Calgary has never been a city content with blank walls. What began as scattered graffiti tags along rail corridors has matured into one of western Canada's most compelling outdoor gallery circuits, a constellation of large-scale murals that reward both the casual stroller and the deliberate photographer. Whether you are a visitor building a weekend itinerary or a Calgarian searching for a backdrop that does justice to your Saturday outfit, this guide maps the ten murals that currently define the city's visual identity, each one worth a dedicated trip with a fully charged camera.
We have included exact addresses, the artists behind each piece, and the time of day when natural light treats the wall most generously. Because a mural photographed under flat noon sun and the same mural at golden hour are, functionally, two different works of art.
Why Calgary's Mural Scene Commands Attention
The annual BUMP Festival has been the engine behind Calgary's transformation into a legitimate street art destination. Since its founding, BUMP has invited international and local artists to reimagine the city's walls, producing works that range from photorealistic portraits spanning six storeys to abstract geometric compositions that shift depending on where you stand. The programme has been joined by independent commissions from BIAs, developers, and hospitality businesses, creating an ecosystem where new walls appear each season.
But the reason these murals photograph so well extends beyond artistic quality. Calgary's dry climate and abundant sunshine, averaging over 300 sunny days a year, means that pigments stay saturated and light conditions remain dramatic. The city's wide avenues and low-rise Beltline blocks allow for the kind of unobstructed sight lines that let you compose a full wall in a single frame. It is, quite literally, a city built for photographing murals.
The Ten Murals You Cannot Miss
1. The Beltline Mosaic Corridor
Location: 1st Street SW between 11th and 12th Avenue. This stretch of the Beltline features a sequence of interconnected panels that tell a layered narrative of Calgary's cultural history. The scale is staggering, extending across multiple buildings to create an unbroken visual journey. Arrive between 4:00 and 6:00 PM in spring and summer, when the afternoon sun drops below the roofline and lights the west-facing walls with warm, directional light. The alleyway opposite provides enough distance for a full-wall composition.
2. The 17th Avenue Figurative Portrait
Location: 17th Avenue SW near 5th Street. One of Calgary's street art scene's most recognisable works, this photorealistic portrait spans the full height of a three-storey building. The detail in the subject's expression invites close-up photography as much as wide establishing shots. Best light: morning, between 8:00 and 10:00 AM, when the east-facing wall catches gentle, diffused illumination. The coffee shops across the street make for convenient staging while you wait for the perfect moment.
3. The Kensington Geometric Wall
Location: Kensington Road NW near 10th Street. This hard-edge geometric composition uses optical illusion techniques to make a flat wall appear three-dimensional. The colours shift from warm to cool across the surface, making it extraordinarily responsive to changes in daylight. Overcast days actually serve this wall well, as the diffused light eliminates harsh shadows and lets the colour relationships read clearly. Any time before 2:00 PM works, but cloud cover is your friend here.
4. The Inglewood Heritage Tribute
Location: 9th Avenue SE in Inglewood. Inglewood's oldest commercial district provides the contextual backdrop for this mural celebrating Calgary's indigenous and settler histories. The work integrates archival imagery with contemporary graphic techniques, creating a palimpsest effect that rewards repeated viewing. Golden hour, roughly 7:00 to 8:30 PM during summer months, transforms the surface into something luminous. The south-facing orientation means the wall receives beautiful side-light throughout the afternoon.
5. The East Village Waterfront Installation
Location: RiverWalk, East Village, near St. Patrick's Island. This mural series along the East Village waterfront wraps around infrastructure elements, transforming utilitarian surfaces into canvases. The proximity to the Bow River means reflections can be incorporated into your composition if you position yourself along the pathway. Sunrise, between 6:00 and 7:30 AM, produces the most extraordinary results, with mist occasionally rising off the river to create a natural diffusion filter.
6. The Bridgeland Botanical Mural
Location: 1st Avenue NE, Bridgeland. A lush, oversized botanical composition that covers an entire side elevation. The floral motifs reference Alberta's native wildflower species while the colour palette nods to South American muralism traditions. This north-facing wall benefits from consistent, even light throughout the day, making it one of the more forgiving locations for photography. Late afternoon provides the most saturated colours, typically between 3:00 and 5:00 PM.
7. The Sunalta Underpass Transformation
Location: Sunalta LRT underpass, near 14th Street SW. What was once a bleak pedestrian corridor is now one of Calgary's most immersive mural environments. The enclosed space creates controlled lighting conditions, meaning this location produces strong photographs even at midday, when other outdoor murals suffer from harsh overhead light. The tunnel geometry naturally frames your subject, making it one of the city's easiest murals to photograph well.
A mural is not simply something to look at. It is something to stand inside of.
8. The Ramsay Industrial Canvas
Location: Ramsay neighbourhood, south of Inglewood. The Ramsay district's industrial buildings provide massive canvases for some of Calgary's most ambitious mural projects. The raw, post-industrial texture of the substrate becomes part of the work itself, with peeling paint and weathered brick adding a patina that digital art cannot replicate. Shoot during the late afternoon when the sun angles across from the west, typically between 5:00 and 7:00 PM.
9. The Chinatown Cultural Narrative
Location: Centre Street S and 2nd Avenue, Chinatown. This mural addresses Calgary's Chinese-Canadian heritage with subtlety and force, weaving together calligraphic elements, architectural references, and portraiture. The east-facing wall means morning light is optimal, between 9:00 and 11:00 AM. The surrounding streetscape, with its cultural signage and heritage buildings, provides rich contextual framing for wider compositions.
10. The University District Gateway
Location: University District NW, near the Market at University District. One of Calgary's newest large-scale commissions, this mural greets visitors to the University District with a composition that balances figurative and abstract elements. The building's modern architecture provides clean lines that complement rather than compete with the painted surface. West-facing, so late afternoon and evening light between 5:00 and 8:00 PM in summer is ideal.
Planning Your Mural Photography Route
These ten locations can be connected into a single day's walking and cycling route, though we would recommend splitting into two circuits. A morning route beginning in Bridgeland, moving through East Village, Chinatown, and into the Beltline catches the east-facing walls in their best light. An afternoon and evening circuit covering Kensington, Sunalta, 17th Avenue, Inglewood, and Ramsay follows the sun westward. The CTrain connects several of these neighbourhoods efficiently, and Calgary's extensive pathway system means many of these murals are accessible by bicycle.
For the serious photographer, we recommend visiting your chosen mural twice: once for scouting composition and background elements, and once for the actual shoot during optimal light. The difference between a considered photograph and a quick snapshot is almost always about preparation, not equipment.
Photography Tips for Calgary Murals
Scale is the defining characteristic of these works, so resist the urge to shoot everything tight. Pull back far enough to include the surrounding architecture, the sidewalk, even pedestrians, as these contextual elements communicate the sheer ambition of painting at this scale. A wide-angle lens, or simply stepping across the street, will serve you better than a telephoto.
Calgary's sky is frequently dramatic, with cloud formations that add tension to any outdoor composition. When photographing a wall that occupies the lower two-thirds of your frame, the sky becomes your natural backdrop. Use it intentionally. If the clouds are cooperating, angle your camera slightly upward to incorporate them.
For portrait photography in front of murals, position your subject at least a metre from the wall to separate them from the painted surface and create a natural depth of field. Avoid direct midday sun on your subject's face; instead, use the wall's shadow or reflected light to create softer, more flattering illumination. Many of these murals feature colour palettes that can inform your wardrobe choices, and the photographers who achieve the most shared images tend to coordinate their subject's clothing with the wall's dominant hues.
The Living Canvas
What makes Calgary's mural landscape particularly compelling is its refusal to stand still. New commissions appear each season, existing works are refreshed or retired, and the evolving trends in public art ensure that the city's outdoor galleries remain as dynamic as any indoor institution. The ten murals listed here represent the current best of a scene that continues to grow in ambition, scale, and international recognition.
This list will require updating by next year, and that is precisely the point. A city whose walls are always changing is a city that has not finished imagining itself.
If you are considering commissioning a mural for your property or business in Calgary, we would love to hear about it.