AboutArtefakt FoundationEst. 2026

Documentary, from inside the practice.

Artefakt is an independent documentary photography, film, and arts organization based in Calgary (Treaty 7 Territory) and Chicago. Built from inside documentary practice rather than alongside it — the archive, the relationships, thirty years of earned access are the institution's foundation.

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Figure against the Chicago skyline — South Side documentary practice.
ABT · 01Chicago
Since 2001

Chicago, continuously.

The work that seeded Artefakt has been made on Chicago's South Side since 2001 — long-form documentary practice held in place through three economic cycles, a pandemic, and the gradual transformation of the neighbourhoods themselves.

ABT / 01
South Side · Chicago
FounderJon Lowenstein03 / 06

Thirty years. The same communities.

Jon Lowenstein is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and visual artist with thirty years of practice rooted in Chicago's South Side. Guggenheim Fellow. National Geographic Explorer. TED Senior Fellow. Founding member of NOOR Images.

Artefakt is not built alongside his practice. It is built from inside it.

Calgary · Treaty 7 TerritoryChicago · South Side
The Artefakt Foundation gallery — 1,800 sq ft, Calgary.
ABT · 02Calgary
4525 Monterey Ave NW · Treaty 7 Territory

The gallery, in build.

1,800 sq ft. 14-ft ceilings. Raw concrete floors. Artefakt's Calgary home is under build-out as a functioning gallery and studio space — the physical address of the archive, the Sustain operation, and the programming.

ABT / 02
Calgary · In Build · 2026
About · Artefakt Foundation06 / 06

Press & Partnerships

For press inquiries, partnership proposals, or programming discussions, contact jon@artefakt.foundation.

Artefakt Foundation is an Alberta Society.

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Active programming in Calgary and Chicago.artefakt.foundation/about© 2026