Imagine stepping into a space where a transformative artistic encounter awaits you at every turn.
Music plays. You’ve got a drink in your hand. As you drift from room to room, you experience some new cocktail of aural, audio, and visual stimulation: Evocative and provocative work by body painters, sculptors, painters, dancers, deejays, and more.
You’re mingling with artists. You’re mingling with art lovers. You’re in a place where art is alive, and where seeds for new art are being planted and nurtured.
Now stop imagining, because this event actually occurs right here in Van City. The event in question is the bi-yearly celebration of creativity, art, and community known as Lab Art Show – and its fifth edition is going down this week.
Lab Art Show is the brainchild of Gloria and Etelbina Bernal, a pair of artists from Mexico.
“They saw how much inspiration and art there was in Vancouver and not a lot of places for networking and showcasing various styles of art,” says Shay Hickling, marketing coordinator for Lab Art Show. “They were inspired by the people around them, and the art of Vancouver, and they wanted to bring it all together.”
Lab Art Show has changed venues a few times over the years, but the goals at its core – to build community among artists; to bring art to art-lovers; to make both endeavors fun – have remain unchanged.
“The beginning was trying to get the community together, and connected, rather than just having a bunch of different artists signing up and making a big show,” says Hickling. “Now we have a lot of repeating artists and very loyal people who have a lot to do with the show.”
Highlights for the fifth edition of Lab Art Show include: Subscra, a dance piece inspired by traditional Balinese and Indonesian movements, fused with classical ballet and modern dance; Lamondance, a contemporary dance piece with a fusion of Brazilian and Canadian choreographers; live body painting by Kyle Stephenson; live canvas painting by Yves Decary; a fashion show by Wendy Ohlendorf from Portland displaying Bouvelard de Magenta; and visual art at every turn.
There’s also an installation by mixed media sculptor C3 (see sidebar), in which the versatile artist (and previous Lab Art Show participant) uses past issues of this very newspaper to create folded paper sculptures that will be affixed onto a model during the show.
“We’ve noticed a huge community growing around Lab Art Show over the years,” says Hickling. “It’s really inspirational to see how many people believe in it.”
Lab Art Show takes place Nov. 28 at Studio East. For tickets, visit Glitz-Entertainment.com/get-tickets.html.
