Salsa & Sauerkraut
Mixed media on glass — digital reproductions of original watercolour, spice, and food scrap artworks
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor, Calgary
Salsa & Sauerkraut is a public art commission by 2Peaz Artist Collective (Melisa and Sharon Fortowsky) for Calgary's North Central Bus Rapid Transit shelters, commissioned through CADA. The project produced two pieces — "Salsa" and "Sauerkraut" — each consisting of 3 images (2 glass panels total). The original mixed media artworks (4x6" cards made with watercolour, spices, acrylic, and printed food scraps) were digitally reproduced onto glass for the transit shelters. Each artwork includes a functional recipe — lacto-fermented sauerkraut and salsa — embedding practical food knowledge directly into the public art.
The work uses fermentation — the transformation of simple ingredients into something complex and alive — as a metaphor for how diverse communities create culture together, tracing food connections to the specific neighbourhoods along the BRT line.
Applied December 2023 and installed 2025, the project required managing a public art commission from proposal through fabrication and installation, navigating municipal processes while maintaining the handmade, food-centred quality that defines 2Peaz's work.
The Situation
Calgary's North Central Bus Rapid Transit line passes through neighbourhoods shaped by waves of immigration — communities where food traditions carry the weight of home, history, and identity. Calgary Arts Development (CADA) commissioned public art for the BRT shelters, creating an opportunity to make these everyday transit spaces reflect the multicultural food stories of the people who use them. As 2Peaz Artist Collective, Melisa and Sharon Fortowsky proposed artwork rooted in the food traditions that connect communities along the route.
The Approach
The project produced two pieces — "Salsa" and "Sauerkraut" — each consisting of 4 images, for a total of 8 digital reproductions on glass panels installed in BRT shelters. The original artworks are small-format mixed media cards (4x6 inches) created with watercolour, spices, acrylic, and printed food scraps from the actual recipes depicted. The originals were then digitally reproduced onto glass for the transit shelters. Each artwork includes a functional recipe — a lacto-fermented sauerkraut recipe and a salsa recipe — embedding practical food knowledge directly into the public art.
The Challenges
Translating intimate, handmade mixed media originals into large-format glass reproductions for outdoor public infrastructure required navigating the gap between studio art practice and municipal public art fabrication. The application process (submitted December 2023, installed 2025) demanded project management, budgeting, and coordination with City of Calgary processes while maintaining the handmade, food-centred quality that defines 2Peaz's work.
The Impact
Salsa & Sauerkraut places fermentation — a process central to food traditions worldwide — into the daily experience of transit riders. The recipes embedded in the artwork make it functional as well as aesthetic: public art that can actually feed you. The project traces food connections to the specific neighbourhoods along the BRT line, honouring the multicultural food stories of Calgary's communities.
Lessons Learned
This project demonstrated that 2Peaz's small-scale, handmade approach could work at the scale of public infrastructure without losing its intimate quality. The inclusion of recipes in the artwork reinforced Melisa's conviction that art and nourishment are not separate categories — and that public art has the opportunity to be genuinely useful as well as beautiful.