Tuesday May 6th, 2014 Public art project OK’d The topic of public art has garnered more discussion for one city councillor this week than traffic, in the buildup to a vote on whether to participate in a public art exhibition that will cost the City of New Westminster up to $90,000. When he talks to people in the community, Coun. Jonathan Cote said they usually want to discuss traffic issues. "Not this week," he said Monday. "It was definitely all about public art." Council passed the controversial motion, with Mayor Wayne Wright and Coun. Chuck Puchmayr opposed, to proceed with three installations as part of the Vancouver Biennale, a public art exhibition that features works by celebrated and emerging international artists. Learn more Friday May 2nd, 2014 Winnipeg artist’s sculpture going to Vancouver Biennale A bronze sculpture by Winnipeg artist Ivan Eyre will be installed at a Vancouver park this month as part of the 2014 Vancouver Biennale, a celebration of art in public spaces. Bird Wrap, Eyre's 2.4-metre sculpture of a kneeling "mythical bird man," is being transported to Vancouver, where it will take up residence at Thornton Park until July 2016. Learn more Friday May 2nd, 2014 Watch: Container art raises eyebrows in New Westminster The city of New Westminster is embroiled in a debate over the merits of public art. A sculpture by Brazilian artist Jose Resende called “WOW New Westminster” is at the centre of that debate. It is made of four rusting shipping containers positioned in two V-formations. Resende likes to play with everyday reality, mindful of the historic fact that New Westminster was a transportation hub in its early years. His container art is one of three works of art that are part of Vancouver Biennale exhibition. Keeping it would cost the city $65,000. Supporters call it awe-inspiring but critics are less than wowed. But the dilemma for New Westminster’s city council is whether recycled shipping containers really represent their city.   Learn more Thursday May 1st, 2014 Public art makes the city better What is art? Give me your answer to that question, and I'll probably be able to tell you which side of the Vancouver Biennale debate you fall on. For those who didn't see the story in the April 30 Record, debate is a-raging at New Westminster City Hall about whether the city should accept a recommendation from its public art advisory committee and proceed with three installations from the Vancouver Biennale. Learn more Wednesday April 30th, 2014 Public art plans stir up debate If public art aims to spark conversation, an installation proposed for New Westminster is doing that before it even arrives. New Westminster’s public art advisory committee recently recommended that city council proceed with three installations as part of the Vancouver Biennale: WOW New Westminster by Jose Resende would be located at Westminster Pier Park in September; Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopolous would go on Columbia Street in the spring of 2015; and Public Furniture/Urban Trees by Hugo Franca would be installed at a to-be-determined location this June.   Learn more Wednesday April 30th, 2014 Debating ‘The Wow Factor’ City council has pressed the pause button on a controversial piece of public art described as having 'The Wow Factor.' But to some councillors it may be a bad 'wow.' And if they decide to dump it they won't get the two art pieces they do like. They're all part of the Vancouver Biennale's latest initiative for which the city has budgeted $90,000. Biennale officials told council Monday the three installations are a package deal. They also told council they have a track record that will prove them right in the end.   Learn more Tuesday April 29th, 2014 Brazilian Artist Hugo Franca Turns Logs into Furniture Vancouver Biennale “It’s very much a creative dialogue,” says the man who talks to trees. Hugo Franca is a renowned Brazilian sculptor who fashions furniture out of logs. Revered for their majesty and complexity, his works are displayed in museums and galleries around the world. Franca is one of 45 artists invited this year to participate in the third Vancouver Biennale, a celebration of global interconnectedness through music, dance, sculpture and film. Franca has chosen to refashion five Douglas Fir logs washed up along the BC coast and transported by barge and truck to a beach on the city’s west side.     Learn more Thursday April 24th, 2014 Last days | Vancouver Biennale The Vancouver Biennale is a non-profit organization that since 1998 transforms public spaces into an open air museum by installing works of art from internationally celebrated contemporary artists, freely accessible to citizens and visitors alike. Unique among biennales worldwide, the Vancouver Biennale celebrates art in public spaces, where people work, live, play and commute. Accessibility, engagement, diversity, interaction and education are the cornerstones of the Biennale. The 2014-2015 exhibition, titled OPEN BORDERS/CROSSROADS VANCOUVER, will celebrate multiculturalism and welcome the world. Learn more Tuesday April 22nd, 2014 ‘Rusty container’ Art Questioned One councillor’s Picasso is another’s eyesore. New Westminster’s participation in the 2014 Vancouver Biennale public art project almost got derailed last week. Council decided to table its final decision last Monday a few hours after a vote that could have killed it. The entire council liked two of the proposals for the bi-annual public art exhibition, but were divided over a third. It is the most expensive, and is the legacy piece the city would keep while the other two would disappear within two years. Learn more Thursday April 17th, 2014 New Westminster Isn’t Wowed By All of the Proposed Public Art The Vancouver Biennale is proving that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. New Westminster’s public art advisory committee has recommended that city council proceed with three installations as part of the event: WOW New Westminster by Jose Resende would be located at Westminster Pier Park; Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopolous would go on Columbia Street; and Public Furniture/Urban Trees by Hugo Franca would be installed at a to-be-determined location. City council supported the Blue Trees and Public Furniture/Urban Trees installations, but opposed the Resende piece, which was to be a legacy piece that could be a permanent fixture in the city. Learn more Wednesday April 9th, 2014 Endless Possibilities with Limited Means: Denise Karabinus’ Artistic Collaborations in India Artist Denise Karabinus, a 2009 graduate of the MFA in Visual Art at Vermont College of Fine Arts, recently returned from a powerful experience at Project Gram in Paradsinga, India, as one of ten artists collaborating the GRAM International Artist Residency in Community Projects. VCFA recently interviewed Denise Karabinus about her experience in the GRAM residency, what is was like to work cross-culturally, and her experiences in the MFA in Visual Art. Learn more Wednesday April 9th, 2014 A Tip of the Cap At the recent reception kicking off Squamish’s involvement in the Vancouver Biennale, Krisztina Egyed read off a list of companies and individuals sponsoring the project, which will bring world-renowned and up-and-coming creative types to our fair community. Learn more Friday April 4th, 2014 Brazilian Artist to Transform Salvaged Wood into Furniture for Vancouver Biennale Hugo Franca will be carving stumps and logs on Spanish Banks for next two weeks The wood speaks and Hugo Franca listens. The Brazilian designer and artist was doing a lot of listening to a 4,100-kg Douglas fir stump at Spanish Banks Friday morning. Weathered grey, the stump had a massive root that cascaded on the sand to one side. Learn more Thursday April 3rd, 2014 ‘Do you want to get engaged?’ city asks Civic Participation. Council approves plan to help citizens vote easier, feel welcome.   Vancouverites are cynical about city decisions, terrified to speak at city hall and unlikely to vote in municipal elections. Oh and they're lonely. Learn more Wednesday April 2nd, 2014 Hugo Franca: Telling the story of the trees Brazilian artist Hugo Franca, who works with discarded wood to carve monumental public sculptures, was in Squamish until April 2 as part of the Vancouver Biennale. Speaking to Pique through his interpreter, Tais Ribeiro, Franca talked about how happy he and his team were to learn more about the connection between the people living in the Sea to Sky region with the expansive forests that cover it. Learn more Wednesday April 2nd, 2014 Renowned woodcarver kicks off Biennale Renowned Brazilian woodcarver Hugo França admitted to being just a tiny bit overwhelmed by the reception he received in Squamish last week. At an event on Thursday (March 27) marking the kickoff for the town’s involvement in the two-year-long Vancouver Biennale arts initiative, a smiling França stood up in front of an overflow crowd at the Squamish Academy of Music to offer his thanks for the warm welcome on his first visit to Canada. Learn more Friday March 28th, 2014 Ai Weiwei’s artwork coming to Vancouver for Biennale’s 2014-16 exhibit The work of famed Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei is coming to Vancouver, as a part of the 2014-2016 Biennale public art project. (The Biennale describes itself, on its website, as a "registered non-profit organization with a mandate to exhibit great art in public space and use it as a catalyst to learning and social action".) The location of Weiwei's work is yet to be announced, but it will be in Vancouver. Other venues for artists' work will be in Richmond, New Wesminster, North Vancouver, and Squamish. Learn more Wednesday March 26th, 2014 In New Public Art, Three Visions of Vancouver Collide In many ways, Vancouver is the ideal city for public art. While Winnipeg excels at wintertime installations like its idiosyncratic “warming huts,” and Toronto’s public art often feels grittier and more urban due to its main greenspaces being ravines—tricky places for exhibitions—Vancouver benefits from a warmer year-round climate and abundant parkland. Learn more Wednesday March 26th, 2014 Vancouver Biennale public art project hits beaches in April Soon Vancouverites will be able to enjoy the beach on furniture carved out of salvaged trees by a famous Brazilian sculptor. Artist Hugo França will use recovered local wood to build sculptures and benches at Spanish Banks Beach, Kits Beach, Sunset Beach and English Bay starting next week as part of the third Vancouver Biennale, an 18-month rotation of large-scale public art across Metro Vancouver. Learn more Tuesday March 25th, 2014 Ai Weiwei Artwork Coming To Vancouver Biennale The thought-provoking work of renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei is headed for Vancouver. Weiwei's art is coming to town as part of the 2014-2016 Vancouver Biennale, which started this month. Learn more