Words: Annika Hagen and Tyler Greentree
For many people, art shows make the world go round. And in this lovely and oft rainy city you can find many talented people spending most of their time hustling to make it work. Art shows provide a myriad of enjoyable ways to encourage people to leave the comfort of home to explore the community. Whether by bike, foot, car or taxi... if Vancouver builds it, the people come.
Like many an inspired idea, three of us (long time friends) stayed up one night talking into the wee hours about an art show that we would love to attend, one that emphasizes design and architecture in a non-traditional platform. So, after thinking and talking and working it out we came up with a concept. Why not approach four different people that are involved in the field of architectural design, impose upon them some rules, restrictions and limits, and see what is created? Once we secured the designers, we approached some other wonderful people, found a free space, accessed some donated supplies, and are now presenting our first annual L A M P (Lighting Architecture Movement Project).
We have been wowed by the community support so far. Based on this public response it seems the idea of throwing an art show for designers is appealing! What excites us about L A M P is the notion of creating a yearly event that provides architectural designers a forum to exercise their creativity outside of the bounds of commissions and clients.
Our future vision for L A M P is to create a large scale, submission based, annual event.
So, in a more formal nutshell, L A M P is a temporary group installation that showcases light and form through the lens of architectural design. This multi-disciplinary exploration will be an opportunity for those already engaged with architecture to re-imagine their talents and a way for the public to engage with design in a format they may have never considered before.
The birth of L A M P will be on the evening of Thursday, October 3rd when the four architectural designers will present their works in the Woodward’s Atrium. There will be beer, art and entertainment.
In addition to the 4 major installations, we have invited 8 Vancouver artists for a sculptural subset we are calling Side Project - each participant is altering a ‘Tress’ light shell by Foscarini. These works will be arranged in the space alongside the larger installations and available for auction. Art and design everywhere!
Tickets are $15. Proceeds of this event will be donated to Arts Umbrella. We chose them because they support architecture and design initiatives for youth.
Visit www.welovelamp.ca for more info, and to purchase tickets to the opening gala. & find us on facebook fb.com/lamplovers
