You can’t spell Earth without ART. Join us on September 16th for a Creative Action, Rally and Community Art Jam at Burnaby City Hall! Our rally will take up space in the courtyard of the city hall. Visual artists on easels will be joined by community members in painting symbolic representations of our future in Burnaby.
Now that Burnaby has declared a climate emergency and adopted higher community emission targets (45% by 2030, 75% by 2040, 100% by 2050), staff are getting to work on a strategy to meet quick reductions. This action will show Council the types of solutions our community wants to see, that will enhance our lives while reducing emissions. We will also show them that while we celebrate their unanimous vote, we will be watching to see an amazing strategy come forward. Solving climate change will require deep collaboration. Let's start by collaborating on images of our future in Burnaby!
Can you be a part of our action? We will have community art space, a rally and be joined by visual artists painting in peace, with easels. We want to symbolically occupy space of our decision makers in a positive light, to show the love behind acting on the climate, so our community can contribute to re-imaging our future! We will also project images of climate solutions and the future Burnaby could have in our commitment to transitioning our community, on the building where the decisions are made for our community.
Putting the Art in Community Art Jam
The intention of the art will be to depict what our community and future could look like if it were filled with solutions to climate change. What were our city look like if it were part of nature, in balance? How would our community look and feel, how would people use space, what new shapes will we build? What does it look like after we’ve solved the climate crisis? What does our community look like on our way to ending it? How do we express our transition beautifully?
And we have amazing talented artists who will help us 're-image' Burnaby's future!
These artists are volunteering their time and talent to express their imagination of what our future could be, if we take bold action on climate. While they represent the solutions we could have, they also represent the humanity, and intention behind wishing for them. Imagination and collaboration are key to and an opportunity of change. Please support them and check out their profiles.
Ezra Larsen
Ezra is a classically trained painter and sculptor whose subject matter involves much of the natural world. After having a solo exhibition focusing mainly on endangered animals, he now seeks to grow and learn even more, this time in the direction of metal sculptures made from recycled materials. He's currently working with artist Ron Simmer to complete public art focusing on the garbage that plagues our oceans. Check out his website for more of his work - ezralarsen.ca
Susie Wilson
Susie Wilson is a multimedia illustrator, printmaker, and comic artist. A graduate of Emily Carr University in Vancouver, British Columbia, she is interested in all of the ways the world may or may not end in the near future. To learn more about Susie's work her social media is @mazarbor and her website is mazarbor.com
Cathryn John
Cathryn John is a Vancouver based illustrator and designer with a passion for social equity and the environment. Her practice includes a range of mediums from acrylic painting to woodworking. Cathryn is an international award winning designer for her project “The Plant Project” which works to improve people’s relationships with plants.
flo-studios.com or cathrynjohn.com
@catjonesartist and @flo.studos on instagram
Emilia Belliveau
Emilia Belliveau is a painter, dancer, community organizer, and political ecologist. Her creative projects consider the fraught relationship between environment and economies, grapple with fear and uncertainty in the face of climate change, and draw inspiration from the long and beautiful history of social movement and resistance art. Climate justice is at the heart of her work, research, activism, and art.
Jenn Richards
Jenn’s art is inspired by landscape and the imbued sense of place unique to an area. Travel photographs, animals, and activities which immerse the viewer in a natural experience – such as scuba diving or snowboarding – are frequent subjects. Her preferred mediums are acrylic, pastel or chalk on canvas, and she is drawn to bold color and transformations of light. Recently, she has experimented with geometric patterns and line work to emulate the natural world. Ideally, she would like to impress a sense of presence upon the viewer by emulating one of the area’s natural qualities.
Originally from Calgary, Jenn is nearing the end of her B.Sc in Environmental Sciences at Simon Fraser. She is currently works on a climate change mitigation project. Her passion for climate change mitigation and adaptation started with the 2013 floods in southern Alberta, and her travels throughout the South Pacific illuminated many local environmental problems faced by the developing world.
Anne Saint-Louis
Originally from Montréal, Anne is an illustrator and animator living and working in Vancouver, B.C. Since completing her BFA through Université du Québec à Montréal with focus on painting and print making, Anne has worked in the animation industry as background painter, in graphic design for print and recently focusing her energy and passion into illustration and motion design. When not creating work digitally, Anne chooses to work with acrylic paints and collage on canvas. Check out her work on her website - https://annesaintlouis.com/
Tomas Taylor
Norwegian/Canadian photography and painter focused on the natural world and draws most of his influences from Arctic regions and the ocean. Instagram: @tomasarvid
Grace Loeppky
Vancouver based director of photography for narratives, music videos, and commercials. Endlessly exploring soft wrapping light with rich shadows. Able to achieve a variety of desired looks with both a low and high budget camera and lighting package. Interested in collaborating with musicians and on projects pertaining to gender, race, mental health, and environmental issues. Find her work on her website - https://www.graceloeppky.com
Michael David Stewart
Originally from Guelph, Ontario, Michael grew up on Vancouver Island. His love for art, theatre and film became apparent at a young age, creating experimental videos, pseudo newscasts and stunt videos with friends in his local neighbourhood.Michael has continued to approach performance as an interactive, immersive art form, emphasizing play, child-like spontaneity, and absurdist humour. His works are noticeable for their explorative quality and philosophical principals. Projects are produced emphasizing improvisation and collaboration, minimizing pre production and creating a more organic rehearsal experience. Check our more of Michael's work here: https://www.michaeldavidstewart.com/
Instagram: @_mikestew
*This event is powered by renewable energy systems*
We would like to thank Vancouver Renewable energy for their generous sponsor of solar power for our event. We would also like to thank Portable Electric for their sponsorship of North America's only industrial clean energy battery, powered by renewables. With their support we can power our event without tapping into the grid and show our community what's possible for our future. Please support local green business and check them out.