CITY VANCOUVER MURAL FEST PAINTING THE CORNERS OF OUR COMMUNITY JAMILA POMEROY Andy Dixon’s mural was one of many featured in 2017. This year will see 40 new murals. Vancouver Mural Festival is Vancouver’s largest annual free public art celebration. Through the creation of permanent public murals, The Vancouver Mural Festival hosts as a platform for Vancouver’s diverse art scene. The festival takes place in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood and the festival works throughout the year with neighbourhoods around the Lower Mainland to highlight the local culture and vibrance of their area; with aims to connect all avenues of the community together through art. “It’s a celebration of creativity, so we really want to be creative with how the festival takes VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL BUILDING COMMUNITY AROUND CRAFTSMANSHIP CARLOS OEN 6 place and not just be a bunch of vendors and shops on the side of the road like a strip mall outside. We want there to be a surprise, something interesting around every corner. So it’s really fun to explore and roam around,” says event coordinator David Vertesi. With this year marking the third Vancouver Mural Festival, organizers have decided to take things in a slightly different direction. “We have fewer murals (this year), but we’ve given the artists a longer time to do them. We still have close to 40 murals. The mural fest is meant to be a celebration of art and culture in Vancouver. So when you Finally a festival where you can march to the beat of your own strum. Whether you strum, fingerpick or slide you’ll be excited to know the Vancouver International Guitar Festival is back. On <strong>August</strong> 11 and 12, the best guitar builders will come together at the Creekside Community Centre for a weekend dedicated to Eric Clapton´s true love. The festival, created by local luthier Meredith Coloma and producer Shaw Saltzberg, is a unique opportunity for guitar builders, players, collectors and aficionados to mingle alongside some of the world´s finest string instruments. “We are the only festival in Canada of this size presenting handmade work in combination with, concerts, live music, master classes for guitar building, master classes for guitarists and a live music bar with eight of the world´s great guitar players,” says Saltzberg. According to Saltzberg there are close to 500 luthiers making wood string instruments in B.C. The province also has two major innovators of luthery in North America — Jean Larrivée and Michael Dunn. “One of (Coloma´s) ambitions was to come to any of the events throughout the week or the big street part on the Saturday, which is expecting more than 125,000 people. It’s just an amazing cross-section of so many amazing groups and organizations,” says Vertesi. Vancouver Mural Festival aims to be an inclusive event intended for all classes, cultures, genders, ages, abilities, and beyond; strongly believing that it is crucial to the art and general cultural health of the City of Vancouver to create tangible, and lasting visual evidence diversity. The even artist roster speaks as an effort to reflect the varied histories present in the city. Outside of visual art, festivalgoers can expect to see a wide variety of music performances. “Some big focuses we have are we have a big finale concert in Jonathan Rogers park this year, which is being put on by live nation. It’s called the park show, and it has Tribe Called Red, with Charlotte Day Wilson and Teen Daze. On our own stage we have Hannah Georgas, The Belle Game and Schwey, which is an up and coming Vancouver funk band. We also have a stage that is co-created by Westward Festival with more local bands.” Vancouver Mural Festival runs <strong>August</strong> 6 to 11. more information visit www.vanmuralfest.ca. expose the craft of luthery to a greater public in British Columbia. That was something I was able to do with my experience in creating events,” says Saltzberg, who has worked with Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, Pink Martini and Elvis Costello. Vancouverite Michael Dunn will be recognized with the Luthier Industry Builder Award, for his more than 50 years of guitar building and unconventional artistic designs. There will be three concerts at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, showcasing the talented hands of top players from Canada, the U.S.A., Europe and Australia. Canadian blues player Harry Manx will also be performing on <strong>August</strong> 11. Within the festival, the very first Luthiers Association in Canada will be launched. “We recognize the need to bring the independent makers together,” says Saltzberg. “The mandate is to provide some standardization for the industry.” Congratulations to the luthiers! You build them, we play them. The Vancouver International Guitar Festival takes place <strong>August</strong> 11 and 12 at the Creekside Community Centre. VINES ART FESTIVAL ROOTED IN ACTIVISM, ACCESSIBILITY AND CONNECTION YASMINE SHEMESH With a mandate dedicated to environmental justice by way of a wide range of inspired art and performance, the Vines Art Festival is at once a display of public art and a platform for awareness. “Vines has grown from a small afternoon of art sharing at Trout Lake Park in <strong>August</strong> of 2015 into a 10 day festival at seven parks throughout Vancouver,” says artistic director Heather Lamoureux. The annual free all-ages festival, now in its fourth iteration, brings together artists, environmentalists, and the general public in an engaging way. “The intention was and is to bring thought provoking art to the people in public space for free, making public performance more accessible in this city, and providing the opportunity for audience to stumble upon creativity,” Lamoureux says. “We focus on celebrating the Earth, centering Indigenous voices, uncovering truths, telling stories, and connecting artists to support one another in their work.” Artivism — a term that refers to the union of art and activism —is a central theme to Vines. “We support outspoken and creative multidisciplinary artists with the ability to express movements of social and environmental justice in their performances and installations,” Lamoureux adds. “We present work on the land on ‘earthstages’ with minimal carbon footprint to take care of the earth while hosting the festival. Much of the work is site specific.” More than 70 performing and visual artists are featured at the festival this year, presenting art installations, dance performances, workshops, live music, and more. Artists of note include Kimmortal, Missy D, Old Soul Rebel, Cease Wyss, and Valeen Jules. One of the most anticipated events at the festival this year, though, is Resilient Roots — a project that pairs established and emerging Indigenous artists together in a mentoring partnership to produce never-before-seen works that will be performed at Trout Lake on <strong>August</strong> 17 and 18. One of the participating pairs in this project include street musician and slam poet Jaz Whitford and award-winning, multi-genre composer, musician, and singer Sandy Scofield. “Resilient Roots is the heart of Vines Art Festival,” says Lamoureux. “Bringing together emerging Indigenous artists who are also bearing their souls on the frontline grassroots movements, speaking out against the Pipelines and resource extraction, and combining art with activism.” Vines Art Festival takes place at various parks throughout Vancouver from <strong>August</strong> 8-19. Vines artistic director Heather Lamoureux merges art and <strong>August</strong> <strong>2018</strong>