Shawn Conner

offers five reasons to check out the artists, designers and makers who will open their doors for the 23rd Annual Eastside Culture Crawl.

1.

Art for everyone

The Eastside Arts District is home to the highest concentration of visual artists, designers, and craft makers in Canada. Each year, hundreds of the neighbourhood’s visual artists open their studios, workspaces, garages, homes and barely legal loft spaces to the curious. The Crawl has grown steadily since its 1994 inception, but last year saw record-breaking attendance with more than 45,000 people meeting artists and exploring studios, a nearly 30 per cent increase from last year.

2.

The Cave

Artists Kate MacDonald and Les Sears create an installation of two- and three-dimensional artworks, light, and projections based on Plato’s Allegory of The Cave, which posits that real knowledge could be gained only through reasoning and that what we believe based only on our senses is merely opinion. Or something like that. (Hamilton Bank Building, 1895 Powell St.)

3.

Tales from the Forest Megan Majewski’s installation is inspired by fairy tales, pop-up books, and animation cels. Step into another world, one of strange but reassuring plant-based shapes and forms as envisioned by the local pop surrealist. (281 Industrial Ave.)

4.

Save the artists! Displacement

Eastside Culture Crawl’s Special Exhibit is a juried selection of works by Metro Vancouver visual artists who have faced the challenges of eviction or found ways to survive displacement. (Ongoing until Nov. 24 at Firehall Arts Centre and the Cultch.)

5.

Moving Art

For Culture Crawl’s Sixth Annual Projection of Film and Video, knock back a craft beer at Strange Fellows Brewing, which hosts a showing of art-based, contemporary silent films.