EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL Returns To Classic Format For 26th Edition

The Culture Crawl will welcome art lovers, Vancouverites, and tourists alike to rediscover its classic, in-person festival experience. For four incredible days, streets and studios on Vancouver's Eastside will be filled with visitors taking in the best of the community's arts scene. This year, arts patrons can explore more than 68 buildings and studios, and reconnect with new and returning artists through studio visits, gallery displays, and artist demonstrations and talks.

"What the past two years has reinforced is that the arts play an incredibly important role in people's lives," says Esther Rausenberg, Artistic & Executive Director of the Eastside Arts Society. "We're thrilled to bring back our classic Culture Crawl experience. The challenges of the past few years have certainly proven that artists are resilient and adaptable. Many have taken the time to reflect on their art practice, taking it to the next level by exploring new avenues and fresh approaches. We can't wait to share these new revelations in the 26th edition of the Culture Crawl; it's truly going to be a celebration of the vitalness of the arts."

Art lovers are encouraged to complement their Culture Crawl experience this year through a number of feature presentations and exhibitions, including the festival's largest preview exhibition to date, which runs October 31 to November 27 at six different venues across Vancouver. The juried preview exhibition represents a broad and diverse representation of mediums, centred on this year's theme of "NEXT." The 90 selected artists will examine the impact of the pandemic, and explore our collective response of longing for a return to normalcy as we look towards the future. Selected works will showcase artists who have used the challenges of the past two years to deepen their practice, explore new modes of expression, and reflect on their artistic journey.

One of the biggest cultural events of the fall season, the Eastside Culture Crawl attracts and inspires tens of thousands of visitors. Encompassing the region bounded by Columbia Street, 1st Avenue, Victoria Drive, and the Waterfront, the Eastside Arts District is the most concentrated area of artists, designers, performers, craftspeople and culture producers in Vancouver and is known nationally as an area rich with creativity and inspiration. Here, the festival offers visitors a sneak peek into the lives of artists living and working on Vancouver's Eastside and provides a glimpse into studios and the inventiveness and imagination that goes into creating art - be it painting, jewelry, sculpture, furniture, poetry, prints, photography, glass works or other creative forms.

Culture Crawl goers are invited to interact with artists and their work through a variety of feature presentations and exhibitions, including:

PREVIEW EXHIBITION

October 31-November 27, 2022 (Dates vary depending on venue)

Opening Receptions on November 10, 2022

Pendulum Gallery (885 W Georgia St)

Alternative Creations (1659 Venables St)

The Cultch (1895 Venables St)

Charles Clark Gallery (Strange Fellows Brewing, 1345 Clark Dr)

Firehall Arts Centre (280 E Cordova St)

A multi-venue, salon-style curated exhibition, "NEXT" explores the aftereffects of living through a pandemic as we long for and ponder about what's next. After the extraordinary challenges of the last couple of years, there seems to be a longing for change or a sense of normalcy. The exhibition gives 90 selected artists the opportunity to reach for something new, perhaps a fresh start, or maybe the progression of current practices. More details to come at culturecrawl.ca/events

TAKE FLIGHT VIRTUAL BENEFIT

October 11-November 5, 2022

An online benefit, this year's auction features a John Fluevog gift card, a Burrowing Owl magnum, a Sechelt getaway package, and more incredible local items. Participate online. This year, the Art Roulette fundraiser includes an in-person cocktail party at the Georgia Art Studios for ticket holders on November 5 from 6-8pm. Full details are available at culturecrawl.ca/events/takeflight2022 TALKING ART November 7-9, 2022 This year's virtual Talking Art series focuses on perspectives of form in Culture Crawl art practices, including:

The New Age: today's art and technology, November 7 at 7pm

Ed Hunt, Sára Molčan, Sunny Nestle

Inspiration Embodied, November 8 at 7pm

Shary Bartlett, Annette Nieukerk, Cat Pino

Art & Healing, November 9 at 7pm

Lauren Morris, Laurel Swenson, Rose L. Williams

MOVING ART

November 7, 2022 at 7pm (online premiere)

The 9th annual Eastside Culture Crawl Film and Video Exhibition is curated around the theme of "A Collective Point in Time." As the cloud of restrictions lifted, artists emerged from time machines of self-reflection to embrace time, space and travel. This year's selections reflect an awareness of our shared humanity buffeted by space, time, and the stardust that weaves us together and populates our genetic code. Participating artists include Rosalina Libertad Cerritos, Zoran Dragelj, Claudine Gévry, Alger Ji-Liang, Sunny Nestler, Yaimel López Zaldívar, and Sally Zori.

This year, Moving Art is partnering with the Lumière Festival, where the film and video exhibition can be viewed on roving bicycle projections nightly from November 17-27, 2022. More details to come at culturecrawl.ca/events Full details of Eastside Culture Crawl events, artists, talks, and locations can be found at culturecrawl.ca/events.

The Eastside Arts Society (EAS) is a visual arts organization dedicated to connecting the public with the visual arts. EAS produces the annual Culture Crawl Visual Arts, Design and Craft Festival held in November that involves artists on Vancouver's Eastside opening their studio to the public. The event involves painters, jewellers, sculptors, furniture makers, weavers, potters, printmakers, photographers, and glassblowers; from emerging artists to those internationally established. EAS produces additional programming including Talking Art, juried exhibits, Studio 101 arts programming for inner-city children, and the Moving Art Video series.

In 2021, EAS began a pioneering new initiative: developing an Eastside Arts District (EAD). The EAD will transform the arts and cultural assets in the Eastside from an informal and grassroots network of stakeholders, into a formalized organization with stable funding and secure, long-term facilities for artists and cultural venues. The EAS also produces the CREATE! Arts Festival.

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