The 18th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl is a four-day, visual arts, design and crafts festival, which sees more than 20,000 art enthusiasts visit artists in their studios in the area of the city bounded by Main Street and Victoria Drive north of First Avenue. Some of the events organized to enhance the Crawl are listed below.
• Preview shows: One night, two openings
Pieced Together: A juried exhibition of works from artists across the Crawl, featuring collage and assemblage from a contemporary perspective.
Opening reception: Nov. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Cultch, 1895 Venables St. at Victoria.
• Exhibition dates: Nov. 5 to Dec. 7.
Learning to Crawl: A juried exhibition featuring artists new to the Crawl this year.
• Opening reception: Nov. 5 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova St. at Gore.
Exhibition Dates: Nov. 5 to Dec. 1.
• Free Film Screenings: Herb and Dorothy
He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian. With just their modest means, Herb and Dorothy Vogel managed to build what has been called one of the most important contemporary art collections in history. A true story of a couple who defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector. (You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to collect art.)
Screenings: The Wilder Snail, 799 Keefer St. at Hawks, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
This free event is a fundraiser sponsored by the Wilder Snail for the Crawl’s Studio 101 program. This year several classes from Strathcona elementary school will participate in art-making workshops, visit artist studios and select an original piece of art for the school’s collection.
Mergatroid Building, 975 Vernon Dr., entrance on Parker St., Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.
• Seating is limited for both events so will be available on a first come, first served basis.
• Hot Talks: Eastside Culture Crawl at Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Nov. 13.
Hot Art Wet City has partnered with the Eastside Culture Crawl for a special edition of Hot Talks. This special evening of short talks is given by artists participating in the 2014 Crawl, including Michelle Sirois Silver, Jon Shaw, Holly Cruise, Claire Madill of Heyday Design, Patsy Kay Kolesar, Reilly Lievers, David Robinson and Robin Ripley who will share some of their experiences during short “show and tell” style talks. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets by donation. For more information visit: hotartwetcity.com.
• Moving Art: Film and Video Projection Nov. 20 and 21 from 6 to 10 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Nov. 22 and 23 with locations to be announced.
Moving Art is the first annual projection of film and video included in the Eastside Culture Crawl. The six film and videos chosen for this installation are all art-based and include animated drawings of the first photographer to make moving images (Sitting Down by Andrea Taylor), a pan of a drawing (The Life of People by Sean Karemaker), a drawn animation of an idea (Utopia Machine by Jon Shaw), a moving head (Ali Moubarak by Jon Johnson), a line changing form (Mystery Lights by Mireille Dijks), and a graffiti piece done on an art-based computer program (Writing in Movement by Kate MacDonald). These evocative contemporary silent films will be projected on an outside wall during the Eastside
Culture Crawl. Organized and curated by Katherine Surridge and Esther Rausenberg.
• Crawling for Kids: Nov. 22 and 23 from noon to 3 p.m. at Melk Art and Design Studio, 936 Clark Dr.
This year, with the support of the Eastside Culture Crawl and Opus Art Supplies, Melk Art and Design invites parents to bring their children into the studio to create screen-printed and stenciled works of art. This event encourages children’s participation in the Crawl, while allowing them to experience their own creativity in a unique studio space with guidance from a working artist.
Parking is available on the side streets surrounding 936 Clark Dr. and along Venables. The studio is also accessible by transit and is within walking distance of Commercial Drive.
Cost is by donation. Email [email protected] for more information.
• Community affiliates tours:
Several non-profit organizations located within the Culture Crawl’s boundaries are also opening their doors and studios to the public.
These organizations use the creative arts to build bridges, develop physical and emotional health, explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behaviour and addictions, develop social skills and increase self-esteem.
These venues include PosAbilities’ Alternative Creations Studio, 1387 Venables St., the Kettle Friendship Society, 1784 East Hastings at Salisbury, Union Gospel Mission, 601 East Hastings St., Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, 573 East Hastings St., and the Oppenheimer Park field house, 488 Powell St.
The Eastside Culture Crawl runs Nov. 20 and 21 from 5 to 10 p.m. and Nov. 22 and 23 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For a full schedule, lists of artists and locations and an interactive map visit culturecrawl.ca.
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