Artists Selected for Field House Studio Residencies in Vancouver Parks
/Oct. 2, 2012 - “The arts are critical to a community’s quality of life,” says Park Board Chair Sarah Blyth. “The studio space will provide a supportive, creative environment where artists can develop their work, engage residents and increase participation in the arts.”
Germaine Koh, winner of the 2010 VIVA award, will use the Elm Park field house as the home base for the community-based project League. League will be a weekly gathering of people who come together to play sports and games invented by members of the public. Participants will attempt to play with the guidelines, equipment and spaces suggested, and will further adapt the game, evolve strategies, and invent new equipment through trial and improvisation.
Composer and musician Mark Haney will be in residence creating site specific works for Falaise Park. These will include a piece based on the history of ‘Diaper Hill’ and a series of pieces for children based on the animals in the park’s pebble mosaic. There will be regular open-studio hours to encourage and invite the public into the creative processes of both performing and creating.
The artists, many working as collectives, responded to a public call for proposals to work out of vacant field houses across the city. More than 50 artists and arts groups made applications and, due to the exceptional number of excellent applicants, additional spaces were identified for the project. The field house studios will provide improved neighbourhood arts opportunities in Hadden, Strathcona, Slocan and Memorial South parks and at the Burrard Marina, in addition to Elm and Falaise parks.
The studio spaces will be provided in exchange for community arts based engagement including workshops, community celebrations, and concerts in the parks between October 2012 and January 2015.
This project aligns with the Park Board’s strategic priorities including Parks and Recreation for All, Engaging People and Excellence in Resource Management. The studio residencies will enhance the Park Board’s arts policy objective of arts in everyday life and contributes to addressing the City cultural plan priority of neighbourhood arts and the objective of supporting more creative spaces for artists.
