The 26th annual Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts, Design & Craft Festival, returns November 17 to 20, welcoming thousands of visitors back through the open doors of more than 425 artists.
After the last years’ hybrid festival, the 26th Culture Crawl invites art lovers, Vancouverites, and tourists 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.”
Complimenting this year’s Culture Crawl experience, visitors are encourages to explore the added feature presentations and exhibitions, including the festival’s largest ever preview exhibition, showing until 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.
As one of the biggest cultural events of Metro Vancouver’s fall arts season, the Eastside Culture Crawl attracts and inspires tens of thousands of visitors. Bound by Columbia Street, 1st Avenue, Victoria Drive, and the Waterfront, the Eastside Arts District has the largest concentration of artists, designers, performers, craftspeople and culture producers in Vancouver and is known nationally as an area rich with creativity and inspiration. Within the neighbourhood, the festival invites visitors to take a peek into the lives of artists living and working on Vancouver’s Eastside who open their doors to offer a glimpse into their studios and the inventiveness and imagination that goes into their work; painting, jewelry, sculpture, furniture, poetry, prints, photography, glass works or many other creative forms.
The 2022 Culture Crawl feature presentations and exhibitions, include;
“NEXT” PREVIEW EXHIBITION
Until November 27, 2022 (Dates vary depending on venue)
Opening Receptions on November 10, 2022 at
Pendulum Gallery – 885 W Georgia St
Alternative Creations – 1659 Venables St
The Cultch – 1895 Venables St
Charles Clark Gallery – Strangefellows, 1345 Clark Dr
Firehall Arts Centre – 280 E Cordova St
A multi-venue, salon-style curated exhibition, “NEXT” gives 90 selected artists the opportunity to reach for something new, perhaps a fresh start, or maybe the progression of current practices.
TAKE FLIGHT VIRTUAL BENEFIT
Online until November 5, 2022
An online fundraising auction featuring 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.
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 Mol?an, 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)
“You can’t turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again.” – Bonnie Prudden
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.
Full details of Eastside Culture Crawl events, artists, talks, and locations can be found at culturecrawl.ca/events.
