Image from Creative Commons by Eileen Chen Having a life while being in medical school sounds a bit like a paradox, but first year medical student Joshua Yoon is here to prove that it can be done. While studying as a full-time student, Joshua also serves as the chair of the Kerrisdale Community Centre (KCC) Youth Committee. He began volunteering for KCC as a youth leader since he was in high school and says that the community is “dear to his heart.” The original Youth Leaders in Action program that he participated in emphasized leadership, professionalism, and interpersonal skills, and involved collaborative event planning for various holidays and special occasions. Today, the Youth Committee still runs several community events in spite of COVID-19, such as an intergenerational tech workshop that pairs high school volunteers with seniors in the community. Joshua was initially surprised by the level of interest shown by both seniors and high school students to return to these events after the pandemic put it on hold. They followed strict COVID-19 protocols for masking and distancing, and have had several successful sessions this summer. “There are more avenues for intergenerational dialogue now, whether digital or remote or not,” said Joshua. The seniors in the program have always been more than willing to divulge experiences beyond laptop and smartphone trouble-shooting, and the pandemic has only highlighted the importance of social interaction in a time of physical distancing. Joshua notes that intergenerational dialogue isn’t emphasized by most school curriculums, which makes these community activities especially valuable to the youth. Even as a medical student, interpersonal skills are indispensable. During practicum at the Vancouver General Hospital, Joshua has to...

by Keiko Honda “We’re going to the Opera Zone!” said Helen, an elegant senior with silvery purple long hair and silver bangles on each wrist, sitting by her husband in the Handydart that I shared one rainy Sunday afternoon. “I think a lot of people have been waiting for this day,” said Helen. I instantly replied to her, “Truly!” After closing for 21 months due to the pandemic, the music concert was finally returning to its home, the Kerrisdale Community Centre (KCC). Although I, too, was full of anticipation, as an “ex-organizer”, I was afraid that we wouldn’t have any audience today. We were still in the midst of the pandemic and the weather was gloomy — Vancouver’s typical November of rain and gusty winds. What’s worse, we started advertising the event only two weeks in advance, mostly by word of mouth. Alas, I imagined the empty seats. During pre-COVID times, we had at least 80 guests in the audience each time, and sometimes even had a full house of 100 guests. The Opera Zone was conceived in late 2015 from a casual conversation between myself and Gerard Satamian, an Armenian composer and piano teacher who taught my daughter at the time. Gerard secretly fostered a burning passion to sing opera songs for the public, while I, as a community engagement committee chair of the KCC Society, was looking for new ways to develop an open space for inclusive cultural exchange within the community, one that took place at the centre and was free of charge. The seed idea became reality thanks to support from the board and staff members, as well as many like-minded musicians who came forward to share their gifts like Gerard. Ever since January of 2016, The Opera Zone had...

By Eileen Chen Photo courtesy of Eileen Chen, Kevin Wong *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society   “The location is the KCC Senior Centre, and you will probably hear our laughs when you come in,” said the founder of Kerrisdale Community Centre’s language exchange group, Kevin Wong, in his email to me. Sure enough, after my initial mistake of barging in on a group of pool-playing friends, I did find the small group through the sound of their laughter. There were about 8-10 people occupying one table in the lounge area. An elegant white lady, who later introduced herself as Paula, was reading a story about a little horse crossing a river in Mandarin. The little horse is told by an ox that the water is shallow but warned by a squirrel that it’s deep, and only discovers that the water is just shallow enough for it to cross when it steps into it himself. Paula’s accent was imperfect, yet oddly musical. Other Mandarin speakers at the table corrected her from time to time, and she enthusiastically translated the fable into English as she read along. As I learned later, the merry group meets every Monday to study English and Mandarin together. The learning methods range from reading stories to learning vocabulary and carrying out casual conversations, and members both strive to learn one language and offer their knowledge of the other in the same session. Some members find themselves learning both Mandarin and English. Kevin was originally open to having an exchange group for more than just two languages, but decided that focusing on English and Mandarin would be the most effective. The group has existed for a year in this form, and although some members come and go,...

By: Chloe Price Photo courtesy of: Chris Gatchalian *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society The relationship between politics and art has been a constant subject of debate, and we live in a time when this conversation is more relevant than ever before. With the birth of social media we have seen the advent of callout-culture, and a new method of holding individuals accountable for their words and actions. Additionally, the political polarization of Western society is peaking at the current moment, and the Internet serves as a limitless digital soapbox for people to present and argue about their vastly differing perspectives and outlooks on life. These factors have helped create a culture in which few works of art are exempt from being viewed through a political lens. When we sit down to speak, local writer Chris Gatchalian explains to me his own evolving view on the matter. “When I was younger, I used to think of art and literature as being these universal things that were apolitical, but I don’t subscribe to that belief anymore. I still believe art is transcendent, and I don’t want to get too spiritual, but it is connected to the Divine, I think, but I don’t think that precludes it from being political. To ignore politics is to ignore what’s going on in the world, and I don’t think art should ignore what’s going on in the world.” Gatchalian has just finished his residency at Vancouver’s Historic Joy Kogawa House. The building was once inhabited by renowned Canadian writer Joy Kogawa, who is perhaps best known for her book Obasan, which centered on the government’s persecution and internment of the Japanese in Canada during the Second World War. Kogawa and her family were sent to an internment camp in 1942, and today her childhood...

On April 8th, 2018, the Kerrisdale Community Centre held their 4th annual Sakura Walk,  a local tree history and identification series lead by professional forester Robin Clark. The participants left the community centre at 10 A.M. to follow a trail of trees that outline the parameter of the block inhabited by the Kerrisdale Community Centre. Robin classified various tree and shrub species found in our local Kerrisdale community, from oaks, to maples, and even some trees that were initially unidentifiable, which left us with the interesting project of distinguishing these trees after the walk. After our walk, we met back at the community centre for tea and snacks to discuss our findings and further questions we had about the trees. We learned a number of ways of identifying local trees, such as leaf and stem placement, leaf shape, and any identifiable berries or flowers budding on the branches. Participants were particularly interested in grafting, which Robin pointed to on a few trees we encountered on our walk. Other areas of interest for participants were how to identify the male and female parts of trees, and the mystery trees we found along the walk. Robin’s help with identifying and mapping these trees along our route showed participants how connected our lives are with the lives of local trees. Trees are an integral and beautiful part of our Vancouver landscape, and we are thankful to have someone like Robin to show us the unique and distinguished nature of local trees! (text: Grace McRae, Vancouver Arts Colloquium...

By Simran Dhaliwal Photo Courtesy of Danielle Gagnier *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society     “The world is so big! Why do the same thing over and over?” I walked into this interview nervous, not knowing what the temperament of Danielle Gagnier would be like. To my pleasant surprise, as we began to talk over hot cups of peppermint and nettle tea, Danielle revealed herself to be a kind and patient woman with a soothing passion lying beneath her words. As we continued to converse, my stiffness faded and was replaced with excitement as I learned more and more about this remarkable artist. Speaking to Danielle was enlightening as she is one of the best examples of a truly artistic spirit. Throughout her life, she has maintained an open-minded approach to art, branching out into many fields that appear to be divided by our arbitrary categories. Danielle has ventured into pottery, mask-making, singing, songwriting, improv, dancing, guitar, percussion, photography, and filmmaking. If all of this seems excessive, Danielle would disagree, as she is eager to venture into even more pursuits, open to discover new ways to express her creativity. She has this amazing mindset of a learner, something many artists cease to do once they feel like they’ve settled into their niche. Danielle breaks the conventional rules, and I am excited to tell you about how she does so. But to do that, I believe it’s important to go to where Danielle began. Growing up in Francophone Canada, she was quiet and contemplative as a child.  Danielle appreciates that her parents encouraged her innate draw to the arts, as she tells in a heartwarming story. When she was five years old, in the exuberance of youth she took a...

By Eileen Chen Photo Courtesy of Keiko Honda, Eileen Chen *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society   When I walked into the Kerrisdale Community Centre on a Saturday afternoon, I half-expected to witness children being taught to produce intricate designs in the print-making class I was to observe. Instead, I was met with a few participants from varyingage groups, each too invested in pressing seemingly ordinary leaves dipped in black rice water or diluted coffee to notice an additional visitor. Initially, I was somewhat underwhelmed, but my curiosity towards the workshop soon grew as the participants took turns coming to me to display their artwork before the camera. There were elementary school-aged kids, teenagers, and even a senior, but all enjoyed this simple workshop and looked upon their creations with an unmistakable expression of pride. As I began pressing my own leaves onto paper, I let go of any prejudices and genuinely indulged in the simple pleasure of directionless art. The instruction I received was minimal, with the only guidance being to “do as I like.” That was my first taste of improvisation as devised by Soyoung Park, the instructor of the workshop. By the end of the workshop, I was a little surprised that Soyoung gave me the casual permission to dispose of all the unclaimed artworks when I was helping her with the clean-up. Throughout the clean-up, I felt slightly wary of approaching her for conversation due to her seriousness. The silence was broken when I came across her own creation from the workshop and inquired about it, which elicited a tender smile as she patiently explained the process of her artistic creation. The freshly created work featured the delicate body of a sparrow, outlined using the same...

As the year comes to a close and we prepare for the holidays, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the people and experiences that made the Opera Zone a part of our own history. It began, sometime during 2015, with a casual conversation between Gerard and I, where passions bubbled and the idea of a community singing space was born. Soon, Jane and many other artists were eager to bring their talents to the table to get the Opera Zone off the ground. And the rest is history. This is an initiative that is entirely artist-run, volunteer-based, cross-cultural, cross-generational, cross-fertilizing for artists and participating audiences, and OPEN to EVERYONE. Truly, a remarkable and extraordinary thing! What more could anyone ask for to create a radically inclusive and vibrantly playful community?  KCCS’s Community Engagement Committee offers pathways of engagement for any individual and organization eager to deepen a commitment to creativity and social change! Join us! I would like to thank you all for your continued support and look forward to growing as one in 2018 and beyond. Keiko Honda, Chair, Community Engagement, Kerrisdale Community Centre Society     The Opera Zone End-of-Year Celebration, Sunday December 3, 2017 Thank you EVERYONE for coming! We had a great turn-out (140 people!)! See you all in the New Year! Photography: Syed...

  By Liam McLean Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Au *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society Four and a half years ago, Lawrence Au returned home from a trip to Japan with a new vision. While visiting a mall attached to the Tokyo Skytree, he came across a floor devoted entirely to restaurants. An advertisement for a green tea café featuring a brilliant image of a bright green Matcha drink caught his eye. The advertisement stunned Lawrence and made him curious. As far as he knew from his experience living in Vancouver, Matcha was sort of a yellowish green or brown colour, not the vivid green he saw in the mall. He decided to go to the café and find out for himself. “I ordered an iced Matcha tea and sure enough it was that colour. And when I tasted it, it was very refreshing, very rich, completely unlike anything I’ve had in Vancouver before,” said Lawrence. “And that’s when I realized what true Japanese Matcha really is and I almost instantly fell in love with it.” The branding and tea culture also left an impression on Lawrence, and he visited Kyoto later on his trip where he was further exposed to the beauty and depths of Japanese green tea history. Returning home from Japan, Lawrence searched everywhere for a similar Matcha experience but was unsuccessful. He realized that the Matcha served here was actually green tea powder and had nothing in common with the authentic drinks he had in Japan. “And so, at that point, I decided to start my own business by recreating the experience that I first had in Japan,” said Lawrence. “That was basically my guiding light: what should I do in creating a brand that would...

By Tatiana Zamorano-Henriquez Photo Courtesy of Dr. Mique’l Dangeli *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society Art plays an integral role in the process of reconciliation as it is a way in which people, nations, and cultures can “say what goes unsaid” (Dr. Dangeli). For this reason, art “has a really important place within the reconciliation dialogue and… more funding should go to supporting Indigenous people creating their art (culture and way of being) with and for their people rather than reconciliation being focused on Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborations because we have so much to reconcile within our own communities” (Dr. Dangeli) first and foremost. The process of reconciliation itself is a challenging one, and the difficulty of this process comes in understanding what reconciliation truly embodies. I had the privilege to sit down with Dr. Mique’l Dangeli, an Indigenous visual and performing artist who holds a PhD in Northwest Coast First Nations art history , while also working as a curator and a professor. As I sat in her and her husband’s art studio, I was so encompassed by culture, histories, and knowledge that it was as if the entire room was alive. It was breathtaking and moving all at the same time. It was here, as she painted one of her collaboration pieces that she had done with her husband, Mike Dangeli, that she relayed to me her powerful words and guidance for a legitimate form of reconciliation and the role of art in this process. Through her words, what profoundly resonated with me was the following statement: “Education is important, but if the focus is always outwards and not inwards, then we are not strengthening our practices we are just practicing for others” (Dr. Dangeli). These words were striking,...

By Jamie Zabel Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Salters Engagement with the arts and arts-based programs is a new primary focus of the Kerrisdale Community Centre in the coming year. As such, the Playbook is highlighting a few instructors already running arts-based programs to showcase their efforts and emphasize the wonderful effects of their programs. I had the honour of talking to one of these instructors, Rebecca Salters. Who is Rebecca Salters? Currently, Rebecca runs a program called Drama Bugs at the Kerrisdale Community Centre for children ages 1-15. I sat down with Rebecca to talk about how her early, persistent passion for drama and her belief in the power of the arts manifested itself into her children’s program. Rebecca grew up in Liverpool, England. What better place than the home of the Beatles to become passionate about the arts? She began going to drama schools at the age of three, and as she grew older, she became involved in more proper performances as well. One of her favourite experiences from this time was participating in pantomimes — i.e., theatre performances in the UK generally around large holidays like Halloween or Christmas — that would be on different themes like Cinderella or Peter Pan. The performance she loved the most was performing in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Following university, she went on cruise ships for five years, working as part of the entertainment team for Royal Caribbean. All of these different experiences solidified Rebecca’s love for drama and the arts more broadly. Her university experience added another dimension to this. Her degree from Manchester Metropolitan University was a double major in Drama and Community Arts. She explained that the Community Arts side entailed using different art forms and putting them...

The 3-day workshop entitled “Japanese Art of Origami & Game”, organized by a Grade 6 student in Kerrisdale Elementary, Maya Honda-Granirer, together with her friends and family was a big success with over 60 participants of all ages. The event was possible thanks to the Vancouver Foundation’s Neighbourhood Small Grants’ funding and Kerrisdale Community Centre Society for free space.  Thank you to everyone who was involved and made the event so successful! A special thanks to Ms. Hatsuko Yamada who came all the way from Hokkaido, Japan, to share the inventiveness, imagination, playfulness and joy of the Japanese art of paper folding, origami. Throughout her passionate teaching and interaction with the participants, Ms. Yamada underscored the relationship between art and science and inspired our youth with the stories of how origami inspired medical devices and NASA’s new shape-shifting radiator.  Our senior participants were also enthusiastic about the workshop and surprised Ms. Yamada how much they know about Japanese culture. Here are some photos of the workshop.   ...

Since the beginning of this year, a new community urban agriculture project, Come To My Yard (CTMY) led by Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society supported by the City of Vancouver, has been well underway.   As Vancouver becomes more urbanized, and gardening space is harder to come by, CTMY aims to fill the gap by teaming up with homeowners who have space for a garden and can share some of that space with other community members wanting to grow food, learn more about permaculture, and connect people.  CTMY is way to form stronger, healthier communities. If you are looking to connect with nature and like-minded people, there is one CTMY garden in the heart of Kerrisdale. There are 2 accessible raised beds (wood donated by Kerrisdale Lumber) that are allocated to any community members who would like to garden. Please go check it out and sign up. It’s FREE and OPEN to all abilities. For more information, check out their FB page or email to contact@myvacs.org  ...

Vancouver Regional Heritage Fair 2017, held on Saturday May 20, 2017 at Kerrisdale Community Centre, was something that Vancouver, and Canada, should be proud of.  Under the visionary leadership of Janet Moley at Vancouver Regional Heritage Fair, families, educators, and communities worked together in partnership to support children’s learning and to nurture their fundamental sense of self. We witnessed firsthand how art connects us together and affects culture and community. “Meet” the future world changers in this short highlight video prepared by Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society. Film credit: Syed Mustafa (UBC, Film Studies)...

BY LIAM MCLEAN PICTURES BY SYED MUSTAFA *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society This past month, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Kathy Sayers in her bright and comfortable condo to talk about her experiences with cohousing in Vancouver. In the past few years, Kathy has been working alongside her community at Our Urban Village to integrate a successful cohousing community into the urban space of Vancouver. Along her path to forming a cohousing community in Vancouver, she and her team would face many unique challenges. “Because Vancouver is so pricey, we decided to look at cohousing from a different angle, and that is to try to find an innovative developer that would work with us,” said Kathy. “[The developer] would own the land and we would have less say about what the building would look like. And most cohousing, they [the community] make every choice. They hire the architect and they buy the land. [But] it’s at least 6-8 million dollars in Vancouver.” Over the course of our conversation, Kathy explained to me how her group adapted the cohousing model to make it work within the limitations of an expensive city with its many high-rise buildings. We also talked at length about the values important to building and maintaining a healthy cohousing community, and how these communities thrive on a sense of interconnectedness. By sharing with me her experiences, Kathy taught me about the growing popularity of cohousing in Vancouver and its role in promoting social connections that may potentially solve feelings of isolation in the city. To bring cohousing to Vancouver, Kathy and her group at Our Urban Village had to discover a way to adapt the cohousing community model to the urban city and...

By Haroun Khalid  *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society In March 2016, more than 20 years city planning and policy efforts came together when the City of Vancouver officially purchased 42 acres of land passing through neighborhoods from False Creek to the Fraser River. The new Arbutus Greenway project, already accessible to cyclists and pedestrians, aims to offer a shared passageway connecting Vancouver’s residential and public spaces. What’s particularly interesting about this endeavor is that the Greenway offers an exciting chance to see how public art ventures intersect with the process of urban development. To learn more, I sat down with Maggie Buttle, the Senior Project Manager of the Arbutus Greenway Project, and Eric Fredericksen, the city’s Public Art Programs Manager From an artistic perspective, the realization of the Arbutus Greenway represents a chance to open up new spaces in the city for creative expression. So as to integrate art completely with the design process, Mr. Fredericksen explained that: “We now have an art consultant form a core part of the development team.” On this subject, Ms. Buttle added “this inclusion of artists in the procedure is meant to bring new perspectives and a different focus” to the city planning approach to prevent shutting down valuable opportunities to foster a creative and inspiring city. The development of this “art intelligence,” as Eric called it, enables the planning process to more holistically reflect the cultural environment of the community. The implementation of an urban development plan on the scale of the Arbutus Greenway is a lengthy affair, and is at the moment still in the early days. However, the prospect of bringing about the Greenway has been on the City’s horizon since the Arbutus Corridor was first highlighted as a potential site...

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BY TATIANA ZAMORANO-HENRIQUEZ *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society Over the years the integral humanizing qualities of humanity have become almost non-existent, as our economic model is responsible for prioritizing monetary endeavours rather than the arts. Theses values have fragmented our way of being and devalued the arts as art has now become commercialized for profit and disconnected from our culture.  This almost irreversible divide has hindered our relationships with others and ourselves as it has detached us from our histories, cultures and knowledge.  The formation of this divide has left us stranded and we have become like a wave of sailors trying to navigate the seas without a compass where we have not only lost our sense of direction but also our purpose. However, art has the power to steer us back in the right direction as it illuminates our path by reconnecting us with our origins, which allows us to embrace diversity, and knowledge that then has the potential to lead to community. The world carries with it a kaleidoscope of art forms and rooted within them are diverse cultures that are entrenched with an array of histories and knowledge that shape our values. This is paramount as it is our values that construct the stories that we relay to others and ourselves about what is important. Therefore, it is these values that shape not only who we are as human beings but who we will become and the responsibility we hold to the future generations. Values create empathy and it is this compassion that allows individuals to embrace new cultures and form profound and intricate relationships that have the power to produce viable communities where culture becomes a way of life.  This is why art is integral...

With the skillful and passionate teaching of Doug Masuhara, the Tetsu Taiko sensei (master), twenty-plus participants, an absolute beginner’s group, learned the drumming basics. They had become ONE after drumming away on garbage can drums for about one hour! It was so touching to watch and listen the transformation.   Here are what participants said about the workshop: He first showed how to play the drums and then he had ALL of us play it; An amazing workshop! We learned the Japanese polite way We learned the world and words of the Taiko Drumming together was really fun The introduction, explanation, and practice; Very well done! It was excellent; I want my son to learn more! The Kerrisdale Sakura Festival was planned and organized by the Community Engagement Committee of the Kerrisdale Community Centre Society. The Japanese drumming workshop was our first attempt to enthral you through the powerful sound of the Taiko (Japanese drums).  It seems that the participants were left with an unforgettable, artistic and cultural experience. Photo credit: Syed Mustafa  ...

By Lara-Sophie Boleslawsky Photo courtesy of Brian Feldbloom Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society If you’re an animal-lover, this one’s for you. Sitting down and talking to Brian about his recent venture into the pet food industry, I didn’t really know what to expect. Of course our conversation invariably strayed to our pets, nonetheless the real story lies in-between these small pockets of pet-talk. ‘Naturally Urban Pet Food Delivery’ provides free delivery of pet food all throughout Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and Burnaby. It’s simple: pet-owners order their food on the Naturally Urban website and its delivered right to your door. Did I mention it’s free? I was fascinated to know what prompted Brian to start this business: “The reason I started was, I had my doggy, and we switched her over to raw food. I was a flight executive at Flight Centre and I used to have to work late and then I would have to run home, get my car, and drive out to the pet store before it closed,” Brian told me, “And I thought, this is so annoying, its such a stress and I thought: ‘There has to be a better way!’” And so, Naturally Urban was born, with Brian looking to service a need, one undoubtedly shared by many pet owners throughout Metro Vancouver and beyond. “The two markets right now that we are doing well with are seniors and people with disabilities and physical challenges. We love helping them,” Brian shares with me, but emphasizes that the service is available for anybody to use. Convenience is one Naturally Urban’s main functions. Brian cites his colleague Kris McRonney as an “integral” part of his business. “I mean, my business associate Kris has been with me from...