Calgary, AB · Est. 2026
Original artwork by local Calgary artists, dispensed from vending machines and placed in everyday spaces across Calgary.
INSERT COIN. COLLECT ART.Things to know!
Pocket Art Machine places art vending machines in Calgary venues and everyday spaces, stocked with small-format original works by local artists: stickers, prints, zines, mini ceramics, jewellery, patches, and more. Priced from $2 to $25.
Inspired by the tradition of artists' multiples and zines: art made to be reproducible, accessible, and widely available. PAM uses vending machines as a playful, unexpected way to bring that ethos into everyday life.
Round 1 artist submissions are now closed · Stay tuned for future roundsRound 1
Calgary artists, hundreds of mini original artworks.
A watchful, many-eyed cloud. This limited-edition enamel pin is a miniature of Lisa's original woodcut, carved into salvaged oak from the Martha Cohen Theatre renovation.
@lisabrawnwoodcuts
A hand-printed coin purse and zine, inspired by Calgary's manhole covers and the hidden water infrastructure beneath Chinatown. By Yilu Xing and Phoenix Kefei Ning.
@ingartgroup
Six different hand-painted "canned" keychains, each a small mystery. Every box includes a slip of potentially useful information.
teresatam.net
An embroidered vampire cabbage butterfly patch. An inviting silhouette, hiding teeth. Machine-embroidered in Caitlin's own modern-day cottage industry setup.
@razed_by_flowers
The Everyday Tourist turns 40+ years of flâneuring Calgary's streets into colourful postcards, capturing the fun and quirky corners of Greenview Industrial.
everydaytourist.ca
A limited edition of 125 hand-made zines, 1,000 hand-drawn "cool S"es in total: a childhood symbol, drawn again and again as a small daily practice of hope.
@bonnaventure
Soda-fired ceramic gravestones, about an inch tall, each stamped by hand. Macabre themes approached with humor, packaged with a bed of moss.
@memento._.murray
Tiny 2.5" hand-painted magnets in acrylic and oil, from sweet treats to garden-fresh favourites. Bite-sized masterpieces for a small space.
@assolkovtun_art
Hand-built ceramic slug sculptures, each with its own shape, colour, and personality. Comes with a sticker and a card of surprising slug facts.
@theclaybenders
An Egg Man sticker and a small but mighty handmade bookmark, made to inspire you to read, read some more, and become aware of the books being removed from library shelves across Alberta.
@jettthunders
Bold, colorful art stickers, from a crowned whale to cowboy boots and cheeky one-liners. Each pack holds 2 assorted stickers, made with the same raw, spontaneous energy as her celebrated Bad Portraits series.
@badportraits
Hand-made sculptural air fresheners inspired by clouds and weather systems. Layered wood and felt, scented with a few drops of essential oil.
@matkinsonyyc
Scroll to see them all →
The Venues
Three machines live across Calgary. Find them below.
Meet Kenzie
Kenzie Housego is the multidisciplinary artist and organizer behind Pocket Art Machine. Her own practice spans textiles, embroidery, electronics, and new media, with work shown at the Art Gallery of Alberta, CURRENTS Festival in Santa Fe, and Curiosity Festival in Dublin. She holds an MFA from the University of Calgary, and started PAM to bring that same playful, hands-on approach to art out of the gallery and into everyday Calgary life.
MORE ABOUT KENZIE'S PRACTICEThank you to Calgary Arts Development and the City of Calgary for funding Pocket Art Machine.
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