August 7
For residents of the Rice Block, ATIRA Housing, artist Anne Marie Slater brings together local women and children from low-income communities adjacent to the Soul Garden site to share their stories and recipes about comfort foods. The dinner will draw on the cultural and immigrant histories of the site by serving Sunday dinner dishes that celebrate the history of comfort foods through the European, Russian, Jewish, and Ukrainian community churches in the area, as well as participant’s favorite comfort Sunday dishes.
Soul Gardens is a W2 community public art project that investigates the cultural history of the Downtown Eastside as told through stories of food, gardening and community.
A collaboration between five muralists and five artist researchers, the project draw heavily on individual and shared narratives within founding DTES cultural groups including the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam Nations, and African, Chinese, Japanese and European settlers. In addition to a large public mural, Soul Gardens will create a dynamic online interface inviting individuals to share recipes, stories, photos and other information about how food has played a role in shaping their experience of Vancouver.
Muralists: Jordan Bent, Indigo, Scott Sueme, Melanie Shambach, Take5. Researchers: Wayde Compton, Lani Russwurm, Anne Marie Slater, Sid Tan and Cease Wyss. Project Coordinators: Irwin Oostindie, Lianne Payne.
Look here for further event updates on the project as they are announced, including long table dinners, recipe card collections, and public talks and workshops on cultural heritage and community history.
With support from the City of Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary Grants Program and the participation of the Government of Canada. Artwork design: Jordan Ben
AHA MEDIA is very proud to help support the W2 Soul Gardens Public Art Project!
Below are photos from a recent meeting at W2 Media Cafe
Below is a video of the Visual Arts – CHILDREN LIVE DREAM HERE
The presence of children in our community is the focus of this show of photo works by students from grades 4 to 7. Photographer and lead artist Anne Marie Slater collaborated with the students on an interpretive walk of Princess Avenue and their photographs reveal the sky, the street, and the industrial side of Hastings Street re-linking the historic north/south connection to the waterfront.
The perspectives of inner city children are captured in photo stories and audio recordings, on view in the main gallery and in projections on the outside of Chapel Arts. Children Live Dream Here: Urban Landscapes is a community arts initiative with the participation of local organizations, community members and the support of the Festival and the City of Vancouver Great Beginnings program.
Sponsored by Strathcona Elementary School, Strathcona Community Centre Association and Chapel Arts, with funding from Port Metro Vancouver and Telus-Vancouver Community Board.
This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or message me at http://www.facebook.com/AprilFilms
Below is a photo of a young artist drawing with chalk while Savannah Walling of Heart of the City Festival looks on. http://www.HeartOfTheCityFestival.com
Below is a photo of Savannah Walling, Anne Marie Slater, Irwin Oostindie and daughter looking at the Powerful Projection of Photos taken by students of Strathcona Elementary from the Garage across Dunlevy Street to the side of Chapel Arts!
