed while drawing all these folks: almost all the women were wearing scarves. It seemed as though every time I turned around to draw someone, I'd see another scarf! And this was the case, not only on the three different days I worked with this group, but with all the women at the Infill Action Review (coming up below). What's the deal, Edmonton women? I know it's cold in your city (and yes, it was kinda chilly in the McKay Avenue School, too), but what about cardigans, turtlenecks, shawls? I have been to other cold cities, but I didn't notice anything like this.

Is the scarf a ubiquitous Edmonton winter fashion element I just didn't know about? A civic statement that says "Edmonton" just like the green onion cake? I'm kind of intrigued.

Anyway, here is the poster that came out of the group presentations about infill strategies.

Infill Action Review

By now, I was getting into the routine of these Evolving Infill workshops. My Edmonton day started with a drive downtown from my in-laws' home in the distant suburbs. These drives confirmed for me (yet again) an apparent fact about the Edmonton radio scene: namely, that CKUA is an oasis in a desert of heavy metal and dance mixes. Just sayin'.

The Infill Action Initiative organizers promised back at the beginning of the first workshop: "All of the work we're doing, we'll be sharing with the public!" And they have certainly kept their word. On March 22nd, they hosted a public event - the Infill Action Review - inviting Edmontonians to come in and see what they've been doing.

As before, the event was held at the wonderful McKay Avenue School building. I was too busy drawing during the event to take any pictures of the participants, or of the really great visuals the organizing team brought along to show what they've been up to.

Here's Kim of Dialogue Partners welcoming everyone to the event. (Notice: she too is wearing a scarf! See what I mean?!)

Participants sat around tables and talked about different aspects of the Edmonton infill situation. And I walked around with an easel listening in on their conversation. Here's what I came up with:

And what's next?

Now what? The Infill Action Collaborative is meeting again in April, and I'll be there to record what they come up with. After that, the project organizers will be working with all this material to (in their words) "develop an Infill Action Plan that identifies actions and priorities and serves as a road map for the City's work to support more new housing in established communities." That sounds great!

I'll put up pictures from the last workshop in April. For now, here's an insight that really resonated with me:

Here's to more workshops like this! Thanks for inviting me along for the ride, Evolving Infill team! (pictured above, with me: City of Edmonton Planners Jeff Chase, Lisa Larson and Yvonne Pronovost)

And... my two cents

As it happens, I have some strong opinions about the importance of supporting community-friendly inner-city developments such as good infill housing. Here's a comic strip I wrote for my community newsletter last year on the subject. And if this piques your interest, here's a blog post I wrote that takes this subject a bit further (i.e. it's a rant). Ok - all for now!

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sam hester

I am a graphic recorder based in Calgary. I like local stories. I write comics when I have free time. And I leave eraser shavings everywhere I go.

Looking for a
graphic recorder?
Look here!

contact me

[email protected]

my website

www.the23rdstory.com started as a blog and now includes some information about my graphic recording practice as well.

I also have an (old) website which features a lot of my (old) work. Look out, it's a bit clunky and there are a lot of links that don't go anywhere, but there are still a few interesting things there:
www.thedrawingbook.com

Building Edmonton Together Learning Symposium 2014

Summer 2014 Graphic Recording Catch-Up

Building Edmonton Together Symposium

Workshop for Studio C's "Empact" Program

Innovate West Conference at Telus SPARK

Speak Geek #2: Fierce Conversations!

Infill Action Collaborative

Meet the Infill Action Collaborative

McKay Avenue School

Infill Action Review

And what's next?

And... my two cents

sam hester

Looking for a
graphic recorder?
Look here!

contact me

my website

Categories

archives

Building Edmonton Together Learning Symposium 2014

Summer 2014 Graphic Recording Catch-Up

Building Edmonton Together Symposium

Workshop for Studio C's "Empact" Program

Innovate West Conference at Telus SPARK

Speak Geek #2: Fierce Conversations!

Infill Action Collaborative

Meet the Infill Action Collaborative

McKay Avenue School

Infill Action Review

And what's next?

And... my two cents

sam hester

Looking for agraphic recorder? Look here!

contact me

my website

Categories

archives

Looking for a
graphic recorder?
Look here!