“Bunny” Batista

Brian “Bunny” Batista, President of the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation and co-founder of the Calgary Underground Film Festival, has always been an artist. In 2017, Brian took a leap of faith and moved into cSPACE King Edward. He spent months creating paintings and amassing studio supplies and equipment in order to open and teach the first classes. The studio has been growing and thriving every since, teaching
skill based art through demonstrations, lectures and hands- on techniques. This approach fuses a Western methodology with the classical model in a refreshing and exciting way. The curriculum is holistic with a goal to increase the quality of fine art by encouraging the proper training of practical art skills.

At Atelier Artista, students learn to see in new ways and to improve their skills through hands-on engagement and academic exercises. The studio offers a variety of classes and workshops as well as multiple drop-in sessions with live figure models. Art is for everyone no matter what demographic, skill level, age, race or gender and Atelier Artista is a safe place to discover your creativity. Located in a gorgeous heritage building, the studio is full of inspiring visuals with great light and large north facing windows full of live plants.

Canadian Home Trends: If you could have lunch with any one person in the world, who would you pick and why?

Brian Batista: I’d have lunch with Marcus Aurelius or Manly P. Hall. I think both have interesting ideas and philosophies to live by and I’m certain a dinner conversation with either would be incredibly fruitful.

CHT: What is your favorite room in your house?

BB: My bedroom is decorated floor to ceiling with my art collection including a wall of all “pink” artworks.