Art In The City

Vernisage Opening Night Preview Friday, May 4 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Exhibition Continues Saturday & Sunday, May 5 & 6
12 noon to 5 p.m.
West End Community Centre
Free

Art in the City is the premier fine arts market in Vancouver’s historic West End. The three-day eventis held at the West End Community Centre and showcases fine art in a variety of media and styles, including painting, sculpture, and photography. In addition to the market, Art In The City features live music, art workshops, and activities for attendees of all ages. Experience the diverse creative talent of Vancouver and unleash your inner artist!

Vernissage Opening Night Preview: Everyone is invited to celebrate the opening of Art in the City. Stop by the West End Community Centre Friday night to view the art, meet the artists, and support the arts in your community.

Exhibition Hall: More than 50 artists will exhibit and sell their works in the Art in the City Exhibition Hall. Find a special new piece for your apartment, meet the artists, and learn more about their work.

Longtime West End community volunteer Pamela Leaman.

Community Arts Lounge: Stop by the Community Arts Lounge in the Auditorium for a cup of coffee and to explore different types of art-making. There will be live music from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Exhibitions and activities will include the Birds In Residence (see below) bird crafting and parade, a sketch artist to capture your best profile, painting and pottery demonstrations, and family art activities.

Watercolour Workshop: Among the free art activities in the auditorium, Pamela Leaman, longtime Art in the City, will be offering a watercolour workshop on Sunday, May 5th, from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.. Observe her landscape and floral techniques, have a chat, and try it out for yourself. Pamela has been a watercolour artist and teacher for many years. Be sure to say hi to Pamela -- you’ll spot her bright pink hair and cheerful smile!

The Blue Heron is just one of the many birds that share our West End neighbourhood.

Birds In Residence / Artist In Residence

Saturday, May 5
12 noon to 4 p.m.
West End Community Centre
Free

Art In The City Workshop - Migratory Bird Puppets: Make a paper maché portrait of a bird that has been seen in the West End and learn its song. This is a simple and fast technique for creating a basic bird shape with newspaper, masking tape, tissue paper, and white glue. The workshop will end with a small migratory parade around the auditorium. This workshop takes place during the annual Art in the City exhibition. Saturday, May 5, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Free.

MOLE HILL HERITAGE WALK

Saturday, May 5
11 a.m. to 12 noon
Start at 1157 Pendrell / Mole Hill Community Room
Free

The West End is one of the oldest residential areas in Vancouver. In the late 1890’s and early 20th century, this was the upscale neighbourhood in Vancouver. Today there is a mix of old mansions, homes and heritage apartments throughout the West End, including Mole Hill.

Mole Hill’s history goes back to the late 19th century, when the original houses were built. Two of the early settlers were Elizabeth and Henry Mole, after whom Mole Hill is named. In the 1940s, the West End was becoming increasingly populated. In response, many West End homeowners built additions to allow for tenanting, or renovated their homes to allow for rental suites. Apartment buildings were taking the place of single family homes. As the population density of the area increased, it became clear to the Parks board that the West End needed more green space.

In the late 80s and early 90s, it became clear that the City and the Parks board were planning to go forward with the removal of the Mole Hill homes, scattered public outcry notwithstanding. In response to the approaching threat of destruction, a group of committed activist tenants and other concerned members of the greater Vancouver community formed the Mole Hill Living Heritage Society. There were protests at City Hall, and long afternoons on Davie Street where activists would engage other West End residents, soliciting signatures and providing history.

“Never give up!!” author and urban activist Jane Jacobs to the Mole Hill Living Heritage Society in 1998, and they never did give up. Through their commitment, belief, and vision, the homes of Mole Hill were preserved and restored, in a responsible and socially mindful way.

Learn more about this unique window into Vancouver’s past at this Mole Hill Living Heritage Walk, hosted by Jane’s Walk Vancouver and the Mole Hill Community Housing Association.

Join The "Cheer Station" For The BMO Vancouver Marathon

Sunday, May 6
8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Devonian Harbour Park

The folks at the West End - Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre will be hosting a Cheering Station to root for the participants in the annual BMO Vancouver Marathon as they approach the last kilometre of the course along the seawall. The theme of the cheers will be "No, You're MY Hero!"

There will be superhero themed signs with running slogans for you to wave -- like "You're faster than a speeding bullet!" and you are invited to join the cheering section wearing superhero costumes, logo t-shirts, and the like. A great opportunity to give this year's Halloween costume one more outing. There will be drinks and snacks and some prizes for best signs and outfits, but costumes are not mandatory ... just show up and be prepared to cheer!

Aleya Trott, executive director of the West End - Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre, asks that you email her to let her know you'll be attending, so she can be sure to have enough drinks and food on hand. You can reach her at executivedirector@wechcpc.com.

Roots of Resilience and Resourcefulness: A Parenting Workshop

Wed, 9 May 2018
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Lord Roberts Annex (1150 Nelson)
$5
Tickets here

The parent advisory council at Roberts Annex Elementary, corner of Bute and Nelson, is sponsoring a parenting presentation with Dr. Deborah MacNamara. There will be free coffee if you bring your own mug, as well as free childminding on-site.

Humans are among the most adaptive creatures on the planet, with the capacity to overcome adversity and find creative solutions to our problems. While it is within everyone’s capacity to be resilient and resourceful, this potential is not always realized. Raising resourceful and resilient children has never been more important and the role of tears in this process never more misunderstood. Adults play a key role in cultivating the roots of resilience that have lasting effects on their capacity to endure adversity and find a way through. Dr. MacNamara provides counselling and educational services to parents and professionals based on the relational-developmental approach of Dr. Gordon Neufeld. She is the author of the best selling book, Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one).

The school parking lot will be reserved for the duration of the event and attendees are welcome to park in the lot for free.

Free Flowers For Mother's Day

Sunday, May 13
12 noon to 2 p.m.
In front of Club Monaco (1040 Robson)

The Robson Street Business Association, in partnership with local florist Blossom & Vine Floral Co, will be treating West Enders' Moms to free bouquets on Mother's Day.

Bring Mom out for brunch at one of Robson's many restaurants and cafés, do a little shopping along what we like to refer to as "Rodeo Drive North", and pick a bouquet for the woman you owe everything to

Here's hoping that the weather is gorgeous, and that supplies last!

Shigeru Ban’s Kobe Paper Log House at Offsite. (Hiroyuki Hirai Photo)

The Vancouver Art Gallery Exhibition "Offsite: Shigeru Ban"

May 11 to October 8
Vancouver Art Gallery Off Site
May 11 to October 8
1100 West Georgia
24/7
Free

Do you know that the West End enjoys a regular, free to view, open air exhibition by the Vancouver Art Gallery at their "Offsite" location on West Georgia, west of the Shangri-La Hotel?

This spring, the Vancouver Art Gallery presents Offsite: Shigeru Ban. Organized by the Gallery’s Institute of Asian Art, the exhibit features the full-scale version of renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban’s Kobe Paper Log House.

Under the direction of Shigeru Ban, the Gallery has built a version of his 15.8 square-meter Kobe Paper Log House utilizing readily sourced materials. Founder of the Voluntary Architects Network, Ban designed the Kobe Paper Log House as disaster relief shelter using his extensive knowledge of recyclable materials, particularly of paper and cardboard. This exhibition will also feature a large photomural documenting Ban’s ongoing design work on global disaster relief projects – work that in 2017 earned him the Mother Theresa Award.

In 1995, the coast of Japan was hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, with the major port city of Kobe as its epicentre. Over 6,000 people were killed, and 200,000 lost their homes. At the time a young Tokyo-based architect, Ban responded to the urgent need for temporary relief shelter by designing the Kobe Paper Log House, which served to house thousands of displaced Kobe residents. Since its creation, Ban has been called on by such organizations as the United Nations to develop his innovative structures, regarded for their low cost, easy accessibility and simple application.

Offsite is the Vancouver Art Gallery’s outdoor public art space, presenting an innovative program of temporary projects. it is a site for local and international contemporary artists to exhibit works related to the surrounding urban context. New projects are installed in the spring and fall. Offsite: Shigeru Ban is the 17th Offsite installation of this series.

GOT AN EVENT YOU WANT MENTIONED HERE?

The West End Journal is kind of a one-man band, with a little help from my friends, so I don't always hear about very event in our community in time to mention it in our monthly website update. To make sure your upcoming event gets the publicity it deserves, email me at editor@thewestendjournal.ca. Information received by the third Friday of each month will be in time for the following month's edition. We also include as many items as possible in our weekly "The Week Ahead" post on our Facebook page. So keep those emails coming!
Kevin Dale McKeown
(Find out who I am here)
Editor & Publisher
The West End Journal