Vines brings art, activism to parks
VINES ART FESTIVAL When: Until Aug. 19 Where: Various city parks Tickets: Free (for more info, visit vineartsfestival.com)
Vines Art Festival brings artists from a variety of disciplines to city parks for 10-plus days of free public performances. Now in its fourth year, the festival is the brainchild of Heather Lamoureux, an artist with roots in contemporary dance who wanted to create an event that would celebrate both the arts and the land.
“Western and Eurocentric forms of dance aren’t often intrinsically connected to the land, but other forms of dance are,” she said. “For example, Indigenous dance is tied to the earth and often performed on the land.”
Social justice and the environment, which are themes running through the festival and the work it presents, are separate passions.
“I wanted to meld them together,” she said.
“I do spend a lot of time around land- and water-protectors, and I wanted to bring their voices to public space. And to encourage my peers and emerging artists by giving them a platform for works that consider those themes. And to encourage new works to go in that direction.”
Vines events will take place at Kitsilano Beach, Crab Park, Granville Island, Roundhouse Community Centre, and Strathcona Park in the week leading up to the main event, which takes place at Trout Lake Park on Aug 18. (Vines partners with Vancouver park board.) Participants include ethnobotanists, visual artists, musicians, dancers, theatre artists, and spoken word performers.
The first edition of the festival was “quite small and grassroots, with folks that I knew,” Lamoureux said. This year, the number of performers has grown to 70 from last year’s 50.
“It’s not as drastic a change in that sense,” she said. The festival has added more performances in the events leading up to the main event. For example, there are two evening concerts at Crab Park on Aug. 14 and 16. Performers include rapper-soul singer Kimmortal, poet Rabbit Richards, and dance/ art/fashion collective Immigrant Lessons, among others.
The festival retains a dance component, with guests such as dancer/choreographer Katie Cassady (TWObigsteps Collective and Donald Sales/Project 20), and All Bodies Dance. Music acts include folk duo Anusayum, and taiko trio Onibana Taiko. At the heart of the festival is the Resilient Roots Project, which brings together mid-career and emerging artists. Those involved with the project will perform at Trout Lake Aug. 17 and in the big finale on Aug. 18.
“Some of those artists have performed prior and some are new,” Lamoureux said. “They’re all working on brand-new commission works. I’m really excited to see what comes out of that.”
Most of the festival takes place in east Vancouver, where Lamoureux lives. “The main intention in choice of location is picking places where lots of folks hang out, and to use art as a tool for encouraging thought and contemplation around all of these issues that the artists are bringing forth.”
Lamoureux sees placing performing arts in public space as a way to combine art with activism — what she calls “artivism.”
It’s a form of artistic disruption, but disruption “in a generous, welcoming way,” she said.
“We’re asking folks coming to the festival to consider the stories and the major issues that these artists are bringing forward through their work, and to contemplate how they can shift the direction of their choices by hearing these stories. We are hoping that when the artists are sharing their works that they’ll inspire people to consider different realities.”