Contact

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 and 2024.

SELECT CLIENTS

PUBLICATIONS

2025 Pass Me By: Lily, Renegade Arts Entertainment (Releasing March 19th, 2025)

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)

EXHIBITIONS + PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS

2024 Inglewood: Conflux & Community, City of Calgary Utility Box Art Program, Inglewood, Calagry, AB.

2024 Pride in Bloom, BUMP Festival, Arlington House, 1411 7th st SW, Calagry, AB.

2024 Kaleidoscope, Red Deer Polytechnic, Far Side Bar & Grill, Red Deer, AB.

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.

GRANTS + AWARDS

Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Literary Project - Pass Me By: Reflections - 2025

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