Photo by Ryan Danny Owen
Contact:
825-449-1025
Kat@katsimmers.com
ABOUT
Kat Simmers is a trans woman, artist, author, and muralist working in comic media and street art to create community connections through visual media. Born and raised in a special kind of nowhere - Bashaw, Alberta (pop. 830) - Simmers experienced firsthand the intersection of queer and rural life.
Co-Author & illustrator of the graphic novel series Pass Me By, her work connects communities to unseen parts of their histories and challenges the public to see beyond the everyday. Her murals and graphic novels engage the public in conversations about queer identity, mental health and what happens to the stories you never tell.
As a queer/trans artist living with Bi-polar disorder (type 1) it’s Simmers’ mission to create powerful, knowledgeable interpretations of these and other experiences, which so many go through without representation.
Her public works populate the Treaty 6 & 7 region in Mohkinstsis (the city of Calgary), the city of Red Deer, the town of Bashaw, and the walls of the international mural festival BUMP in 2019 & 2020.
EXHIBITIONS + PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
2024 D'un océan à l'autre, Angouleme International Comic Festival, Angouleme France.
2023 Love & Liberty, Roger’s With you with Pride, Central Memorial Park, Calgary AB.
2022 Spark, Red Deer Polytechnic, Welikoklad Event Centre, Calgary AB.
2022 Pride in Protest, Shaw Pride Marches On, Central Memorial Park, Calgary AB.
2022 Spectrum, Body by Chai, Calgary AB.
2022 Series in Neon, Launchpad Heritage Pointe, De Winton, AB.
2021 Johnny’s Service Circa 1956, Main Street (SW), Bashaw AB.
2021 Dave More Restoration, Bashaw Arena Complex, Bashaw AB.
2021 Metamorphosis, Ship & Anchor Pub, Calgary AB.
2021 Chinook Blast Festival, McFarlane Tower, Calgary AB.
2020 Inner warmth, B.U.M.P Festival, City Center Parkade / High Park, Calgary AB.
2020 Electric Vice, Arts Commons, Calgary AB.
2019 Vanitas, B.U.M.P Festival, Shelf Life Books, Calgary AB.
2019 Welcome Gentlethems & Maladies, Dickens Pub, Calgary AB.
2019 Northern Reflections Mural Fest, Calgary AB.
2018 Digital Connection, Social School, Calgary, AB.
2018 Route 666, Burnt Toast Studios, Calgary, AB.
2018 The Kiss, Dept. Calgary, AB.
2018 Sled Island Poster Show, Pin Bar. Calgary, AB.
2018 Astro Dog, Tubby Dog. Calgary, AB.
2018 The Love Show, Burnt Toast Studios. Calgary, AB.
2017 True Colours, Artvault Gallery. Calgary, AB.
2017 Wildlife Trading & Conservation, National Museum of Wildlife Art. Jackson, WY, USA.
2017 11th annual Horse Show, Stanford Perrott Lecture Theatre. Calgary, AB.
2017 People’s Portrait Prize, cSpace. Calgary, AB.
2017 Thread the Needle, Fridge Gallery. Calgary, AB
2016 Wildlife Trading & Conservation, RISD ISB Gallery. Providence, RI, USA.
2015 Alberta Society of Artists, Emerging Artists Unleashed, Walterdale Theatre. Edmonton, AB.
2015 Cultural Event Poster Show, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, AB.
2013 2nd International Student Small Print Show, El Minia University. Cairo, Egypt
2013 Typecast, Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery. Red Deer, AB.
PUBLICATIONS
2022 Alberta Comics: Home, (contributor), Renegade Arts Entertainment (BPAA -Best Illustrated Book)
2021 Pass Me By: Electric Vice, Renegade Arts Entertainment (BPAA -Graphic Novel of the Year)
2019 Pass Me By: Gone Fishin’ Renegade Arts Entertainment (BPAA -Best Illustrated Book)
GRANTS + AWARDS
Calgary Arts Development - Visual Arts Project - Pass Me By: Lily - 2023
Alberta Comics: Home - Book Publishers Association of Alberta 2023
Graphic Novel of the Year (Electric Vice) - Book Publishers Association of Alberta 2022
Calgary Arts Development - professional dev. micro grant - Pass Me By: TCAF - 2022
Canada Council for the Arts - Explore & Create - Pass Me By: Lily - 2022
Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Literary Project - Pass Me By: Lily - 2021/22
Best Illustrated Book (Gone Fishin’) - Book Publishers Association of Alberta 2020
Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Pass Me By: Electric Vice - 2020
Award of Excellence in Illustration by Communication Arts 2017
Student Award for Illustration by Applied Arts student awards 2017
John and Kathleen Snow Award for figurative work 2016
Louise Mckinney Scholarship 2012, 2013
Affairs of the Arts Legacy Award 2013