VMF2020: Robson
Vancouver's shopping and dining destination got even brighter this past summer with a series of new murals and creative installations creating an open-air gallery filled with incredible (and free) public art. Plan a shopping day along Robson Street and enjoy the six different murals and installations that were painted during this year’s festival!
“All In”
813 Burrard Street
Mural Statement:
"This painting culls decades of mark-making as a painter. Making art in 2020 means pivoting from the expected course, often making do with less connection, less contact, and less access. It also means bringing everything to the table, strengthening the connections that exist, finding new ones and reorganizing the way we live and work into a fresh approach. It means taking stock with an eye on potential.
ALL IN channels the many directions I've explored in my art practice over the years and reassembles fragments to reflect today. It leans on the past to invent the future, with a collage-like approach, that could all be re-imagined tomorrow."
“Butterfly Kiss”
1046 Robson Street
Mural Statement:
“To me the butterfly is a symbol of growth and beauty. A butterfly goes through a lot of change in its lifespan, and at full growth it shows its true beauty & color.
As a self-taught Coast Salish artist, I wanted to express my own personal growth as an artist.
I have been doing graphic art for 5 years and have been excited to be able to share my work with everyone. Wanting to share the beauty of Coast Salish art. Revitalizing the techniques and approach to Indigenous art. Expressing myself using the Salish art elements that have been passed down through generations. Using bold, vibrant colors, fluidity & symmetry has been my style and way of expressing myself. I think my Butterfly Kiss design captures this well.”
“Flower Crown”
1168 Robson Street
Mural Statement:
“Articulating the ‘why’ of my work is something I’ve always struggled with, because the force that drives me to create the work I do feels so amorphous, abstract and emotional that pulling it into a concrete, cohesive shape is overwhelming. However, as more time passes, and as I’ve attempted to chip away at this barrier, I keep circling back to one core feeling:
The desire to just ‘Be’.
To be allowed a humanised existence, in a world that insists on dehumanizing, degrading, and erasing people that look like my family, like my friends, like me.
To proclaim loudly that we’re here and we’re worthy, that we’re forging our spaces unapologetically.
‘Flower Crown’ is one such statement - a celebration of Black tranquility, happiness and presence.”
“HOLIDAZE”
1000 Block (25 barricades)
Mural Statement:
“This piece combines tropical imagery and packaged paradises through lush and vibrant colors, abstract expression of shape and pattern and pastel palm dreams. While combining abstract forms with psuedo-realistic exotic plants and foliage, we examine the nuance of the concept of paradise while staying within the city, and enjoying the local environment. Created with pops of joyous color and neon accents create a truly tropical escape within an urban space.”
“Let It Ride”
1100 Block (25 barricades)
Mural Statement:
“The work is a creative and collaborative piece that tie in community and neighbourhood. The piece will be a cohesive colour scheme which will help harmonize the area where public can experience a sensational atmosphere of belonging. The artwork is created with the help of three artists/artist groups which bring a variety of styles and aesthetics. The work also plays a tribute to the banners that run along Robson street.”
“Growth Network”
1200 Block (25 barricades)
Mural Statement:
“There are theories that plants communicate and grow with each other, rather than individually. Although they seem to be growing in isolation, a variety of information is being shared through fungal networks found in soil, while some plants grow together in canopy support systems that yield stronger plants than those growing on their own. The key to this success in growth is grounded in communication and support. These organisms share information, often making sure the weakest parts are getting the support they need. We have access to the same forms of support, and we must remember to utilize them if we are to grow and succeed. Lucky for us, even through the isolation we are experiencing now, we have many ways to access communication and connectivity with each other, we just have to reach out.”
See the other 8 neighbourhoods’ new murals from VMF2020: Gastown, Marpole, River District, South Granville, Downtown, West End, Mount Pleasant, and Strathcona.
Download our free Mobile App for self guided tours and more information on the 250+ murals across the city! Look for the "2020 Robson" Collection to find these new murals!
Photos by Gabriel Martins
