Dear Readers, Interdisciplinarity and co-creation are two philosophies we employ in programming the Kerrisdale Contemporary Arts Lab (K-CAL) series, which began working on art-based community development at the beginning of 2018. Setting the “art for its own sake” versus “art for social value” argument aside, I hope our effort and work will support individual creativity, connect people across cultural boundaries, and build the community centre’s capacities to innovate and express ideas.    What is the goal of the K-CAL initiative? Although my view may not be entirely representative of our board, I believe a community centre should nurture the arts in the communit not only for the sake of fostering creativity, but to spur synergies with its other activities in community development. Focussing only on a centre’s financial bottom-line can be short-sighted and detrimental to our cultural resources. Speaking of synergies, the latest K-CAL workshop, titled, “Synergy“, led by artist Judith M Atkinson, was an interesting experiment. “Loosen up, everyone! Let the free flow of expression keep going!” said Judith, during her provocative drawing workshop that successfully invited the participants tap into their creative potential. With some rhythmic background music and various drawing resources, including Chinese ink and tree twigs, all participants produced rather surprising artwork inspired by an installation (the point of departure), honeysuckle vines harvested from a community garden and dried by Judith.  I was personally amazed by how effective the music was in helping me loosen up. The most amazing surprise of all was the transformation of all participants. One particular participant drew figuratively at the beginning but became an abstract expressionist toward the end. Judith’s masterful and supportive critiquing, as well as the relationship building within the group, helped drive these transformations. The “Synergy” workshop was a successful affirmation of the K-CAL...

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...

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  Dear Readers, How’s your new year going so far?   I am delighted to share my experience in the KCC’s brand new series called Kerrisdale Contemporary Arts Lab (K-CAL), which hit the ground running on January 6, with an interdisciplinary artist, Soyoung Park. I brought my parents who were visiting me from Japan to the Soyoung’s workshop, called Everyday Installation, partly because I, as an organizer, was worried about a low turnout. Plus, I thought my mother would enjoy art and craft and my father wouldn’t mind accompanying us for a few hours. It turned out that the workshop was an improvisational acting in which people had to create a pop-up installation as a group (with whatever available materials in the room like chairs and papers) and tell a story collaboratively without using any words.  Hmmm….That’s even possible!? …..No one knew what we were getting into!  There were 3 other adult participants besides my father and my mother (aged 82 and 78, respectively) who cannot speak English and have no acting skills nor previous experience to my knowledge. I was feeling anxious (on the group’s behalf) and a bit guilty for “dragging” my parents along to the workshop with no explanations other than, “It’s part of my volunteering as a board member!” (I am extremely grateful for my lovely parents who always support me no matter what, evidently!). As the workshop was proceeding, still weary and disoriented, I noticed that everyone were embodying (as the photographs show!). And more impressively, it seemed to me that everyone were self-contextualizing quite effortlessly at least from a distance. Literally, there was no words to describe what’s happening, but it was a wonderful surprise to discover my parents’ hidden “talents” and witness their 200% engagement and liveliness. It seemed as if...

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 Chloe Price Photo courtesy of Cathy Stubington *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society There are precious few remedies for the bleak mood of Vancouver in January, but I can say with certainty that a visit with artists Paula Jardine, Carmen Rosen and Cathy Stubigton is a sure-fire cure. Our meeting takes place on one of those grey winter afternoons that us locals know all too well, when it appears that someone has punched a hole in the sky and all the color has drained out of our city, only to be replaced with relentless drizzle. I hear Paula, Carmen and Cathy before I see them—their voices and laughter pierce the sleepy air, announcing their approach. The three women enter in a flurry of bright woollen hats, scarves and coats, chattering cheerfully as they shed this winter plumage. Greetings are exchanged, hands are shaken and we soon all settle at a tea and cookie-laden table. I quickly note that any question posed to the trio is met with a chorus of inter-weaving, over-lapping answers—and yet they are all remarkably, genuinely interested and engaged with each others’ comments and opinions. This is perhaps a side effect of the emphasis on being present, and re-connecting with one’s environment and fellow humans, that seems to be a unifying theme for all three artists’ work. We briefly discuss some of their past residencies—in this city as well as out of town—and the art they’ve created. Carmen, for example, cloned spores from local oyster mushrooms and incorporated them into deadwood sculptures to create environmentally sustainable art that would decompose over the years. Cathy and Paula use the term “guerrilla acts of creativity” to describe much of their work—that is to say, spontaneous instance of art...

By Eileen Chen Photo courtesy of Pille Bunnell *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society What does an intersection between poetry and science mean? Does it relate to poems that talk about science or scientists that speak in verse? These were the questions that plagued me when I was preparing an interview with Dr. Pille Bunnell – an ecologist and cyberneticist – to discuss the topic of integrating poetry and science, as well as her experiences and fields of study. Before diving into discussions of what systems ecology and cybernetics are, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Bunnell relate a beautifully personal tale. In the year 2002, Dr. Bunnell attended a course at the University of Tartu during a visit to her mother country, Estonia, which she left as a refugee when only eight months old. There, she joined a field trip to an ancient raised bog, where the peat moss had built up several meters above the surrounding area. It was a chilly November day, with a smatter of snow on the ground. After receiving a bog-walking lesson, she had a chance to explore the ancient landscape herself. Pausing to look around, she was suddenly overcome with a striking sense of awe and familiarity: “I am home!” The emotional intensity of this experience was evident, even when retelling her story. After long reflection on that impactful experience, Dr. Bunnell came to the conclusion that language links people with their ancestry through its connection with the land. I was surprised to see language brought into the equation like this, but through Dr. Bunnell’s explanation of how the grammar, intonation, and flow of language arises from how people relate within the landscapes they live in, I eventually became convinced. To apply...

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...

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SFU’s Faculty of Environment is pleased to invite you to a talk and discussion about the sustainability of forests in BC featuring guest speaker Herb Hammond, a forest ecologist and forester with Silva ecosystems Consultants. Ken Lertzman a professor in SFU’s School of Resource and Environmental Management (REM) will respond to the presentation before moderator and professor Sean Markey (also in REM) opens the conversation to the audience. Title: Are We Managing BC Forests in Ecologically and Socially Responsible Ways? When: February 21, 2018 7-9pm Where: SFU Harbour Centre, Room 1400, 515 West Hastings Reservations: This talk is free and open to everyone. Reservations are recommended as seating is limited. ReserveMySeat...