Ryan... rest in peace

 

Memorial Planned for Homeless Calgary Artist

When it came to art, Ryan Delve was “flowing and bursting with ideas and aspirations.”

He also wanted to give back to his community at the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre. Two years ago, Delve and another Drop-In Centre client came up with the idea to clean up and beautify the underpass beneath the 5th Avenue flyover in East Village.

The pair started meeting weekly with local artist Mark Vazquez-McKay to come up with a plan for the space, which was known for being a dangerous area of the city. Last May, they finally painted their mural.

“He was funny, he would get so excited, he would sometimes almost turn into a child when he would start talking about art,” recalled Vazquez-McKay.

A little more than a year later, Delve was found dead just steps away from the mural, the victim of a homicide.

“The irony of the whole thing that he was trying to improve the space and he was a victim of the space as well,” said Vazquez-McKay, an instructor at the Alberta College of Art and Design.

He and Wendy Lees, who runs a program called “create! in the East Village” are planning to go to the mural Sunday morning and clean up the area in Delve’s honour.

“I’m hoping that people bring some flowers and stuff and just really try to remind everyone there of what he did,” said Vazquez-McKay. The memorial will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. under the 5th Avenue flyover.

Though Delve was committed to his art, he still struggled with poverty, Vazquez-McKay said.

“When I did run into him between sat year and this year, we’d see each other quite a bit just crossing paths,” he recalled.

“He was a complicated person. He had a lot of struggles, of course, as recovering addicts do, but he was trying really hard.”

Vazquez-McKay said he will remember his friend through his art.

“Art was something that [Ryan] grabbed onto,” he said.

“I see it as sort of his legacy.”

Erika Stark, Calgary Herald More from Erika Stark, Calgary Herald

Published on: June 6, 2015, Last Updated: June 6, 2015 8:12 PM MDT

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One of my apprehensions about working where I do is meeting someone who eventually dies unnaturally. Last week it happened. 

Ryan Delve, an artist and resident of the Drop-In Centre (known as the DI) died a few yards away from the mural he helped create.  Just a few yards away from the DI.

I did not know Ryan... only took a few photos of him last year while he helped create the mural ... only spoke with him briefly ... he seemed like a really nice guy. 

Kind of reminded me of my little brother. 

Maybe it was the brother factor or maybe Ryan's friendly manner -- I felt at ease taking photos and chatting with people after dark in a part of the city known for violence.  That same night a stocky First Nations woman sidled up close to warned me, "A guy got beat up just over there." She pointed to the hill above where the new DI mural was being painted. "People get beat up here all the time," she said.

Too close

I wish I took better photos.

Ryan, rest in peace.

 Links:

• Homicide victim was a homeless artist, father - Calgary Herald, June 5, 2015.
• Calgary artist Ryan Delve found dead near Riverfront Ave.  - Calgary Sun, June 5, 2015.
• Victim of homicide in East Village identified as Ryan Edward Delve - CBC, June 4, 2015
• Police rule East Village death a homicide - Global News, June 5, 2015 (video)

Addendum : October 11, 2015

Ryan's friends have set up a memorial for him under the fly-over near the DI where he was killed.  The mural has nothing to do with Ryan and I don't know if it was there before he died, but it seems fitting that a memorial be created there for him.