ICAI Exhibitions & Performances
In collaboration with local arts and community organizations, ICAI hosts multiple exhibitions and performances. These events serve as platforms for immigrant and newcomer arts professionals to showcase their artwork, foster connections within a new community, and captivate fresh audiences. Such initiatives empower immigrant and newcomer arts professionals, enabling them to establish enduring ties within Alberta's vibrant arts landscape.
The realization of these exhibitions and performances owes much to the invaluable support of our partners and the local arts community in Alberta. Through the facilitation of equitable and accessible showcases, ICAI cultivates an environment where arts professionals can not only express their talent but also refine their skills. This collective effort enriches the diversity and vitality of both the arts scene and the broader cultural fabric of Alberta.
ICAI Exhibitions
Black2TheFuture
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Exhibition Duration
November 22nd - December 12thExhibition Reception
November 22nd, 2024, 6 PM - 9 PMLocation
Emmedia, 2005 10 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3C 0K4 -
Samuel Kugbiyi is a multi-talented actor, writer, voiceover artist, songwriter, visual artist, speaker/host, and audio content creator and editor, bringing nearly a decade of experience in creating engaging content for stage, screen, and audio platforms.
He has collaborated with various media broadcasters, production houses, and theater companies, including his own ventures. In addition to his performing arts career, Samuel is also a visual artist, which led to a residency facilitated by ICAI with EMMedia Arts. He is also trained in social media strategy.
Samuel co-founded SAK Productions, a media and entertainment production company that has developed over a dozen performances and strategic content for organizations such as UNESCO, Global Rights, Amnesty International, and the BBC over the last five years.As a voice talent, Samuel has contributed to numerous international projects, including BBC Media Action’s “Story-Story” and the highly anticipated Nigerian All-Star animation “Iyanu” for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, premiering in Spring 2025.
Wage Earner
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Exhibition Duration
October 5 - 31, 2024Exhibition Reception
October 5, 2024Location
Calgary Central Library Level 4 -
Saeed Abdollahi is an Iranian photographer and architect based in Calgary. Holding an MFA from the University of Calgary, Saeed’s award-winning work highlights marginalized communities, drawing on his own immigrant experience to promote social change.
I Speak Art III
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Exhibition Duration
January 22 - May 5, 2024Exhibition Reception
Thursday May 2, 2024Location
+15 Galleries, Arts Commons -
The Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI) is proud to introduce seven visual artists that are newcomers to both the arts community and Canada. This exhibition features the artists and members of The Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI) from all over the world, and share their perspectives as immigrants and their self expressions as artists in this powerful new exhibition.
Exhibiting Artists: Liss Febrero, Alex Hurman, Bijila Nishanth, Yiyo Partida, Mitra Samavaki, Saloni Sharma, Sara Sibrián
Hope and Love for Humanity
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Exhibition Duration
April 6-31, 2024Exhibition Opening
April 6, 2024, 3-5pm (Doors at 2:30pm)Location
Calgary Central Library, Level 0 -
Fadi Alkhouri is a seasoned artist with over three decades of experience in Fine Arts. As a member of the Syrian Plastic Artists Union, his contributions to the world of art are both profound and prolific. With a portfolio boasting over 400 artworks, including sculptures and paintings, Fadi's creative journey has been nothing short of remarkable. From Syria to Lebanon, his works have captivated audiences and garnered awards, with many sculptures now gracing public spaces in Syria. Fadi's artistry, now rooted in Calgary, Alberta, continues to evolve, drawing inspiration from the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Dream
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Exhibition Duration
April 1-30, 2023Location
Calgary Central Library, Level 0 -
Sahar Hakimi is a visual artist with a remarkable proficiency and powerful intuitive approach to creativity, utilizing the female form and routine life. Sahar was one of the mentees in the first cohort of the Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program in Calgary, and was mentored by Mark Vasquez.
She originates from Tehran, Iran and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta. Her artworks are inspired by the femininity of women through emotional combination of realism and surrealism. She achieves a myriad of palpable textures and moods with every confident brush stroke. By using various different tonality of greyish colours as well as intense, vibrant colours and noticeable brushstroke, she is attempting to illustrate her emotions such as anger, loss, grief and fear.
Open Spaces Windows to a View
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Exhibition Duration
September - November 2024Location
Windows on 7th Ave LRT Platform, Telus Convention CentreExhibition Statement:
The Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI), in partnership with Calgary Arts Development (CADA), proudly presents Open Spaces: Windows to a View—a year-long exhibition transforming the windows of the Telus Convention Centre into dynamic canvases. From September 2024 to August 2025, eight talented ICAI members and immigrant artists will showcase their work, each for three months, bringing their diverse cultural backgrounds and artistic stories to life.Each installation will be a unique expression of creativity and identity, turning public space into an inspiring place of connection. Open Spaces highlights the diversity, creativity, and unique voices that infuse Calgary’s arts scene with energy and life, showcasing the rich artistic spirit of the community.
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Alexander Akhere Oriaifo, a Nigerian-born Hyperrealist, brings everyday moments to life with breathtaking detail in charcoal and graphite. His intricate works capture the beauty of realism, transforming ordinary scenes into extraordinary pieces of art that resonate with emotion and depth. Experience the transformative power of Alexander’s hyperrealistic art at the 7th Ave LRT Platform this fall!
Natural Beauty of Alberta
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Exhibition Duration
October 5-31, 2023Exhibition Opening
October 5, 2023, 6:30pmLocation
Calgary Central Library, Level 0 -
Zahra Entezari is a painter, photographer, and art instructor based in Calgary, originally from Shiraz, Iran. She moved to Calgary, Canada in 2018. Zahra is also an alumna of ICAI’s first Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program, further showcasing her dedication to the arts community!
With a wealth of over 25 years of experience, Zahra has worked with various mediums, and oil and pastel are her favourites. The focal point of much of her artworks revolve around landscape. Nature profoundly influences her and remains a constant source of inspiration. Within her creations, light and color are playing essential roles in shaping her artistic expression.
Zahra’s art works were exhibited across Iran in many provincial and national exhibitions. Presently, she is building her audience in Calgary, Alberta. Notably, some of her artworks were displayed at ‘Arts Commons’, Calgary in 2022, and at ‘Three Sister Gallery’, Canmore in 2023. Zahra received the prestigious ‘Immigrant Distinction Award’ in the realm of ‘Art & Culture’ in Calgary, Canada, in the year 2022.
I Speak Art II
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Exhibition Duration
February 4 - May 14 2023Location
Arts Commons -
The I SPEAK ART II exhibition was awarded to graduates of the IAMP Cohort 2, Diane Din Ebongue, Hanieh Jalali, Hesam Ohadi, Kyung Eun Heo, Lia Pereira, Margarita Rebetskaya, Patricia Peixoto, Wahed Al Khatib Obeid, Yu Chen and Zarifa Rajha. Ten newcomer artists in Calgary were connected with local established arts professionals for mentorship. This exhibition featured ten very different stories and journeys, showcasing the perspectives and self-expression of ten artists from all over the world as immigrants.
Bodhi, Passion & Sunlight
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Exhibition Duration
August 3-31, 2023Exhibition Opening
August 3, 2023, 6:30pmLocation
Calgary Central Library, Level 1 -
Petra Schovánková was born in the Czech Republic into a family of teachers. Her path led first to the faculty of education, where she received a bachelor's degree. But she fell in love with acting much sooner. Petra graduated as an actress at JAMU - Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno.
Sara Sibrian, BFA, is based in Calgary and is from the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. Sibrian likes to portray the contrast and vitality that characterises her tropical culture - daring, direct and friendly. Sara confronts her vision of adversity and finds ways to represent it through the art.
Bijila Puliyathadathil is a self taught visual artist and fashion designer from Kerala, India. She expresses her attachment and admiration for age-old Indian culture, traditions and Indian classical arts and performances through her paintings, mixed media art and crafts. It is her way of sharing about her native, childhood and stories she excitedly listened to from her beloved granny.
Open Spaces Windows to a View
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Exhibition Duration
September - November 2024Location
Windows on 7th Ave LRT Platform, Telus Convention CentreExhibition Statement:
The Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI), in partnership with Calgary Arts Development (CADA), proudly presents Open Spaces: Windows to a View—a year-long exhibition transforming the windows of the Telus Convention Centre into dynamic canvases. From September 2024 to August 2025, eight talented ICAI members and immigrant artists will showcase their work, each for three months, bringing their diverse cultural backgrounds and artistic stories to life.Each installation will be a unique expression of creativity and identity, turning public space into an inspiring place of connection. Open Spaces highlights the diversity, creativity, and unique voices that infuse Calgary’s arts scene with energy and life, showcasing the rich artistic spirit of the community.
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Karine Nazaryan, a passionate Armenian-born paper artist, creates vibrant three-dimensional worlds using intricate paper quilling, collage, and cut-out techniques. Her art is alive with bold colors and dynamic forms, evoking joy, curiosity, and the wonder of life.