By Haley Cameron Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball The first half hour I spend with Yayoi Hirano provides a notable clash of cultures. The slight Japanese woman sits across from me in a traditional kimono complete with tabi socks, as we explore the boundaries of our linguistic restrictions over a few slices of pizza. It’s during this casual dinner that I learn Yayoi-san relocated to Canada from Japan twelve years ago. And later, as we discuss her interesting career, I learn that merging various cultural extremes is rather habitual in her lifelong East-meets-West artistic dialogue. Having a piece of Ham and Pineapple while dressed in traditional Japanese garb no longer seems quite so unusual.   It’s unfair to limit Yayoi-san to a single title, considering her vast talents in a multitude of creative outlets, but above all else she identifies as a mime artist. “Since I was a child I loved to act,” she tells me, sharing that in her very first elementary school production she was so determined to be on stage that she performed through a fever of 102 degrees. Yayoi-san’s interest in drama continued to develop through her youth. She recalls watching a European theatre group present Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor in high school, considering it an important milestone in her own developing love of drama. Despite the language barrier, Yayoi-san was able to recognize the underlying story and therefore relate to the movement, costumes, and sets. “I was dearly fascinated. I fell in love,” she says.   While Yayoi-san was exploring various means of artistic expression she met Lecoq mimes (the traditional French mimes typically associated with the art form). Having already realized acting’s ability to transcend linguistic barriers, miming struck a chord for the young artist. She began to...

      By Katja De Bock Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball   On July 16, 1945, an unprecedented explosion shattered the desert at the Trinity site, near Alamogordo New Mexico. Two months after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Allies’ (USA, Great Britain and Canada) secret nuclear weapon development group, code-named the Manhattan Project, detonated a test nuclear weapon, nicknamed The Gadget. The detonation would go into history as the birth of the atomic age. Only weeks later, the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would mean the end of the Second World War, but also the death of hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens and the destruction of two cities.     Olivia Fermi, a Vancouver-based counselor, coach and consultant, is intimately connected to The Manhattan Project: Her grandfather, Nobel prize laureate Enrico Fermi, was a physicist working with Robert Oppenheimer. He worked at the heart of the top-secret effort to build the first atomic bombs.   On March 3, 2014, Olivia Fermi will speak in Denver, Colorado at the American Physical Society, an organization of physicists worldwide. She was invited to speak specifically about the point of view of women related to the Manhattan Project. (Go to her Talk in Denver, CO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtuNtscCB5Y)   She decided to talk about two remarkable women whose connection to the Manhattan Project inspired them to respond and become community visionaries and leaders. They are Fermi’s grandmother Laura Fermi, wife of Enrico, and Los Alamos community leader Marian Naranjo.   For Kerrisdale Playbook, Olivia Fermi offers a sneak preview into her presentation.   Laura Fermi (1907-1977) – pioneering social and environmental leader   As a young girl, Olivia Fermi (who was born as Alice Olivia Weiner and later legally changed to her mother’s maiden name) grew up in a...

By Haley Cameron Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball   When Georgia Youngs finds our indoor seclusion from the fiercely cold evening rain she is protectively bundled from the elements. But as she removes her big winter coat and knit toque she immediately begins to open up, as though unwrapping her story along with her winter layers. As our pre-amble winds down and Georgia takes off her fogging eyeglasses, she leans in to reassure me that she is a “good sharer”, as though confiding a secret. I quickly discover that Georgia’s willingness to share is anything but.   It’s difficult to narrow down Georgia’s career by definition. Artist, Art Teacher, Gallery Marketer, Curriculum Developer, Consultant; while being firmly entrenched in the fine arts field, Georgia’s numerous titles and trades seem to cover a little bit of everything. When I ask Georgia how she got her footing in the ever-changing industry of art she replies quite simply, “I just said yes to every opportunity that presented itself.”    As it turns out, Georgia’s career plan was not always fine arts focused. She describes her upbringing fondly, acknowledging that she is lucky to have come from a family that instilled a strong sense of confidence, but admits that her education was streamlined towards either a commercial or academic future. “You chose commercial if you were going to be a secretary, and you chose academic if you were going on to university,” she explains. Georgia chose the academic route, and became a paediatric nurse.   It wasn’t until her late twenties that Georgia found an art program with flexible hours that could accommodate her shift work as a nurse. As soon as she began the program, Georgia realized that this source of art was filling a hole in her...

An Interview with Stuart Ward Interview by Raffi Wineburg Photographs courtesy of Hfour   Over eight million people watched live on Youtube, as on October 14, 2012, Austrian Skydiver Felix Baumgartner was lifted 39 kilometers into earth’s stratosphere by a 40 acre helium-filled dry cleaner bag, then promptly stepped out into space, free falling for over four minutes before parachuting safely to earth. When he deployed his chute, a camera focused intently on the corporate sponsor logo printed on top: Red Bull. Marketing and advertising are changing. Television ads, once the pinnacle of product promotion, are often used by consumers as bathroom breaks, or a channel flipping recess. Youtube and Facebook ads are mere annoyances, small blips in an otherwise unending stream of entertainment. More and more, companies—Red Bull being perhaps the most notable—are turning to experiential marketing—connecting consumers with a brand through a live interaction. Does sponsoring a free fall from space make consumers go out and purchase a case of Red Bull? Perhaps. Does it create a memorable and lasting impression with the brand? Undoubtedly. “It seems,” says Stuart Ward, founder of experiential design company Hfour, “that what people crave, are real experiences. And we can see that in marketing everywhere.” Hfour creates multi-sensory experiences to “solve design challenges and create marketing solutions.” A “multi-sensory experience” put simply, is art. Stuart instals live digital art displays at events to create branded art experiences. “We need new ways to engage people and I say, instead of being the advertising, be the entertainment,” said Stuart. “Be the content people want to watch, not the stuff on the side of your Facebook page.” Stuart’s job is to make just such content. His work is incredibly varied. Recently, he worked on a Vancouver Public Library Foundation fundraiser called...

By Katja De Bock Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball Travelling between international film festivals in Vancouver, Montreal and New York, Oliver Hockenhull’s independently funded documentary From Neurons to Nirvana: The Great Medicines made a pit stop in Kerrisdale and sparked a debate about the pros and cons of psychedelic drugs. From Neurons to Nirvana: The Great Medicines is an eye-popping feature documentary about the resurgence of psychedelics as medicine. The film explores powerful psychedelic substances such as LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and ayahuasca by speaking with scientists, (scientific) users and shamans. The executive producers of the director’s cut are Mark Achbar (The Corporation), Betsy Carson and Jon Schultz. Interestingly, there are two versions of the film. A 68-minute version, Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines is an advocacy film making the plea for more research into substances that have been used for thousands of years. The film is available online atmangu.tv for a fee of US $15. A DVD for US $25 includes additional interviews. However, festivalgoers and conference delegates are treated to the 108-minute director’s cut The Great Medicines, which has a more experimental format. Hockenhull travelled to conferences to speak with the leading experts in the field. His main motivation to make the film was as a means to educate about the power of these medicines to relieve suffering. “Both films are not so much about drugs but about the possibilities inherent in consciousness itself. Banned worldwide from research labs for nearly 35 years, psychedelics are again becoming the focus of serious scientific study. Researchers in several centers, including John Hopkins and the University of California, are conducting clinical trial to treat a range of afflictions: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), addictions, and the psychological stresses suffered by late-stage terminal cancer patients. The initial results of all these studies...

Text by Raffi Wineburg Photos by Gabriel Pliska A woman lies with her eyes closed in a half-filled bathtub. Copper-veined leaves hide her breasts. A flash bursts from a camera. Then many more. Of these photos, one will be developed, framed and finally hung in the same bathroom where it was taken. This happens in each room of a large house. A model posing,  a photographer taking pictures. There is probably some deep artistic meaning behind this. Or maybe it’s just a rich man’s vanity, redecorating his home with photos of his own home. Either way, it’s compelling, creative — much like the photographer himself: Lewis Evans. Lewis has lived his life this way — not photographing models in rich men’s houses, but by being creative, by stretching the boundaries of what he knows he can do. Along with the photo decorations, Lewis’ commissioner requested shots of his two Great Danes. The dogs wanted no such thing. So Lewis tried his hands at something new. He immortalized the two beasts in an oil painting — his very first. It must have turned it okay; it’s still hanging today. Sitting under the sun on the back porch of his Kitsilano home, Lewis and I are just beginning to sweat. He tugs at his collared shirt to cool off before launching into the details of a life of creativity. Born in England, Lewis made the “sensible” decision to enroll in engineering school. He quickly dropped out (“I should have been an artist from the get-go”). He began work as a graphic designer, and a photographer. From this, he transitioned to marketing communications, working for the U.N. around HIV AIDS. He’s an inventor. An artist. A creative business consultant. He teaches courses on creativity. He just published his...

An Interview with Cameron Cartiere: The Dean of Graduate Studies at Emily Carr University of Art & Design By Brandy Baek   When people talk about their experience of first making their decision to choose a career path, they typically talk of this pivotal moment in which an experience sparked their passion. Cameron is no exception to this story. She narrates her story of being 11 years old and attending the first retrospective exhibition of Dr. Seuss in San Diego. In this exhibition, Cameron recalls walking under a Seuss designed moose head and looking at various drawings, sculptures, and paintings which Dr. Seuss has created. At a certain point, she asked her mother who did this, at which her mother replied, “Dr. Seuss”. Then, Cameron asked once again to make her question clear, “Who made all this happen?” Her mother replied that the curator was responsible for it and that was the moment Cameron thought to herself that she wanted to be a curator in the future. Eventually, this dream she had as a child came true, and she currently works as both a public art curator and the Dean of Graduate Studies at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Ever since she started her curatorial practice, Cameron recalls instances in which her mother had difficulty explaining to others what her daughter did as a curator. To put it simply, her mother often explained, “My daughter hangs pictures on the wall.” This is now the title of one of Cameron’s lectures. But her mother’s perception of curatorial work changed when she visited an exhibition Cameron was preparing with fellow graduate students. While like many people, her mother knew what a curator was, she wasn’t aware of  how complex the job could be and...

“He Got a Real Solution!” An Interview with Jerry Ewen by Brandy Beak Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball A huge chunk of living in the 21st century means to be swarmed up in competition your entire life and be always subjected to a ranking system. Jerry, a president of Playfair Canada and the founder of U-Win Institute, acknowledges this reality, but is proactive in changing this current social trend. Being grown up in a large family with abundant love and support is what motivated Jerry to work towards the goal of building a cooperative society. 37 years ago when Playfair first got started in Berkeley California, Jerry’s friend persuaded him to be involved in Playfair. The name “Playfair” comes from the notion of playing “fair”, a term arguing against finding the faults of others. The intention of first opening Playfair was to bring back the joy that is innately in all human beings, which gradually disappears after childhood.  Although he believes that it is never too late to re-experience childhood, he states that joy becomes a privilege only reserved for children, because it is expected for adults to “suppress it because you want to have business and be serious and get on with life.” He explains that like an adult protecting a child, adults define safety as trusting nobody. As a result of this, individuals are disconnected with each other. This phenomenon is what Playfair aims to scrape off. Playfair’s clientele are 1st year university students. The reason why the clientele is so specific is because new students are not yet affected by the culture of post-secondary schools. Thus, the 1st year students are easiest to change. At the same time, Jerry expects these students who participate in programs offered by Playfair to later create a...

Community is like performance on stage “It is my passion, it is my life.” – Angel Drummond By Joyce Tam Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball What is better than doing something that you are passionate, as well as giving happiness to others? What are you passionate about? Do you enjoy watching comedy shows and theatre performances? From Angel Drummond’s story, her life experiences could give us a very positive encouragement. Already a successful theatre producer, she started her own show business after high school, and her goal to use comedy shows to relieve the audiences from their stressful lives. “We don’t laugh enough, we don’t laugh loud and long enough,” Angel said. From planning to the actual performance, Angel focuses on writing plays and choosing characters for acting. Her plays will show on stage twice a year in the seniors center, where over a 100 seniors would go to the Kerrisdale Community Center that becomes extremely popular. Although actors are mainly seniors and guests are targeted for seniors, they would bring their sons and daughters, grandkids and all their friends to join that enlarge the group of attendance. These family-oriented comedy are not only showing within the Kerrisdale community, but rather it is also branching out to more Vancouverites including nearby secondary schools, retirement homes like Crofton Manor and West Vancouver’s neighborhood house. Since it is now a great hit of these comedy shows, Angel would like to try something big and to take those shows as far as Calgary and Vancouver Island. “One of the person said it is the best entertainment she has ever seen,” Angel said. There are two main qualities that lead her to being a successful theatre producer. Firstly, Angel elaborated where a successful show has to be responsive and...

  An Interview with The Land of Deborah        By Lauren MacFarland Photo: Noriko Nasu-Tidball Described as sounding like “Sarah McLaclan and Jewel playing scrabble”, Vancouver-based singer-songwriter act ‘The Land of Deborah’ puts every inch of her infectious persona into her music. Her songs are introspective and upbeat, each written from the heart and telling a story. “Calling herself ‘The Land of Deborah’ was a unique way for Deborah to put a name on her creative brand, which doesn’t just include personal songwriting and performing, but also composing scores for television and film and video blogs. “Years and years ago I thought ‘Deborah’ was just so boring, so one night I decided to be called ‘The Land of Deborah’ and it just stuck,” she explained. “The way that I see it, the music comes from me and my mind is the ‘land’, so therefore ‘The Land of Deborah’ is songs from my mind! It’s not just the songs, it’s who I am, I also love art, and public art…and that’s what the ‘Land’ turned out to be. I get called ‘Land of Deborah’, or ‘Land’ or just ‘LOD’ and that’s kind of what it’s become.” Her various creative outlets have grown and expanded over the years as Deborah explored the different opportunities that came her way. “At the beginning it was just songs, but I’ve always wanted to do something with film and through a chance meeting I ended up writing a song for someone’s film. It’s not something I actively pursue, but if I meet someone and they need a score for a film I’m all over that.” Working for somebody else almost requires a separate muse, when someone asks for a specific type of song it allows her to exercise...

A conversation with Monica McGarry   A watercolour portrait by Monica   Interviewed by Joyce Tam   Why does art matter? There is always a romantic view of artists sitting by themselves and being eccentric. This is false. Nowadays these passive images of artists and art do not exist anymore. In today’s art world, art becomes an active agent that bridges with other neighbors within communities.   Monica McGarry is our special guest who speaks about how arts could promote a strong sense of community through connection, experimentation and interaction. She was graduated from University of British Columbia with an education degree, and is now an artist specializing in painting and drawing. She is also a photographer and an educator in art. Through educating young audiences from age two to eighteen, she is passionate towards educating people about art. In this process, she uses her own knowledge and gives it back to the community in Vancouver. Being an artist, she also takes this knowledge that she gains, assimilating and expressing these ideas back into her artwork. Art is no longer a one-way communication, it is an interaction between the public and the art world. To achieve this goal, Monica has been involved in various events and workshops. Using her life story as a role model, I hope this article would encourage readers in all age groups to recognize the importance of art and community involvements. “Art is something that brings communities together,” Monica said. She has participated in the Vancouver Draw Down project held in May 2012. This event included people from all age groups to make art collectively on the street, and thus to openly create art and connect with other people that share the same goal. Some venues were community centers, galleries with different drawing activities or in other schools. “It is free and that was a very good channel to engage with public,” Monica said. From this activity, participants could enjoy the pleasure of making art in any...

  By Germaine Koh Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tidball Hello, Kerrisdale! My name is Germaine Koh. I’m the artist you’ve been seeing at work in and around the Elm Park field house, and one of the people you may have noticed running around the park wielding rope, frisbees, mops, beanbags, lumber, and an old couch. The Elm Park field house is one of seven new artist residencies launched in late 2012 within the Vancouver Park Board Field House Studio Residency Project. The goal of that program is to enliven previously-vacant field houses, using them as catalysts for community-building (read about the program and residencies here:http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/field-house-studio-residencies-in-parks.aspx). From an open competitive call for proposals, artists were selected to use these field houses as studios for two years, in exchange for community-based art activity. In my case, the project I proposed is closely tied to other aspects of my art practice, and one which puts the task of innovation into the hands — and legs, and minds — of community members. The project, League, is an open weekly gathering for the purpose of playing sports and games invented by participants. Each game, its playing field and its strategies evolve through trial and improvisation, and new and unusual equipment may be invented. League aims to inspire residents of diverse backgrounds and generations to come together to play, think imaginatively, and act collaboratively, in response to challenges posed by different situations. Everyone is welcome, whether they identify as athletes, creative people, both, or neither. The project is based in a belief that play is an essential human tendency that is related on one hand to problem-solving and negotiation skills and on another to a pure pursuit of joy. League participants are encouraged to tweak established structures and rules, to bring...

Interviewed By Aryan Etesami Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tidball   Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, Darrin McCloskeyis a successful local author with a mind full of imagination and creativity. Darrin obtained his Bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1992, after which he decided to go on an adventurous odyssey to Europe. Following his passion for books and writing, Darrin spent a year working at the Dillon’s, The  Bookstore in Cambridge, England, and decided to travel around Europe. After returning to Prince Edward Island and being struck by the reality of the industrialized twenty-first century life, he found employment at a local gas station and later made the choice to move to beautiful British Columbia in 1995. Having arrived in BC, Darrin started a job as a dishwasher in Harrison Hot Springs and has taken on nearly a dozen of different jobs until 2001, when he started teaching ESL (English as a Second Language). Besides writing, he has been an ESL teacher, and has travelled to many different places around the world to teach English. Currently, Darrin runs his own publishing press named, ‘Black Ice Press’ and has already published two books:“Li’l Story: the true story of the rise and fall of the Great Canadian Novel” and “Garden of da Gulf”. Some random fact about Darrin: He is the youngest of six children (four sisters and one brother) and has run a half-marathon in 1:16:51!  Here is an interview I recently did with Darrin where he shared  some very interesting information about himself and his work: –       You have been in Vancouver since 1995, so would you now consider yourself a Vancouverite? A: I’ve been here since ’95, leaving my job as a gas jockey to find another out here as...

 by Trina Moran   Author of the soon to be published A Mythology of Sound, Joël Tibbits professional life is grounded in the areas of music composition, film making, sound design, and yoga. Originally from New Westminster and Surrey, Joël has been involved with music since his teens and holds a degree in music composition from Simon Fraser University. Overall, Joël is most fascinated with exploring facets of consciousness through music and sound.   Joël started becoming involved with music in high school where he learned to play guitar, piano, and even began composing his own music for guitar, cello, and piano. He later pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Simon Fraser University where he majored in music composition, specializing in esoteric and contemporary music. During his studies at Simon Fraser, Joël participated in a summer music composition program abroad in Darmstadt, Germany where he had the opportunity to meet and study with internationally renowned composers. After his university education, Joël spent a year in Japan studying Samurai philosophy. He exclaimed that hundreds of years ago in Japan when the Samurai class was still prevalent, their class also became obsolete and re-emerged as artists. Joël claims that studying Samurai philosophy in Japan revitalized a sense of artistic self within himself. Also after SFU, Joël focused on martial arts (Kung Fu, Hung Gar) and mystic practices such as tarot, Kabalah, spirituality, theology, metaphysics, and cosmology. Currently, Joël enjoys working on short films. He currently worked on a web series that parodied the hit television show, Mad Men. It went on to compete in the 2012 LA Webfest and took home 3 awards. Joël also worked on ‘filament’ a short film he directed in 2011 which follows a character through a variety of environments while exploring...

  Interviewed and written by Trina Moran   When we give back to a community, it is felt locally. When we give back to the planet, it is felt on a global scale. For Radu Postole, serving the community and the Earth go hand in hand and has become a career. A recent graduate from UBC’s Integrated Engineering program, Radu is a systems engineer for SunCentral and a volunteer engineer for the Tetra Society of North America (a non-profit organization that creates assistive devices for people with disabilities). At SunCentral, Radu is a project manager and operations engineer. As well, he oversees various design concepts. Currently, he is working on solar tracking technology that uses sunlight to light office space. This concept utilizes mirrors on the outside of office buildings that track the sun, lenses that concentrate the sunlight, and a light guide to pipe the concentrated light into the depths of the building. Electric lighting is also used in this method, but is instantly dimmed when the sun shines, making this a hybrid energy source. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The process is instantaneous. Therefore, the sunlight outside is instantly converted into the lighting used inside. Human benefits to this hybrid lighting system include a better workplace environment and a connection to the outdoor environment. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Vancouver = Rain city. Also, with hydroelectricity available in this region the cost for electricity is low. This specific type of hybrid energy source is marketable to regions that experience longer, frequent periods of sunlight throughout the year (California, Spain, Portugal) where hydroelectricity or other affordable energy is not always an available option. Overall, Radu’s goal at SunCentral is to further develop this concept so that it becomes a readily available option for...

Vancouver Park Board Commissioner and liaison to the Kerrisdale Community Centre Interviewed by Colin Booth, Aryan Etesami, Keiko Honda & Barb Mikulec  Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tidball Q1: The KCC is one of three centres that you are the Park Board Liaison, What do you see for our particular community centre in the next five years? KCC is very unique in the sense that it has great history, a well used library, swimming pool and skating rink. The community is very diverse but very different than the other community center that I advocate for. For instance whereas I am fighting diligently for Strathcona Community Centre to make sure that their breakfast program that feeds up to 200 hungry children daily is funded and acknowledged I also bring the awareness to the Vancouver Park Board that the swimming pool at Kerrisdale is in desperate need of repair and will need ongoing maintenance. The rink is also a big piece if infrastructure that needs to be addressed. I know that seniors play a huge role in all that you do in Kerrisdale so we need to keep that in mind as we move forward with any planning and programming. I would also like to see more community gardens in the area as it gets families, seniors and youth out working together. I think it is not really my place to say specifically what Kerrisdale Community Center should be in the next five years, my job is to listen to the people that frequent, work and staff the centre and bring those thoughts back to the board and staff. Q2: How can the City of Vancouver help to make affordable, accessible and sustainable early childcare? Early Care and Learning is one of my main priorities as I feel being...

The road is life and is a dilligent and long one….I was in awe of him; he is truly an inspiration. ~ Editor-in-Chief Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos Shakuhachi Artist (Japanese Bamboo Flute Musician and Teacher) Interviewed by Editor-in-Chief Photographed by Noriko Nasu-Tidball Q:   Could you please tell us your cross-cultural backgrounds? What was your upbringing like in Japan (as non-Japanese ethnically speaking)? How did you feel being “gaijin” in Japan? What is your identity now? A: My parents are from the Philippines but I was born in Japan. We lived on a US military base but made frequent visits outside to be with Japanese friends. I was very young so I don’t really remember too much about Japan so I had no conceptual understanding of what a gaijin was. I moved to the US when I was about 6 and went to school there completing university. I returned to Japan after university to study shakuhachi for the first time, which is when I understood more deeply what a gaijin was. Although I have a western mindset, my spirit has always been Asian with a particular affinity to Japan. I moved to Canada in 1997 and have since attained my Canadian citizenship. But I feel that I am more a citizen of the world that is open and loves learning about other cultures and traditions. But there is something in the centre of my spirit that is Japanese. Q:  When made you first realize you wanted to pursue a career in Shakuhachi master? Who were the early influences? A: My major in University was Eastern Comparative Religious Studies and I was originally attracted to the monastic life and/or academic life and was headed that way. But when I first heard the shakuhachi flute, I wanted to go to Japan to study...

With music and lyrics by JEANNIE CORSI and featuring vocals by JANET OXLEY Photographs by Noriko Nasu-Tidball   “The two friends with boundless passion for music, Jeannie Corsi and Janet Oxley, finally completed what they started 37 years ago. Their music has it all: drama, comedy, romance, friendship, spirituality, happiness, community, and values. The 9 original pieces of music and lyrics written by Jeannie and sung by Janet are quite magical, highlighting the joy of their collaboration and their long, loving friendship. They do put their hearts in it!! Watching them perform together is a refreshing, encouraging, and moving experience. Their faces are full of graceful smiles and humor, as well as their life struggles. Their genuine happiness appears so natural in their music that you will remember that life is beautiful indeed. I was in awe of the music and their personalities, which are unique and full of vigor and creativity—absolutely first-rate. I am sure everyone will agree! I am proud and excited to bring their nine original pieces to our 1st Annual Community Engagement Celebration event scheduled in September 2012. Please stay tuned, everyone!”  ~Editor-in-Chief   An Interview with Jeannie Corsi & Janet Oxley VIDEO by Rosanna Goncalves   BIO: Jeannie Corsi – composer and...

Beauty Comes From Movement Interview with contemporary filmmaker Daniel Conrad Daniel Conrad, a filmmaker and writer, has Masters degrees in cinema and molecular immunology. He makes dance films and documentaries. His dance films look at the human organism confronting the alienated modern city and the natural wilderness. His documentary films focus on the aesthetic response, one of the most universal human traits. What awakens our sense of beauty? My personal response: Everything that makes life “beautiful” involves movement. The seasons, the tides, growth, development, aging, change. This coming Fall at the Centre, we will screen some of his dance films, followed by a discussion. So come and meet the director and stay tuned for the film screening! ~ Editor-in-Chief  To watch movie trailers: http://www.rhodopsin.ca/films_en.html   Q: When did you first start getting into films? Does your science background help you make films (and how so?)? A: I started life as a wilderness photographer. I wanted to understand life, in the broadest sense. When I had accumulated more questions than answers, I went to graduate school to study molecular immunology. This gave me a sense of the structures of emergent systems. I then went to a second graduate school to study cinema. This was not such a change for me: I had been studying all my life, and these formal periods of specialization allowed me to look more deeply. In film school, I studied Eisenstein, whose first training was in architecture and civil engineering. There is biology in all of my films, sometimes explicitly. Q: To what extent your movie comes from a very personal place? How did you get the idea to write the scipt for “Accdent by Design”? What sparked your creation? A: I wanted to know what makes things beautiful. It’s a question that should be easy...

The Secret to Being a Great Musician Kevin Olafsson, a master teacher of Japanese tradiational Koto and Shamisen music, revealed how cross-cultural experience was a great foundation to expand his art and to deepen his understanding of musical masterworks and tradition.  Being a native Japanese, I was not only blown away by his Japanese-like demeanor but also by his great soulful sounds. My hats off to him! ~ Editor-in-Chief About Kevin In 1988, Kevin left Canada for Japan and began koto and shamisen lessons as a member of the Souchiku Kai, a school under the direction of Takemura Aiyako.  In 2000, he left Tokyo for Honolulu to begin graduate studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research focused on the Iemoto Seido.  He was a Graduate Assistant in the University of Hawaii Music Department and taught the shamisen portion of the Koto Ensemble class.  He has been heard on Hawaii radio as a guest on Barbi Wong World Notes, and the late Glen Grant Japanese Ghost Stories as well as on TV KHON morning show.  He regularly taught and performed both koto and shamisen and guest lectured at the UH music department. Kevin is especially proud of the University Laboratory School Japanese music ensemble, which he founded in co-operation with the Kimono Culture Class.  Most recently he has performed in Vancouver for the Japan Canada Relief Fund and conducted a lecture workshop at Quest University. Photograph by Noriko Nasu BONUS!! Come Meet Kevin and Try His KOTO Workshop! Recommended for all ages! When: May 20, 2012, Sunday, 2pm-4pm Where: Kerrisdale Community Centre For Registration:  https://pbregister.vancouver.ca/adet.sdi?activity_id=354719   Complimentary coffee is donated by Bean Around The World...