2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Inside W2, Where the Cybertribe Works and Parties Olympics hangout for independent media offers tools, discussions and dance blowouts
“Look,” says Mark Smith, who is in Vancouver from Toronto to experience the Olympics. “It’s cauliflowering.” Smith is pointing to his computer screen, showing me an unfolding analysis of Twitter activity during the opening ceremonies. An online application on his laptop maps the tweets of, among others, VANOC and W2 Community Media Arts, the social media hub [...]
Vectoral Elevations artist weighs in on B.C. arts cuts
The artist who created the giant searchlight artwork for the Games has put in his own two cents on planned provincial arts cuts, reports the Stop B.C. Arts Cuts blog. Montreal-based Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, who made Vectoral Elevations, was speaking at an event called CODE: Dialogue. “I’m not the one who’s going to defend why that [...]
Multi-coloured artworks light up streets Glowing displays mimic rainfall, the Olympic flame and fireworks in a reflection of Vancouver life that will remain after the Games
New decorative LED artworks in Yaletown and along Cambie are giving the city a multihued burst of colour during the Olympics. The artworks were a collaborative design by two artists: Adrian Gollner of Ottawa and Pierre Poussin of Toronto. Lights were commissioned and installed by the city as part of its Olympic and Paralympic public [...]
‘We Are Here’
There were no nosebleed seats at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Games, says Jody Broomfield, not from where he was sitting. “I was four rows from the top of the roof, but it was the best seat in the house.” The Squamish Nation artist created the crest for the Four Host First Nations [...]
Musicians meet secretly in Vancouver for Haiti benefit single
Canadian musicians are waving the Maple Leaf for Haiti, secretly recording a benefit single for the earthquake-ravaged country. Famed Canadian music producer Bob Ezrin is spearheading the project, which will include Somalian-born Canadian rapper K’naan, performing the K’naan hit song Wavin’ Flag . The recording is taking place Thursday at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, [...]
World’s interest in Cultural Olympiad arts is mixed
If all eyes are on Vancouver, then there’s no doubt that some of them will be casting their gaze on the city’s Cultural Olympiad. Before the Games had even started, the Vancouver Art Gallery had hosted a slew of media outlets from around the globe, including a TV crew from Guangzhou, China, that spent hours [...]
Wearable art is a popular Olympics souvenir
As with every Olympics, the big event happening here has its own set of official souvenirs — plush toys, mittens, toques and at least a few real Cowichan sweaters for sale at official venues. They may have something Canadian about them, but the fact is, much of it wasn’t made here, says silkscreener Ingrid Doerr. [...]
Olympic fever strikes a chord with Canada’s professional music community! AFM Canada Applauds Members’ Performance at Olympic Opening Event
AFM Canada, the Canadian representatives of the American Federation of Musicians, issued congratulations to more than 200 of its members in response to their stellar performances during the breath-taking opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The historic event, which was broadcast live from Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium and viewed by millions [...]
Fashion footwear grounded in Coast Salish art
Over the past year, using sharpies and pencils, Louie Gong has transformed shoes popular with the surf and skate crowd into culturally inspired works of art. Gong, of mixed-race heritage and raised on Indian reservations in Washington and British Columbia, combines the traditional crescents and form lines of Coast Salish art with the contemporary styles [...]
Fill Your Opening Ceremony with Arts, then Cut Them: Thanks for the show, artists — now get lost. BC to slash 90 per cent of culture funding
As k.d. lang mesmerized the world with her magical rendition of “Hallelujah,” I couldn’t shake the image of Gordon Campbell as the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, hearing the joyous carols from Whoville, his heart growing ten sizes as Leonard Cohen’s lyrics soared to the roof of BC’s giant marshmallow tied to a kitchen chair. By [...]
Olympic flash mob dances in downtown Vancouver
A flash mob of Olympic proportions took place Saturday evening in downtown Vancouver. Organizers from Imagine-1-Day, a charitable organization, said they gathered about 2,000 people on Robson Street between Bute and Thurlow to take part in a choreographed dance to raise awareness for education in Ethiopia. “We didn’t know what was going to happen with [...]
Vancouver’s host of problems: Amid Vancouver’s carefully stage-managed moment of glory, art gallery gathers works that tell a different story about the city
Behind the chain link and razor wire at the Vancouver Olympics’ Hillcrest Curling Venue, a broad `X’ marks the asphalt. Stand on it and narrow your gaze to a trim 20 degrees, and you’ll see what the TV cameras see: Verdant hills, thick cedars, snow-topped Olympian peaks. What you won’t see is almost anything else [...]
Chambar Highlighting work of Vancouver Artists During Games
Chambar restaurant will feature the work of two Vancouver artists during the Olympics, with the intention of sharing with the world some of the fantastic young artistic talent that the city has to offer. With Chambar’s close proximity to BC Place and Canada Hockey Place, thousands of Olympic visitors will have the opportunity to view [...]
Vancouver Olympics opening ceremonies: the top five surprise artsy moments
Usually Olympics opening extravaganzas are about pomp and ceremony—big stars and obvious symbolism. So imagine the Straight ‘s arts section’s surprise to see some genuinely eccentric, even subversive choices on the roster at last night’s big bash at B.C. Place Stadium—and no, we’re not talking about Bryan Adams. Here, then, are the top five moments that [...]
Olympics inspire a group of artists
Something about the Olympic flame has intrigued David Cairns, so much so that the Langley man has created a torch sculpture from found objects, a torch and his own 2010 T-shirt design. “We’re going to cheer for Canada,” he said. Cairns is one of the clients for the Langley Community Living Association BridgeArt program. Adults [...]
