AXIOS MEN’S ENSEMBLE
Founded in Edmonton by a former monastic brother, Axios Men’s Ensemble gained national acclaim in 2026. The community-based choir won the JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year for their recording honouring the lives lost in Ukraine during the Russian invasion. It was the first ever win for an a cappella group.
AMAL ALHOMSI
Upon moving to Banff in 2018, Syrian writer Amal Alhomsi found it impossible not to write about the Rockies. His 2024 reflection Senescence: A Year in the Canadian Rockies, details his life in the Bow Valley, exploring climate anxiety, love and death. Alhomsi is also the editor-in-chief of Oesa magazine, which showcases the diverse work of Banff ’s artistic community.
TARA BEAGAN
This Lethbridge-raised playwright, actor and director’s works include Thy Neighbour’s Wife, Miss Julie: Sheh’mah, Reckoning, Deer Woman, The Ministry of Grace and Rise, Red River, which was inspired by a grassroots organization that searches for missing Indigenous people. The play won the 2025 Governor General’s Award for Drama.
DANIEL BARTHOLOMEW-POYSER
Orchestral concerts don’t usually involve a live wrestling match. But one by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser might. The Calgary- raised-and-educated conductor has brought orchestra to underserved groups, programming a string quartet performance for incarcerated women, creating the first orchestral drag show and hosting a weekly CBC radio show. For 2026–27 he is the music director of the National Youth Orchestra.
TENILLE TOWNES
Since her first Canadian Country Music Award nomination in 2011 at age 17, Grande Prairie-born-and-raised Tenille Townes has racked up 17 CCMA wins. After years of touring with some of country’s powerhouses, Townes decided in 2024 to leave her Nashville label. For the album The Acrobat, released April 2026, Townes gave herself the freedom to create on her own terms.
SHAWN EVERETT
Born and raised in Bragg Creek and trained at the Banff Centre, music engineer and producer Shawn Everett eventually left for Los Angeles, taking with him the abstract approach and exploratory style he developed in the Rockies. Since then he’s worked with artists across genres, including k.d. lang, Kacey Musgraves, Beyoncé, Beck, Adele, Big Thief, Miley Cyrus, The Killers and The War on Drugs. Everett has won five JUNOS and six Grammys.
KATIE FOURNELL
In 2016 Katie Fournell moved to Okotoks and found a city of filmmakers who had no idea of each other’s existence. In response, she founded the Okotoks Film Festival. Since then the annual festival has platformed and connected the thriving community of local filmmakers, offering screenings, workshops and a 48-hour filmmaking competition.
JAN LISIECKI
Calgary-born-and-raised Jan Lisiecki was the youngest artist ever signed to classical label Deutsche Grammophon, at just 15. This past season he performed with the symphonies of Vienna, Paris, Zurich, San Francisco, Houston, New York and Chicago, as well as at Koerner Hall in Toronto and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Now 31, he won a JUNO Award in 2026 for his album Preludes.
DECIDEDLY JAZZ DANCEWORKS DJD
was founded by Vicki Adams Willis, Michèle Moss and Hannah Stilwell in 1984. The dance company’s unique performances showcase their original choreography and collaboration with such musicians as Big Miller, Tommy Banks and Rubim de Toledo. They have premiered their work at the Havana International Jazz Festival.
CORB LUND
Country music star and Taber rancher’s son Corb Lund is taking on the provincial government to protect the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains from coal mining. In addition to his recent advocacy, Lund has continued to record albums. In 2024 El Viejo was released to critical praise, and 2026 saw Dark Horses, a compilation of acoustic re-records.
CONTRA
Wherever you look in Calgary’s art scene, you’re likely to find CONTRA (Priya Ramesh). As the creative director of BUMP—the Beltline Urban Mural Project—she’s helped turn blank urban walls into permanent public art installations. She’s also one half of the globally performing hip-hop group Cartel Madras and co-founder of art and production house FOREIGNERZ.
RICHARD BOULET
After receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia in his 30s, Edmonton-based textile artist Richard Boulet found hope, healing and acceptance through fabric and a sewing needle. His visually and poetically layered compositions offer new, empathetic perspectives on mental illness. Originally from Peace River, in recent years Boulet has exhibited in Vancouver, Saskatchewan and Italy.
