Mostly urban landscapes and slightly voyeuristic, this video by Dano Pendygrasse offers beautiful, emotional and unique views of our glass and steel city core. Shot over the course of a year from an apartment on the 24th floor in downtown Vancouver, BC.
When CocoaNymph moved into their newest location and introduced themselves to their neighbours, they found that students, teachers and staff at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music were new and enthusiastic supporters. In a gesture of mutual support, CocoaNymph offered to host an evening of delectable treats and musical performances as a fundraiser for the school, which provides music education to underserved and at-risk youth at no cost.
Last Friday the fundraiser, Sweet Temptations, raised $4045 for the school! Between now and March 17, anyone who makes a minimum $5 tax-receiptable donation to the giving group on Chimp will be entered to win a box of chocolates from CocoaNymph. Please consider sharing this link with your friends: https://chimp.net/
This week I had the pleasure of working with talented fashion designer Tamara leClair on a video look book. Her collection of reworked vintage garments debuts this Friday, February 8th at Beggars Banquet. Come by for a drink and ask to see Tamara’s work exclusively through Citizen Grace.
It’s not often I get in front of the camera but, after a year of asking me to do an interview, Chris Bentzen finally got me to share thoughts on the realities of democratized technology and the creative class. Thanks for the thoughtful questions, Chris. It is an honour to be part of this engaging series.
Interview with Vancouver visual media strategist Trevor Jansen from bentzen on Vimeo.
What’s a little murder between friends, over dinner and drinks in a 1920′s club? It’s pretty amusing, really. There’s the mob boss with his talentless singer/girlfriend and her secret foreign lover, the naive cigarette girl, the whiny club manager and a primly-spoken detective. Through out the evening they flamboyantly introduce themselves, join your table and point fingers at one another when the mob boss drops dead.
Such interactive performances around a fun puzzle made for a very memorable evening. I’ll not spoil any of the mystery for you here, but rather let the photos communicate the experience. For your own murder mystery party, be sure to call Actor’s Unlimited.
This amusing culture jam started last November when artist Victor Briestensky replaced the city park sign for Guelph Park with a clever replica, city parks logo and all, reading “Dude Chilling Park”. A petition went up immediately for the city to keep the sly park name but it was ignored by City Hall and the sign was replaced with unusually swift bureaucratic efficiency.
Just a few weeks later, the culture jam continues as Dude Chilling Park is now the listed name on Google maps, which in a weird way makes it more official. As a resident around the park, I signed the petition for the city to keep the new name but now I get a kick out of seeing it every time I open the Car2go app. I wonder how long it will take for the city to tune in on this part of the joke?
Chris Bentzen has been a cultural standard bearer and community creator for years in Vancouver. I first met him through his immensely popular popup show Hot One Inch Action, which has grown in scope across North America. This interview with Nomi Chi is his latest in a video series that Chris has been producing for a year now. Check out his Vimeo channel for 75+ interviews with local artists as they draw back the curtain on everything from their process and inspiration to attitudes.
When I first heard about the sandwich token program at Save On Meats, I asked myself,”What problem are they trying to solve?” Though the program is being presented as an altruistic gesture, it seemed more like a solution for the general distrust even altruists feel for residents of the Downtown Eastside.
There is a lot of positive media buzz about the program, but Peter Driftmier of the Right To Food Initiative has composed a thoughtful rebuttal. It is well worth reading before choosing to buy a sandwich token and press it into an outstretched hand and expect gratitude.
Should one expect gratitude when that token could represent guilt, suspicion and takes away the freedom of choice when it comes to something as intimate as food? And can beggars be choosers?
Save On Meats – Sandwich Tokens from odette on Vimeo.
We are all familiar with the terms sci-fi and poly-sci, but this movie looks like it’s in the rare category of “poly-fi”. Sure there is a futuristic element to it but by simply inverting the economies of Asia and North America, this film promises a speculative scenario that will both provoke and resonate with the audience. I’ve not seen it yet, but you can bet I’ll be at the Rio Theatre on Dec. 18th at 7pm.
This amazing short comes from Matthew Dennison. For a guy who works full time as a videographer, I really admire his dedication and energy for personal creative projects. Check out the rest of his Vimeo channel for more.
Sampled Vancouver from Matthew Dennison on Vimeo.