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...

Dear Readers, Summer is over and what’s in store for you in the new season? Kerrisdale Community Center Society’s Community Engagement Committee is gearing up to bring more contemporary and interdisciplinary arts programs to our centre in the coming year (the official kick off will be Spring 2018). As artistic practices shift, increasingly integrating technology and interdisciplinary approaches, it make sense that our community centre should reflect and adopt these exciting changes as well. As we continue to make new roads, we are aware that the public wants to be more than passive recipients of whatever the artist chooses to put in front of them: instead, through their interactivity, they want to become co–creators – that makes our life more meaningful.   To begin, we will be organizing Ars Longa Film Mini-series this Fall, which is a moderated discussion group in film aesthetics and media literacy. It will center around a series of highly engaging films with deep educational value. Please stay tuned! I wanted to remind everyone of the upcoming important and meaningful event: save the date: The 2017 Walk for Reconciliation on Sunday September 24.  We are in a more urgent need of profound trust among people and ourselves than ever before.  In this issue, we have an excellent article entitled “An Indigenous Perspective of Reconciliation and Art” featuring Dr. Mique’l Dangeli, an Indigenous visual and performing artist who holds a PhD in Northwest Coast First Nations art history -absolutely must-read. Happy Reading! Keiko Honda,  Editor-in-Chief and Chair of Community Engagement Committee...

  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)...

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  Dear Readers, We are back after skipping 2 months! Late spring is ALWAYS the busiest season for me (grant-writing!).    Last month, together with the Musqueam community, UBC Shine On, and Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society, we celebrated the Beyond Music One Year Anniversary. It is truly my honour to reflect today on the journey we embarked one year ago with a handful of our community collaborators. We strive to use our highest strengths and talents to belong to and serve something we believe is larger than the self, as part of our commitment to reconciliation.  But what is reconciliation? What does reconciliation mean to you?  As a Japanese person who has lived in the States and now in Canada, I am a newcomer to Canada. But my presence on this territory means I’m still part of the system that is colonizing Indigenous people. The Beyond Music Initiative has taught me that I need to continuously learn from the people rather than learn from books. As a community builder, I hold a responsibility of two ways — to educate myself and my community, and do the work of standing next to Musqueam people to make sure that reconciliation happens, according to their rights. It starts with respect. Respect their beliefs, their cultures, their way of life, and stand beside them as they recover that right. That to me is reconciliation. As I am planning for next season, I need to educate myself and be ready. I am very excited, indeed, to learn from and share with the Musqueam people more and more. This summer is going by so fast, I feel. My latest summer fun is to grow, harvest, and blend my own herb tea. Have you tried Moroccan mint and sage tea? Yum!  Happy reading! Keiko Honda Editor-in-Chief & Chair...

BY JAMIE ZABEL PHOTOS BY SYED MUSTAFA *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society Most of us feel like we have a certain amount of stake in the future of the coming generations. We want to leave our world, the future world of our children, in good enough shape to allow them to live well and in comfort. This depends so much on the children that are right now entering elementary and middle school, the future world changers and earth shakers. This being so, we pay a great deal of attention to what the generations behind us are doing and how they are acting. Undoubtedly, it was like that for the generations that came before us as much as it is for us now. So, who are these children that are entering the school system, the ones that will one day become our doctors, lawyers, and Prime Ministers? I’ll confess, after my brother left middle school a few years ago, I’ve been quite disconnected from that age group since most of my cousins are already grown. This is where the Vancouver Regional Heritage Fair was so enlightening and, I may say, uplifting. Before I continue with this thought, however, I feel it might be useful to give a bit of context to the event in which I and the students participated. The Vancouver Regional Heritage Fair is part of an initiative run by the BC Heritage Fairs Society affiliated with Canada’s National History Society, Heritage BC, and under the patronage of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Their main goal is to create an environment in which students have the opportunity to learn and get excited about Canada’s history and the Canadians that made our country what it is today. The...

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 JIYOON HA   Food waste is a mounting, $31 billion problem in Canada, and a problem that’s happening at every level: grocery stores, restaurants, farms, and most notably, households. Because it’s an issue so widespread across the nation, but happening in the unseen pockets of the food industry, it’s often glossed over as an issue too big to tackle by the government.   On an individual scale, this pressing issue smothers us with a feeling of simultaneous guilt and helplessness. Sure, we should work towards reducing our own food waste — after all, homes contribute to 50% of food waste — but with our increasingly fast-paced lifestyles, it’s difficult to exact the science of reducing our own food waste through frequent shopping for smaller quantities. Even if we can reserve a sliver of our daily lives for the supermarket to take on the zero-waste lifestyle, large figures, like $31 billion or 1.5 billion of overall food waste in Canada, can make it feel like our own individual dedication to saving the environment isn’t even making a dent of a dent. Photo courtesy of Food Stash Foundation   One early Friday morning, I met with David Schein, the founder of Food Stash Foundation. Food Stash has a truly remarkable story: what began as a one person project, consisting of David and his trusty bicycle — and eventually, a Toyota Camry, has evolved into a full-fledged organization with committed volunteers, twenty-six food rescue organizations, over forty (and counting) food suppliers, and has recently achieved charity status — all over the course of ten months. According to their website, Food Stash has a “two-fold mission”: to “rescue food from producers and suppliers that would have been destined for the landfill, and to deliver edible food items...

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...

Photo from news.ok.ubc.ca ARTICLE BY ADELE MCCANN Creativity is an illusive and mysterious thing. It is difficult to pinpoint where a great idea comes from and the process by which it comes into being. I had the pleasure of a conversation with UBC Okanagan Professor Liane Gabora to discuss her theory of creativity and her exploration into this area. She stated that creativity is best known as the process that fuels the evolution of culture. We might consider that a flower could inspire a song, which in turn might inspire a painting, which then goes on to inspire the invention of a certain kind of paintbrush, and so on. Creativity is a constantly evolving and adaptive thing that is constantly driving humanity’s evolution and adaptation to the world. However, Liane’s Honing Theory posits that it is not the creative outputs of a painting or a song that comprise this evolutionary process, but rather our own worldviews that give rise to creative processes. It is our perspectives that are evolving and regenerating and art is a visible manifestation of this underlying internal change. There are two components of the process by which these worldviews evolve: communal exchange and self-organisation. Communal exchange involves interaction with other elements of your world – very often people. You assimilate these interactions and that affects your worldview – your internal web of understandings about the world and your place in it, the driving force behind your creative output. Consider you might see a monkey eating a banana at the zoo and are inspired to create a cartoon about monkeys. You cannot create anything new for the world until you have interacted with what is already there. It is in this way that we can evolve a creative idea by talking...

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