When friends Andrea Curtis and Adrian Sinclair of Get Your Vote On, and Caroline Ballhorn, director of Tin Can Studio, sat down to talk creativity, collaboration, and public engagement last month, they could easily tell that the two projects would be a natural fit for each other.
Get Your Vote On is a non-partisan group dedicated to encouraging young people to vote through engaging, creative, and fun means. Tin Can Studio is a mobile project space serving as a platform for collaborative production in the community. In the spirit of collaboration towards the municipal elections and tapping into the popularity and accessibility of photobooth fun, the two groups have created the VOTObooth, a mobile photo booth in which voters can voice their election issues via prop, costume, and sign.
When asked about the thinking behind the GYVO and Tin Can partnership, Caroline explains that GYVO's mandate of engaging young people and acting as a platform to amplify the voice of youth is both an interesting and important one. She admits that although voting may not seem like the most direct or immediate means of producing change, engaging in politics as a way of taking ownership over the issues that matter to you shouldn't be overlooked. To echo GYVO's mantra for change, Caroline agrees that those who actively participate in civic matters, or at the very least, show up to vote, are the ones fostering that space and dialogue required for change and feels that Tin Can's approachability and friendly aesthetic can go a long way in supporting this.
The VOTObooth seeks to capture what you feel are the most pressing issues that should be addressed by your elected officials. If you find yourself inside the 1972 Streamline trailer in the following weeks, what would your "voto" look like? Although she wasn't sure about how these topics would come across visually, Caroline's voto would convey her concerns around addictions, mental health issues, and healthcare as well as real estate and affordability. And, yes, the arts.
Tin Can was established in 2009 by Caroline and partner-in-crime Brodie Kitchen, in part, as a response to graduating from Emily Carr into a climate where the arts wasn't being supported. Caroline recognizes that this is a multifaceted issue and feels that although it isn't particularly easy for both established and emerging artists to thrive in such an environment (and non-artists for that matter), collaborative art spaces like Tin Can can exist as an interface between the public and the artist whilst "[addressing] our common awareness of shrinking space for creative production in Vancouver."
"We decided to try our hand at creating a space that housed our ideas of what a creative space could be; collaborative; inviting; connected to making and to showing; and mobile."
When not a VOTObooth, Tin Can is a community drop-in space and open studio boasting a community workshop series. I've been told that the next workshop to greet the converted trailer has a little something to do with "rethinking the sandwich." Needless to say, I'm more than intrigued. Tin Can will also be making an appearance next month at Toque, the Western Front's annual craft sale.
For more information on all things Tin Can Studio, check out: tincanstudio.org
The VOTObooth will be making appearances on November 9 (the first day of advance voting) and November 19 (election day) at various locations around the city. Follow its journey on Twitter at @GYVOca and hash tag, #VOTObooth. Make your voice heard and let us know what issues matter to you in the upcoming municipal elections. Our VOTObooth photographer and costumer will be on hand to capture the perfect image of you showing what you passionately believe in. Come dress up in our "citizen hats" (or even better, bring your own costumes)!
For more information on all Get Your Vote On happenings, check out getyourvoteon.ca. And for information on advanced and general voting in the municipal election, check out the City of Vancouver's Vancouver votes page.
