You’ve taken the plunge and purchased your first home, a condominium that you want to reflect your personality in every way. But for all the fun of shopping for furniture, orienting it perfectly and throwing the big housewarming party, those empty walls (or maybe even worse, poster-covered walls) still taunt you. You know you need art, you actually want to buy art, but the whole thought is just so intimidating. Like anything else, the first step is the hardest, but from that point things only get easier.

With well over 100 galleries in Calgary, th ere are lots of great places to start. Easy now ... one step at a time. First on the list: figure out what you like.

Go Art Surfing
You can start with some gallery websites—large, famous ones such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (http://www.metmuseum.org), Tate Modern (http://www.tate.org.uk) and the Louvre (http://www.louvre.fr) have vast amounts of work available for online viewing, and local sites such as http://www.art-masters.net allow you to browse from home.

Another place to get your feet wet is design magazines, suggests Paul Kuhn, owner of the contemporary Canadian Paul Kuhn Gallery. The theory is, if you know you enjoy the interior design featured (the colours or style), you can gain some knowledge of artwork you might incorporate into a similar design by observing the art featured in the layout. This is a good way to begin to learn about art. From here, you need to get out and see real art, up close.

Deborah Herringer Kiss, owner of Herringer Kiss Gallery, echoes the thoughts of many other artists and gallery owners when she says, “My advice for people is to simply get out to the galleries and start looking.”

Make a Day of It
If you’re really intimidated by art, you may think that there are “right” types of art and “wrong” types to like. The truth is, whatever you like is the right type for you.

Says Sandra Neill, co-founder and vice-president of communications at Art Central, “With art, the most important thing in choosing is that you have some sort of connection to it. You don’t know what it is (about it), but you love it.”
In order to find pieces that you like and have a foundation to buy one or more pieces for your condo, you need to look at many. Luckily, there are a number of pockets in the city containing high concentrations of galleries and studios. Any of these are a great place to start.

If you can, dedicate a day to exploring galleries. The best place in town for seeing a large volume and variety of art all in one place is the 11th Avenue Design District, a section of 11 Avenue S.W. stretching from First Street to 14 Street. Here, shoppers will find at least 15 galleries with styles ranging from folk to regional to contemporary. The variety available in the area means you can pinpoint whether there is a specific style of art you prefer and focus on that as you narrow down your search.

From 11th, if you’re still up for more art, it’s a stone’s throw to downtown where many more galleries await. Or simply hit the downtown on its own (easy for those who work in the core), and take in the variety available there.
One hotspot is Art Central, where shoppers can take in 57 individual spaces in one building, including commercial galleries and private artists’ studios. “Don’t be afraid to go to galleries,” says Kuhn. “Don’t worry about feeling uncomfortable—be ready for the adventure.”

Go Public
Not all galleries sell art—at public galleries such as the Triangle Gallery, the Art Gallery of Calgary, The Nickle Arts Museum and the Illingworth Kerr Gallery, you can browse without feeling an obligation to a salesperson.“Public galleries can be a great place to view art and to develop your taste in art,” says Herringer Kiss. “Because work is not for sale, people can begin their introduction into the art scene without feeling intimated or pressured to make a purchase.”

Get Educated
September and October see a flurry of art events in Calgary, including Art Walk, a free annual event giving participants the opportunity to see a variety of galleries as part of a guided group.
This year, the Art Gallery of Calgary is holding an educational series on buying art, which will culminate in an art auction. Both of these events are a great chance to learn more about art, especially local art, in a non-intimidating atmosphere.

Zoom In
Hopefully at this point you will have some idea of what you like. The question of whether to choose based on the space or a specific piece yields the same answer across the board—choose a piece you love, and you’ll find a place for it.
Eric Giesbrecht, owner of Croft, suggests starting your art collection with functional pieces for the kitchen. “Art in the kitchen is a fabulous thing. It’s art that you use; it’s not intimidating; and the price point is comparatively low.”
He also recommends starting with a small piece for the wall. Either way, “just having it around on a day-to-day basis can change the way you feel about the space and can be a jumping off point for a move from poster art to something more distinguished.”

According to Herringer Kiss, you’ll learn quite quickly whether you prefer abstract, landscape, traditional or contemporary art. Once you feel confident in your tastes, ask questions at galleries where you find work you like.
“Ask about the artist’s education, where do they live, what collections are they in, and what, if anything, are they trying to convey with their work,” advises Herringer Kiss. “Don’t be shy to ask about price. If you feel comfortable at the gallery and are very interested in a particular piece, ask the gallery about being able to try the work in your home and/or payment options.”

Basic tips for buying include “buy what you like, buy original work and buy locally,” from Margaret Bergman, co-president and director of the Centennial Gallery, and “buy the art of your generation,” from Kuhn.

Save Money; Support a Starving Artist
If money is a concern, you’d be well-advised to support an emerging artist. This is truly a win-win situation, as the artist, who is not yet established in the world of commercial galleries, gets to sell their art, while you save some cash and can one day say, “I bought art from her when ...”

You can find up-and-coming artists at a number of venues in town, including the University of Calgary (specifically, at the Mezzanine Gallery), the Alberta College of Art and Design, and Skew Gallery, a young, contemporary gallery featuring painters, photographers, sculptors and sound and instalment pieces.

Where It’s Art: A sampling of Calgary galleries

Art Central (100 7 Avenue S.W.): Visual art complex opened in 2004, housing studios and galleries plus retail and cafe space.

Art Gallery of Calgary (117 8 Avenue S.W.): This public gallery features contemporary art and events that foster appreciation of visual arts.

Artists of the World (514 11 Avenue S.W.): Housed in a 102-year-old building, this large gallery represents more than 200 artists from around the world. Art is rotated on an almost weekly basis.

Centennial Gallery (133 - 125 9 Avenue S.W.): An artist-run gallery featuring paintings, prints, pottery, porcelain and glasswork by local artists.

Cottage Craft (8330 Macleod Trail S) Specializing in Native Canadian and Inuit art.

Croft (2105 4 Street S.W.) This Mission gallery focuses on fine art, mainly ceramics.

Fourbyfive Gallery of Photography (14 100 7 Avenue S.W.): Features the work of established local photographers, Fourbyfive is dedicated to the establishment of photography as a collectible art form.

Gainsborough Galleries (441 5 Avenue S.W.): Features Calgary’s largest collection of bronze work as well as an extensive collection of other art.

Gallery of Canadian Folk Art (2206A 4 Street S.W.): Features paintings, furniture, carvings, textiles, antiques and more from across the country.

Harrison Galleries (709A 11 Avenue S.W.) Focus on mid-career and established artists.

Herringer Kiss Gallery (1111 11 Avenue S.W.): Featuring provocative pieces from emerging and mid-career artists, this gallery focuses on contemporary Canadian artwork.

Illingworth Kerr Gallery (1407 14 Avenue N.W.): Featuring contemporary art and located in the Alberta College of Art and Design.

Kensington Fine Art Gallery (628 11 Avenue S.W.) With artists from the contemporary to Group of Seven, this gallery has moved into more contemporary pieces since moving from 17 Avenue S.W.

Marion Nicoll Gallery (1407 14 Avenue N.W.) Student-run and featuring students’ work, this gallery is located within the Alberta College of Art and Design.

Masters Gallery (2115 4th Street S.W.): This 30-year-old gallery supplies art to a variety of public galleries around Calgary.

Mezzanine Gallery (2500 University Drive N.W.): Showcasing the work of University of Calgary undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni and local artists, the Mezzanine Gallery is located on the mezzanine floor of the University Theatre.

Newzones Gallery (730 11th Avenue S.W.): In the same building (with soaring ceilings and great light) for 15 years, Newzones features mainly Canadian artists.

Nickle Arts Museum (University of Calgary, 434 Collegiate Boulevard N.W.): Located within the University of Calgary, this gallery’s two main areas of focus are contemporary Western Canadian art and numismatics.

Paul Kuhn Gallery (724 11 Avenue S.W.): Focuses on contemporary Canadian works.

Skew Gallery (1615 10 Avenue S.W.): Specializing in theme group exhibitions, this young and contemporary gallery features photography, painting, sculpture and more from across Canada.

Stride Gallery (1004 Macleod Trail S.E.): Non-profit, artist-run gallery exhibiting contemporary artwork.

TrepanierBaer Gallery (105-999 8 Street S.W.): A progressive gallery, representing mid-career and senior international and Canadian artists, and emerging Canadian artists.

Triangle Gallery of Visual Art (104 - 800 Macleod Trail S.E.): Featuring contemporary Canadian visual art, architecture and design.

TRUCK (815 1st Street S.W.): A non-profit, artist-run centre dedicated to exhibiting hybrid and emerging forms of contemporary art.

Udell Contemporary (725 11 Avenue S.W.): Represents many of Canada’s leading contemporary artists as well as some emerging international artists.

Webster Galleries (812 11 Avenue S.W.): This warm space is filled with eclectic, Canadian art of all types. The large collection becomes even larger when you learn that the walls swing open to reveal additional pieces.