The Artist Trading Card Committee is a committee of The New Gallery and the organizing group which keeps ATCs going in Calgary and aids in growth of the ATC movement world wide. The offical members of the committee are Paul Brown, Theo Nelson, Georgie Stone and June Hills. Honourary members are Chuck Stake (aka Don Mabie) and Melody Nayler Keller.

Artist Trading Cards are 3.5 in x 2.5 in artworks made to be traded in person or by correspondence. ATCs were first traded in North America at The New Gallery in Calgary, Alberta on September 27, 1997.

If you're not already on Facebook, we'd advise you to become a member if only to be kept current with important ATC events. There is now an ATC Group - The Artist Trading Card Committee. Once you're on Facebook find the group and join up. The Facebook mechanisms make it much easier to organize information, to set up and RSVP events and to communicate between members. This group contains additional information on ATCs in Calgary.

Artist Trading Cards - Group Trading Show V showing January 23rd to March 31st, 2009 at Mount Royal College just inside the East Gate Entrance [off Ricard Road SW]. Three ATC trading groups were represented: the ATC group from Courtenay, B.C., the ATC group from Winnipeg, Manitoba and the Calgary ATC group. More details and images are available here.

Artist Trading Cards - Photography Edition was on display until from February 5th, 2008 until April 7th in the Plus-15 window of the Untitled Art Society in the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. This is a large display of photographic-souce ATCs curated by Paul Brown from his collection.

Artist Trading Cards - Group Trading Show IV showed during June and July 2008 at Arts on Atlantic Gallery at 1312A - 9th Ave SE. Five ATC trading groups were represented: a group from Zurich, Switzerland; the ATC Exchange Club of Northern California; a group from Victoria, British Columbia; The Clayville California Clay Artists' Guild and the Calgary ATC group.

This show included a talk on Thursday July 17th by Paul Brown about the origins and phenomenon of Artist Trading Cards and on Saturday July 26th there was an ATC workshop and trading session.

Artist Trading Cards - Group Trading Show III opened on March 6th, 2008 and ran until April 29th in the One Blue Wall gallery at Art Central. The show features cards from three trading groups - the Shawville Artist Trading Card Group, the New England Artist Trading Cards + Meetup Group and the Calgary ATC group.

Artist Trading Cards - Group Trading Show II has just completed a long run at the Wildflower Arts Centre in Spruce Cliff/Wildwood. Cards from the Winnipeg group and a Jack James school group in Calgary have again been matched by Calgary traders. This show started display in late December 2007 and remained up until mid-April 2008. It was extremely well received and was a useful educational tool for many of the art classes held at the centre.

Artist Trading Cards - Group Trading Show I (The first group-trade ATC show) was held during September and October 2007 at Eau Claire Market, where The New Gallery now exists. The groups represented were the Dunvegan, Ontario trading group, the Bow Valley Calligraphy Guild and the Calgary trading group. The exhibit has now been struck and the traded cards have sent back to the participants.

The next ATC trading session will take place on Saturday, December 26th, 2009 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at The New Gallery on the south (LRT) side of the second floor of Art Central in downtown Calgary at the north-west corner of Centre Street and 7th Avenue SW.

December 26th is Boxing Day and Art Central is officially closed, so come early 5:00 - 5:15 pm or bring a cellphone to call us to come and let you in. There will be a notice at the main street-corner doors.

Remember it's a special day - so bring something festive and shareable to eat or drink.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME - People of all ages as traders or spectators! Come with a few cards or a lot of cards, and friends to watch you trade. Perhaps they'll bring cards themselves one day.

Group ATC Trades by Correspondence

For twelve months [until September 2008] the ATC Committee will being be managing a special exhibition of ATCs involved in a year-long group trade project. Each month or two the display will be changed to show cards from new outside groups and the cards made by Calgary traders to trade with them. We need outside groups to send in cards and we need Calgary traders to make a lot of cards to match them in numbers.

Here's the blurb which you can pass to all trading groups you know of outside Calgary. But if you are a Calgarian you're on the other side of the trade. The ATC Committee would like help from you in making cards for this continuing monthly exhibition. Make 10, 20, 30, 40, 50... or however many you can spare. If you deliver them to The New Gallery make sure they record your name and the number of cards you are delivering.

Your cards will be exhibited for about a month with other Calgary cards and the incoming cards from several outside groups. When the month is over the cards will be replaced in the exhibition by the next set. Your cards will be traded outwards to these other groups and you will get the same number in trade from the set of incoming cards. Please participate for as many months as you can and encourage ATC friends outside Calgary to organize a trading group and become part of the project.

Calling All Active Artist Trading Card Groups!

If you belong to an ATC trading group outside Calgary, help us to celebrate Ten Years of ATCs by convincing your group to send in a package of ATCs for our continuing exhibit and correspondence trade. The Calgary ATC group will make the same number of cards and send them back to you after about eight weeks.

Vist the site http://ArtistTradingCards.org for details. Contact Paul J.R. Brown [on Facebook or at paul@arttech.ab.ca] of the ATC Committee to register your group's participation and to ask any questions you might have.

After registering, send in your sheets of cards (groups only, please: no individuals!) and a self-addressed envelope to:

The New Gallery
P.O. Box 22451
Bankers Hall RPO
Calgary, AB T2P 5G7
CANADA

Make a lot of cards for us and convince your friends here and elsewhere to do the same.