Ramsay is full of secrets – dark, mysterious, and joyful.

Dark Dingy Underpass

This website archives the Secret Stories of Ramsay, as interpreted by local artists Monica Ila & Caitlind r.c. Brown.

Every creature, house, and object in the dark & dingy underpass mural is tied to a story from Ramsay or Inglewood in Calgary/Mohkinstsis. Beloved wildlife, historic landmarks, and local icons are woven together by a rainbow of belonging.

Ramsay is full of secrets – dark, mysterious, and joyful.

You're invited to explore the stories that connect us, in the words of the neighbours who shared them.

West Wall West Wall Stairs Stairs East Wall East Wall

Land Acknowledgement

The intersection between Ramsay and Inglewood is near the powerful confluence of Bow & Elbow rivers. In Calgary, known as Mohkinstsis in Blackfoot, the confluence has long been a meeting place for secrets & stories unfolding over thousands of years.

When gathering stories for this underpass, we reflected on the role of infrastructure in shaping our lives, lands, and stories, the impacts of the railway and roads, the neighbourhoods and people.

Treaty 7 was signed near this dark, dingy underpass.

It's with gratitude that we acknowledge the gift of living and making art on Treaty 7 lands – the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut'ina First Nation, and Stoney Nakoda, and Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 and 6.

May many more (and better) stories unfold ahead.

Thank You

A huge THANK YOU to the following sponsors and GoFundMe donors for making the mural possible.

This project was funded through generous grants, community fundraising, and countless volunteer hours.

About the Artists

The Dark Dingy Underpass was brought to life by two incredible Calgary artists.

Their combined talents in sculpture, murals, and community engagement created this vibrant celebration of local stories.

Caitlind r.c. Brown

Caitlind r.c. Brown Co-Lead Artist

www.incandescentcloud.com

Caitlind r.c. Brown is an artist, collaborator, and cultural organizer. Her work is centered in non-traditional art spaces, drawing from DIY practices, institutional critique, relational aesthetics, psychogeography, and the subversive power of novelty. Caitlind graduated from Alberta University of the Arts in 2010, earning an Alumni of Merit Career Award in 2019. Caitlind shares an award-winning sculptural practice with Wayne Garrett, exhibiting artworks across Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, and the Middle East. They currently have permanent public artworks in Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto, winning Mayor's Art Awards in Calgary and Edmonton in 2019. Parallel to the process of civic art-making, Caitlind is a co-founder and curator of WRECK CITY, a curatorial collective that organizes experimental art exhibitions in alternative spaces. She maintains an annual art series called The Hibernation Project in her home community of Ramsay in Calgary/Mohkinstsis. Caitlind is a firm believer in art's potential to permeate the everyday, building our human capacity for self-criticality and a clearer vision of the complex, superimposed world(s) that engulf us always.

Monica Ila

Monica Ila Co-Lead Artist

www.monicaila.com

Monica Ila is a multidisciplinary artist from Calgary, AB, who has a strong desire to improve the visual landscape of her hometown. Her work includes murals, sculpture, painting and puppetry. Playfulness is at the heart of everything she makes. Monica has experience creating public work in a variety of mediums and budget scales. She has a keen interest in creating art in communities and in under-utilized spaces. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Sculpture at the Alberta University of the Arts and is a long-standing Board Member of the Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry. Monica has been on the City of Calgary Artist Roster since 2018 and has experience working with large organizations such as schools within the Calgary Board of Education. Her artwork has been sold internationally and exhibited in solo shows within galleries across Canada and public institutions over the last decade. Monica believes that art is instrumental in bringing communities closer together and rediscovering the whimsy within our daily lives.

Come see the mural in person!

The mural is located in the underpass connecting Ramsay and Inglewood in Calgary.

Come see the secret stories in person and discover the hidden details woven throughout the artwork.

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