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Sept. 30, 2005
A walking tour of art
The Drift takes strollers into a 90-artist show.
CASSANDRA SAVAGE
If you haven't heard the buzz about Vancouver's growing art and
design scene, now's the time to tune in. This Saturday and Sunday,
dozens of artists on and around Main Street will open their studio
doors to give the public a chance to sample and support local talent.
The Drift: Art on Main Street is a free two-day public event featuring
more than 90 artists in 48 shops and 33 studios. Think of it as
a self-guided tour or an art walk.
Leah Rosenberg is one of the registered artists who will open her
doors for the walk. Her paintings, illustrations and installations
are like cakes from an Easy-Bake Oven: colorful, pretty, unique
and tasty-looking.
"I think a lot of the work I make grows from the thought of
being six again," said Rosenberg in an interview with the Independent.
"I try to have fun with the spontaneity and playfulness of
color and shape. But there is some seriousness to it as well. I
enjoy including unexpected materials and ... wildly fetishistic
color in an attempt to challenge ideas of femininity, kitsch, confection
and glamor."
A graduate of Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Rosenberg
is a working artist with a growing list of auctions and exhibitions
to her credit. In addition to contributing work to fund-raising
events, she's exhibited at the Helen Pitt Gallery, Bjornson Kajiwara
Gallery, Jennifer Kleinsteuber Gallery and the Lowercase Gallery
at the Regional Assembly of Text on Main Street. (on now until Oct.
10).
"I have been known to leave pompoms around as random acts of
fluff and I also like to make cupcakes for most occasions,"
said Rosenberg, adding that some members of her family don't understand
why she no longer paints "those watercolor landscapes that
everyone liked so much." Her family, however, is at the top
of her mental list when it comes to support and Vancouver in general,
she said, is a great place to make art, despite the expense.
"I think it's a city that has a lot of creative potential,"
she said, "lots of creative people and possibilities of crossover
– musicians, designers, artists, writers, all working together."
The creative community around Main Street is particularly strong,
said Rosenberg, which bodes well for anyone planning to check out
The Drift this weekend.
Jennifer Ettinger is a founding member of the Main Art Drift Society,
an organization formed in 2004 by a small collective of artists.
The group recognized a need for greater awareness of the creative
work going on in Mount Pleasant, an area unofficially stretching
from Cambie to Fraser and Industrial to 33rd
Avenue. Similar events had been going on for years in other neighborhoods:
Kitsilano, Point Grey and Kerrisdale had Artists in Our Midst, the
North Shore had the Harmony Arts Festival and East Vancouver had
the Culture Crawl.
"Most artists agree that there was a need for recognition in
our neighborhood of the fabulous arts that exist in our community,"
said Ettinger. From clothing and textiles, to painting and photography,
to jewelry and lampshade design, artists in the area are producing
work across a wide spectrum. The Drift is about meeting the artists,
viewing their work and, in some studios, catching a glimpse of the
artistic process. Artists without studios or places to show their
work are given space on the walls and tables of businesses along
Main Street.
"The businesses have been very co-operative and excited about
participating in this art event," said Ettinger.
The event kicks off with an opening gala on Sept. 30 at the Polish
Community Centre at 24th and Fraser. Everyone is invited to eat,
drink and dance to live beats by Hot Breakfast.
For further information about the event or to print out a map of
artist locations, including Rosenberg's studio, go to www.thedrift.ca.
Maps will also be available from various shops, studios and event
volunteers along the way.
Cassandra Savage is a freelance writer and editor in Vancouver.
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