Archive
Collective Futures in the Downtown Eastside – Forum & discussion led by the desmedia collective in Vancouver
Nov 26, 2011 | 2pm
FREE
Audain Gallery
The Audain Gallery will be hosting a panel discussion by the desmedia collective. desmedia will host Collective Futures in the Downtown Eastside, a public forum where DTES artists and residents will be invited to discuss the successes and challenges of, and possible futures for, cultural collectives in the community.
About desmedia
desmedia (downtown eastside media), a collective of artists committed to working on engaged collaborative arts projects with other residents and members of the DTES, began running drop-in workshops in May 2000. Describing their project as a “living archive”, desmedia challenged the “dominant media’s over-arching image of the DTES”, and facilitated the production of painting, video, photography, and text. Exploring ways of documenting life, histories, and the vitality and creativity of the area, the workshops provided an opportunity for the possibilities of self expression, reflection and self representation.
Collective Futures in the Downtown Eastside
Panel discussion by the desmedia collective
On the occasion of this exhibition, desmedia will reassemble their complete archive in the Audain Gallery, including a workstation, shelving, videotapes, paintings, and related ephemera, and discuss potential collective models and the dissolution or morphing of desmedia (and their archive) into another form. desmedia will host Collective Futures in the Downtown Eastside, a public forum where DTES artists and residents will be invited to discuss the successes and challenges of, and possible futures for, cultural collectives in the community. Although present in the gallery, the desmedia archive will not be available for public access, only on display.
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Gallery Gachet
Vancouver Moving Theatre/Heart of the City Festival
Lower Mainland Painting Co.
Red Gate
AHA Media
Enterprising Women Making Art
Lifeskills Film & Video
Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts
W2 Community Media Arts
DTES Artists Space Coalition
Points/questions for Panel participant’s response
How do you work collectively, what methodology/structure/practice and
guidelines?
What is the collaborative practices you do?
How do you engage your art practice as a collective with the DTES and
DTES residents? What support can you offer to participants living with
barriers to their practice; marginalized artists, homelessness, and
health issues?
What are the best practices/strategies that you have found in working
collectively in the DTES?
What are the challenges, difficult issues you have faced in carrying
out your work? What support/services are you accessing in the
community to further your skills in this regard?
If you have developed an ‘archive’ or body of work, how do you deal
with the issues of ownership, copyright, presentation/distribution,
and access? What if the participants change their minds a few years
down the line and want to change the way material is used that they
participated in producing or that includes them/their representation?
How can we work together to build alliances, to overcome fractures in
the community and to build on our strengths? How can long-term
resident’s voices, histories, and practices be included and what
weight do they carry in relationship to new projects and spaces?
What would you propose we do to work on creating a sustainable art
collective that is focused on providing support and opportunities for
DTES residents and members of the community, as well as being open to
people dropping in?
AHA MEDIA thanks Tom Hall of WomWorld Nokia London and W2 Community Media Arts for Nokia N97 mini
AHA MEDIA thanks Tom Hall of WomWorld Nokia London and W2 Community Media Arts for the Nokia N97 mini! With their generous tech support, AHA MEDIA is grateful for the opportunity to be able to provide mobile media event coverage throughout Heart of the City Festival happening Oct 27 – Nov 7, 2010
AHA MEDIA ‘s members are very proud users of Nokia Smartphone technology!
Below is a photo of a Nokia N97
Below is a photo of a Nokia N97 with a Nokia N86
Below is Tom Hall helping to set up the Nokia N97 mini
Below is a Nokia N97 mini installing apps
Peter Davies of AHA MEDIA is happy to see the Nokia N97 mini
Below is Tom Hall using his Nokia N97 to help set up the new Nokia N97 mini
A family of Nokia cellphones !! – Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia N86 and Nokia 3500cb
Getting Home screen tips for the Nokia N97 mini from Nokia Love website
April holding Nokia N97 mini and Program Guide of Heart of the City Festival with Tom Hall
Below is Tom Hall, Richard Czaban, Peter Davies and Lani Russwurm – Coordinator of the DTES CAN and Program Guide Contributor to Heart of the City Festival
AHA MEDIA humbly thanks Tom Hall of Womworld Nokia London and W2 Community Media Arts for making it possible for us to do more mobile media in Vancouver!
AHA MEDIA is very proud to help provide social media coverage of the 7th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival in Vancouver from Pre festival events starting Wed Oct 20, 2010 through to the Main Festival during Wed Oct 27 – Sun Nov 7, 2010
http://www.heartofthecityfestival.com
AHA MEDIA is about exploring mobile media production through New Media cameras. For a better quality version of video or for additional footage, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
Please follow AHA MEDIA on Twitter , Facebook, Youtube and Qik
http://www.twitter.com/AHAMEDIA
http://www.facebook.com/AHAMEDIA
AHA MEDIA is very pleased to have ongoing rehearsals for our second performance of “Love In Shadows” – Shadow Theatre Play in Vancouver Downtown Eastside
AHA MEDIA is very pleased to have ongoing rehearsals for our second performance of “Love In Shadows” – Shadow Theatre Play at the end of March at Interurban Gallery in Vancouver Downtown Eastside
AHA MEDIA cast and crew members were so encouraged by the very positive feedback by our audience from our first performance, we are continuing to do rehearsals in anticipation for our second performance.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Below is a photo of AHA MEDIA’s cast and crew of the second production of “Love in the Shadows”
Richard Czaban, Hugh Lampkin, Clyde Wright, Holly Boyd, Alvin Clayton and Alex Martin
AHA MEDIA wants to present a play with seven scenes based on true personal stories about how child abuse, trauma and sexual molestation can lead to some folks unable to deal with issues and may end up in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside trying to cope in a variety of harmful ways .
Warning – the following scene is considered graphic but is a real story that happened to some of our actors
This video was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a New Media camera Fujifilm S200EXR. AHA MEDIA is about exploring mobile media production through New Media cameras. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Below are thoughts from AHA MEDIA cast and crew and their thoughts on WHY they are presenting a graphic shadow play depicting Child Abuse scenes from their childhood to help inform people WHY some end up in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside and how they want to have a Harm Reduction project
This video was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a New Media camera – Panasonic DMC-ZS3. AHA MEDIA is about exploring mobile media production through New Media cameras. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
AHA MEDIA believes “Love In The Shadows” can show the reasons WHY some people end up in the DTES – for the MEDIA, our friends and street folks. We wanted to help everyone remember us and our stories through visual and performing arts
AHA MEDIA is about doing positive community engagement and harm reduction strategies in our neighborhood through media, arts and now shadow theatre performances from our members.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
AHA MEDIA is very proud to have been mentioned in the Georgia Straight by Stephen Hui from our first production in February
Downtown Eastside media makers to put on first shadow play
By Stephen Hui
A group of Downtown Eastside media makers will present its first shadow play on Saturday (February 27).
AHA Media will put on Love in the Shadows at the Downtown Eastside Community Arts Network’s art space (67 East Hastings Street) in the Lux hotel.
“AHA MEDIA wanted to present a play with six scenes based on true personal stories about how child abuse, trauma and sexual molestation can lead to some folks unable to deal with issues and may end up in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside trying to cope in a variety of harmful ways,” the group states on its Web site.
“AHA MEDIA believes our play can show the reasons WHY some people end up in the DTES – for the MEDIA, our friends and street folks.”
The show—starring Alvin Clayton, Mike McNeeley, and Richard Czaban—starts at 7 p.m.
You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
AHA MEDIA is proud to do our “Love in the Shadows” Play in great collaboration with DTES CAN – (DTES Community Arts Network)
AHA MEDIA is very proud to present our very own Shadow Theatre Play called “Love in the Shadows” at DTES CAN art space ( 67 East Hastings at Lux Hotel )this Sat Feb 27, 2010
AHA MEDIA is very proud to present our very own Shadow Theatre Play called “Love in the Shadows” at DTES Community Arts Network art space ( 67 East Hastings at Lux Hotel ) this Sat Feb 27, 2010 with Alvin Clayton, Michael McNeeley and Richard Czaban
AHA MEDIA wanted to present a play with six scenes based on true personal stories about how child abuse, trauma and sexual molestation can lead to some folks unable to deal with issues and may end up in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside trying to cope in a variety of harmful ways .
AHA MEDIA believes our play can show the reasons WHY some people end up in the DTES – for the MEDIA, our friends and street folks. We wanted to help everyone remember us through visual and performing arts before we leave our temp DTES Community Arts Network Art Space as our last day is the day after on Sunday Feb 28, 2010
AHA MEDIA is about doing positive community engagement and harm reduction strategies in our neighborhood through media, arts and now shadow theatre performances from our members.
Below is a banner designed by Alvin Clayton of AHA MEDIA
An AHA MEDIA Production – Love in the Shadows
Alvin Clayton of AHA MEDIA asks:
“How hard is it to forgive? Can you swallow and not support our Harm Reduction project? In Jesus’ Holy Name, I pray to heal the broken hearted”
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
In this video, is Alvin Clayton and Mike McNeeley of AHA MEDIA with Alex Martin rehearsing Scene 3 from AHA MEDIA’s “Love in the Shadow” Theatre Play at the DTES CAN space at 67 East Hastings in the Lux Hotel in Vancouver Downtown Eastside
This video was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a New Media camera – Panasonic DMC-ZS3. AHA MEDIA is about exploring mobile media production through New Media cameras. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
AHA MEDIA is very pleased to have Richard Czaban as our newest Community Photographer in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside
AHA MEDIA is very pleased to have Richard Czaban as our newest Community Photographer in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside
I am 50 years old and been DTES for 15 years off and on. I have been back for 2 years. I am please to say Drug free for almost 2 years. I have been take pictures for the last 2 months and I have got my passion back! I am looking to the future.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Richard Czaban is involved with other great groups such as Fearless City Mobile, DTES Community Arts Network, W2 Culture + Media House of W2 Community Media Arts here in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside.
Follow Us!
AHA Media 