Meet the VMF2021 Artist Curators
Since 2016, Vancouver Mural Festival has brought over 250+ murals to neighbourhoods across Vancouver (that number increases to over 300 this summer). Murals not only add colour to our streets, they're part of a bigger story. VMF believes in the power of art to connect our communities, celebrate diverse cultures, and serve as catalysts to conversations around socio-cultural issues affecting our city and artistic communities. Supporting community—artists, youth, and underrepresented/marginalized groups from LGBTQIA2+ to BIPOC—is at the heart of what we do. A key way in which VMF achieves this wider goal of representation and empowerment is through our diverse Artists and Curators.
Each year we put a call-out for Curators to help support and bring our vision for diversity and inclusivity to life. Our team and curators work hard to support artists from a range of backgrounds, mediums, and experience levels in telling their stories through murals.
We are excited to introduce this year’s Curator team, composed of individuals who will be responsible for ensuring the diversity in our city and communities is reflected through the murals. What is it like being a VMF Curator you may ask? Well, we decided to give a brief inside look at what kind of work the curators do and how VMF provides support in developing and enhancing their experience.
To start, a few key considerations for curating public art include reflecting current ongoing public conversations about representation and visibility in public space and seeing how artist practices connect with the communities where they work.
Compared to the gallery context, there are some fundamental differences while working in public space where we have to balance the often conflicting interests of the audiences, stakeholders, and artists. The curators’ role is to explore and incorporate diverse interests, shaping the stories that we tell through (and within) these spaces. They do this continuously through research, stakeholder consultation, shortlisting, and selection of artists for a particular location.
From a technical perspective, the curators work with artists to support them in their location research, draft development and approval, adapting the drafts to technical requirements of the wall, and guiding the artists through the technical process of approaching painting. Often, this is the first time they are working at this scale, so the curators’ role is also to encourage and support the artist in this (often a little scary!) process -- from envisioning their work on a side of a building, to at times learning how to operate lifts and work in unpredictable outdoor environments.
The annual Mural Curator Talk brings these discussions to light. This is where the curators get an opportunity to publicly share their ideas, swap stories, highlight artists, and discuss their approaches to working in public space. This year’s Curator Talk will be a free online lunchtime dialogue between the mural curators, focused on their different approaches to working in public space. Tune in to meet Chipo Chipaziwa, Zachary George, Jas Lally, Krystal Paraboo, Lam Wong, and Drew Young and to hear their stories of bringing together over 70 artists in 11 neighbourhoods. Moderated by Natalia Lebedinskaia, Director of Creative Projects.
Register to attend the free Curator talk HERE
After the completion of the festival, curators can take a deep breath and revel in the beautiful impact they’ve made in helping to create meaningful experiences that connect art and people. Our vision is to build a society that deeply values art and culture and our Curators play a key role in helping us achieve this. Through their experience, knowledge and thoughtful process, VMF is able to bring personal, cultural and historical stories to life through meaningful representation and artistic excellence.
Don’t forget to download the free VMF App to discover and learn about 300+ murals throughout Vancouver's neighbourhoods, streets and alleyways–any time of the year!
PAST CURATORS
Sierra Tasi Baker
Jeff Hamada
Roxanne Charles
Linnea Dick
Pennylane Shen