George Webber: Borrowed Time: Calgary 1976-2019

An intriguing exhibition of documentary photography and micro-essays highlighting the growth and evolution of one of Canada’s most interesting, and complicated, cities.

Shortly after completing university and starting work in 1975, a young George Webber borrowed a camera and took a stroll in downtown Calgary. From that point on, he discovered how his affection for the city could be transformed and harnessed through photography.

For 45 years now, George has documented the theatre of the street: people playing, arguing, flirting, celebrating, regretting, eating, praying, and hugging. Through his sensitive and masterful lens, he has thoughtfully preserved images of men and women, wrestlers, businessmen, cowboys, waitresses, truckers, street performers, priests, and night clerks.

Set against ephemeral backdrops of newspaper boxes, gas stations, trailer parks, billboards, hand-painted signs, abandoned streets, motels, bulletin boards, and pawn shops, George Webber’s latest portfolio preserves much of Calgary’s recent past and immediate present through a colourful kaleidoscope of intimate glimpses that will endure for decades to come.