Eastside Culture Crawl to Celebrate Landmark 20th Anniversary

Vancouver's beloved four-day celebration of visual arts, design, and crafts, the Eastside Culture Crawl, invites art lovers to fete its landmark 20th anniversary from November 17 to 20, 2016.

The aesthetic adventure opens studios, homes, and garages throughout Vancouver's Eastside community, bounded by Columbia Street, 1st Avenue, Victoria Drive, and the waterfront. Drawing more than 25,000 visitors from across Metro Vancouver and beyond, the Crawl will treat visitors to an impressive assortment of singular creations from more than 475 participating visual artists at this year's monumental event.

"This year's festival represents a remarkable accomplishment; not just for the hundreds of vibrant and creative visual artists who have participated in the Crawl over the past two decades, but for our city as a whole," says Esther Rausenberg, Executive Director. "For the past 20 years, the Crawl has served as a vital and meaningful intersection between artistic creation and discovery, sparking impactful dialogue and sustaining a passionate engagement in the arts within Vancouver."

Initially created in 1997 as a place for artists to gather together, bond, and showcase their work, the Crawl has continued to grow annually to become an iconic staple in Vancouver's arts and culture scene.

"This is an opportunity for people to glimpse behind the scenes," Rausenberg adds. "To witness the creation of new works, understand the inspiration and process behind a piece, and to experience firsthand the methods used to bring works of art to life. Now in its 20th year, the Crawl is a tremendous melding of the resilient and determined artists who have been with us since the beginning, and the youthful and vibrant new artists who shed an exhilarating light on our city's great future."

Drawing ardent fans from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond, the Eastside Culture Crawl showcases the dynamic, visceral works created by an ever-expanding selection of determined and inspired painters, sculptors, potters, photographers, glassblowers, furniture designers, and much more. Featuring the biggest line-up of artists, venues, and events in its decades-long history, the 20th anniversary edition of the Crawl will offer guests an expanded list of insightful juried exhibitions, evocative contemporary films, and engaging artist presentations.

Members of the public are invited to the Culture Crawl's 20th Anniversary celebrations through a number of feature presentations and installations:

As The Crow Flies: Oct. 21 - Nov. 28, 2016
Arts Factory (281 Industrial Ave.): Oct. 21 - Nov. 6, 2016
Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova St.): Nov. 2 - 28, 2016
The Cultch (1895 Venables St.): Nov. 2 - 28, 2016
A juried exhibition and preview showcasing the wide range of works presented by some of the Culture Crawl's most esteemed and dedicated artists from the past 20 years, located at three of Vancouver's most beloved arts spaces.

Moving Art - 3rd Annual Film and Video Projection Series, Nov. 17 - 20, 2016, noon to 11pm daily
A showing of evocative, art-based, contemporary silent films, running throughout the Crawl at CharLes Clark Gallery, located within Strange Fellows Brewing (1345 Clark Dr.)

Hot Talks: Eastside Culture Crawl @ Hot Art Wet City, Nov. 9 at 6:30pm
A special edition of the 'Hot Talks' series engages eight artists in "show and tell" style talks of their work, art-making process, and participation in the Crawl.
Visit hotartwetcity.com for tickets and information.

Talking Arts Series @ Arts Factory, Oct. 23, 29, 30 + Nov. 5, 2016 at 2pm
In celebration of the Culture Crawl's 20th Anniversary, Talking Art is a series of four artist talks to be held in advance of this year's Crawl. Talking Art is FREE and will be held at The Arts Factory (281 Industrial Ave).

Artist Talks Include:

Material: Britta Fluevog and James Kemp - Sunday, October 23
Both artists balance experimental sculpture and installation works with the production of functional wares, each arising through the process of their material practices.

Narrative: Haisla Collins and Richard Tetrault - Saturday, October 29
Both artists are engaged in individual and community-based works, each informed by strong narratives and realized in brilliant colour.

Abstraction: Rachael Ashe and Heather Braun-Dahl - Sunday, October 30
Both artists work in different media, but are brought together through form and line, with abstraction as a common ground and understanding.

Place: Marcus Bowcott and Connie Sabo - Saturday, November 5
Both artists have addressed place through environmental and social concerns, with intimacy and individuality that nonetheless speaks to the collective.

Studio 101: Seymour Elementary School
This one-day, invitational program brings school children into artist studios to create original artwork, including textiles, prints, hand-tinted photos, and leather and jewellery items. The students are also given funds to purchase a piece of art to hang in their school, as an addition to their school's art collection.

Full listings for all Eastside Culture Crawl events, artists, demonstrations, and locations can be found at culturecrawl.ca.

The Eastside Culture Crawl is an annual four-day visual arts festival held in November that involves artists on Vancouver's Eastside opening their studio to the public. The event is focused on the area bounded by Columbia St., 1st Ave., Victoria Drive, and the Waterfront and involves painters, jewelers, sculptors, furniture makers, weavers, potters, printmakers, photographers, glassblowers; from emerging artists to those internationally established.

The Eastside Culture Crawl officially began in 1997 with 45 visual artists in three Strathcona area studio buildings attended by a few hundred people. Since that time the event has grown to include more than 450 artists, craftspeople, and designers attracting an audience of more than 25,000. The organization itself has evolved to represent the heart of the East Van creative community.

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