Glenbow

The Glenbow Museum, formally the Glenbow-Alberta Institute, stands as Calgary's preeminent regional art, history and culture museum. Established in 1966 on the bequest of philanthropist Eric Lafferty Harvie, it houses immense archives, art, ethnology, mineralogy, military artifacts and community history collections—among the largest non-governmental archives in Canada.

Located downtown, Glenbow has welcomed generations with exhibitions spanning Indigenous cultures, settler history, contemporary art and global cultures. Collections include 33,000 artworks, over 3,500 metres of archival records, 100,000 library materials, plus 26,000 military and mounted police artifacts, Indigenous ethnographic items, minerals and global artifacts.

Since February 2022, Glenbow offers free general admission through an endowment from the Shaw Family Foundation, positioning accessibility as fundamental. The museum closed in 2021 to undergo a major transformation—“Glenbow Reimagined”—and plans to reopen in its new home, the JR Shaw Centre for Arts & Culture, in 2026. The revamped facility will encompass eight floors, 325,000 sq ft, with 44 exhibitions, visible storage, a conservation lab, an Indigenous-led Blackfoot gallery and the JR Shaw Institute for Art in Canada.

During the closure, Glenbow’s archival and research services remain accessible by appointment—though site access presently requires following safety protocols due to ongoing construction.

Overall, Glenbow balances ambitious institutional renewal with rich collections and a deepening commitment to accessibility, Indigenous collaboration, and cultural engagement.