Off The Grid Art Crawl:

Off The Grid Art Crawl Date: Friday, May 23, 2008, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Art en...

In-Person Event

Music

Fri. May 23rd 2008 + Add to Calendar

Presented by:

The Ministry of Casual Living

Resource

750 Fairfield Rd. Victoria BC

since 2002

Event Description

Off The Grid Art Crawl

Date: Friday, May 23, 2008, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Art enthusiasts, curious citizens and the general public are caravanned through the streets of Victoria’s inner core and visited the 9 centers that participated in this program. Victoria had an opportunity to learn about the mandate of each centre, met the folks who maintain each organization’s curatorial and administration spheres and had an opportunity to see a diverse representation of Victoria’s modern art exhibitions.

"Victoria’s artist run centre culture is currently booming as spaces continue to pop up to accommodate the local multidisciplinary arts scene. An artist run centre is defined as a non profit arts space that places emphasis on exhibition (as opposed to commercial) endeavors of a greater artist community. ARC’s are accessible to multiple genres of visual and performing art (this may include sculpture, music, digital media, film, craft, zine, photography to name a few). Gallery spaces of this kind are typically governed by a board of directors and in most cases pay artist fees to support exhibiting artists. Funding is maintained through government support though many local ARC’s develop autonomous funding sources through their own programming and fundraising initiatives. The range of ARC models that infiltrate Victoria’s arts community is varied. Off The Grid is a showcase of this diversity and a great opportunity for the public to explore the dynamic range Victoria’s independent, non-commercial gallery scene has to offer."

Off The Grid was pleased to feature nine spaces that had been contributing significantly to Victoria’s burgeoning ARC culture. Each organization showcased work that represented a diverse cross section of local and national art.

The content listed below is taken from the Off the Grid Art Crawl invitation, 2008.

Contributing Organizations

• CineVic
2022 Douglas St.
phone: 389-1590
http://www.cinevic.ca/

CineVic: Society of Independent Filmmakers is an artist-run cooperative facilitating the expression of unique and innovative voices in the ever-evolving language of film. CineVic was founded in 1991 with the idea of developing a vibrant filmmaking community in Victoria that produced high quality work of independent vision, providing an enriching and educational environment for artists and all members of the public who wished to participate. CineVic maintains an office and operates film production and post-production facilities with access to 16mm, Super 8, and Video equipment. CineVic also maintains a film, video and book library, publishes a newsletter, and organizes and delivers a wide variety of training, production, creative and professional development programs, screenings and other services for its members, the broader arts community and the general public. Exhibition A presentation of recent film and video work in their newly created screening/workshop room. Staff will be on hand to discuss the equipment, programming and facilities.

• Deluge Contemporary Art
636 Yates St. Second Floor
phone: 385-3327
http://deluge.ws/

Housed in a 19th century fire hall, Deluge Contemporary Art is a new fine art gallery seeking to widen the scope of galleries by emphasizing curatorial initiatives and critical dialogue in its Victoria location. Deluge succeeds Rouge Art, which from 1991 promoted hundreds of exhibitions of work by new and established regional artists and presented the media arts festival Antimatter for eight years. The new venue houses both Deluge and the Antimatter Underground Film Festival. Exhibition The World Telekinisis Championship The 2008 World Telekinesis Competition is a first of its kind event that will involve teams from around the world competing from their home locations to psychically influence the behaviour of a candle. Hosted by Noxious Sector Arts Collective and Deluge Contemporary Art, the WTC is a forum for the practical exploration of telekinetic possibility, remote influence and imaginative interaction.

• The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective
2516 Douglas St., just north of Bay St.
[email protected]
http://thefiftyfifty.net/

Originating in the winter of 2002, The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective is a non-profit artist run society organized and operated by a small group of volunteer members that work to promote the independent multi media art scene throughout the Victoria area. The Fifty Fifty aims to provide exhibition space and off site events at little to no cost from the artist. The organization’s board is not bound by aesthetic divisions, and have little time for elitist judgment or genre restrictions yet do seek unique exhibits and programs that cannot find an appropriate home elsewhere in Victoria. Since its inception the Fifty Fifty has hosted hundreds of programs ranging in various media. These include visual art, music, film, theatre and spoken word. Exhibition What Remained of Doctor Millicent A collection of photographs and drawings by Victoria-based artist Mily Mumford, Doctor Millicent, a fictitious character, an extension of the artist, a personification of her imagination. The "Doctor" left usher flat, full of her artistic works, and few scattered belongings, discovered shortly after her untimely demise. Her visual voice is spooky and macabre yet comforting and familiar, what is formed by the bond between the purely scientific and purely emotional. She tried to convey through film, pen and paint that which only exists in flesh and memory.

• MediaNet
[email protected]
250- 381-4428
106 - 2750 Quadra Street Victoria, BC V8T 4E8
www.media-net.bc.ca

MediaNet was founded on Dec 16th 1981 to “promote creative collaboration and mutual support among independent media producers, through networking and the provision of a resource pool of information, contacts, equipment and skills.” (Penelope Joy, founding Director) The organization facilitates the production and presentation of independent work by providing video equipment rental at affordable rates to enable wide access to the medium, provides workshops for individuals to develop media skills in a co-operative environment and creates a supportive engaged community in which to work. MediaNet also hosts presentations and screenings by local and visiting independent video/filmmakers in various genres. Exhibition Medianet Podcast The launch of MediaNet’s new podcast including a martini and video salon. Featuring filmmakers, Pamela Millar, Scott Amos, Cimarron Corpe, K irk Chwartz and others. MN will be screening films [silent] at the phantom gallery across from the Community Arts Council from the 23th to the 27th of May.

• The Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain St.
phone: 250-519-0113
www.ministryofcasualliving.ca

The Ministry of Casual Living is a non-profit artist-run-centre that has been exhibiting the works of contemporary emerging and mid-career artists since March 2002. Formed to provide artists from all disciplines with an accessible venue for experimentation, the MOCL is committed to promoting critical, self-reflective discourse, and integrating the artistic process into all aspects of everyday life. The modest store front gallery is curated and managed by the live-in Minister, who is elected by the board and holds an intensive artist-in-residence position that rotates annually. Exhibition Home-made Home-grown Miles Collyer Home-made Home-grown is a series of hand-stitched felt flags. These are the flags of sub-national organizations who use sophisticated and contrasting means to seek attention and signal their individuality, both in traditional and modern ways. The authority and legitimacy of these flags is unquestionable to those who stand under them. At the same time they are internationally questioned and unrecognized. The process of hand-stitching these flags directly relates to the social, cultural, and political issues which surround the series. Through their meticulous production these flags are being returned to the point of their inaugural creation and to the moment before they could be reproduced and disseminated. It is important that the work momentarily restores these flags as artifacts with a visual and cultural origin, not the entrenched political symbols which they have become.

• Open Space
510 Fort Street, 2nd floor
phone: 250.383.8833
[email protected]
www.openspace.ca

For over thirty years, Open Space has been a substantive entity for professional artists who utilize hybrid and experimental approaches to art-making, as well as a touchstone for young and emerging artists. As an exhibition and performance centre, Open Space reflects the wide diversity of contemporary art practices in Victoria, across Canada and beyond. The work presented at Open Space is a cross-fertilization of experiences, with artists from disparate geographical locations and cultural sensibilities brought together in a critical dialogue based around contemporary art issues. Exhibition we are not alone: New Work In Collaborative Fiction Curated by Jo Cook we are not alone is a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach to installation that is evocative rather than instructive. Six artists, Emily Goodden, Susan Hawkins, leannej, Wesley Mulvin, my name is scot, and Frances Zorn will create a space to accommodate shifting relationships between diverse works where the non-linear, non-unified nature of experience is acknowledged. Whether as a fragment or a fully-formed story, narrative is inherent in the configuration of sculpture, music, text, and still and moving images the artists will present.

• The Project Arts Community
614 1/2 Fisgard Street · Second Floor
phone: 250.884.9478
[email protected]
http://theprojectarts.com/

The Project began as a dialogue among artists concerning their creative needs. This discussion evolved into a nucleus of committed members and eventually led to theacquisition of an art space. The Project aspires to be a gallery, a stage, a studio, a three-dimensional environment, a gathering place, and a positive creative energy in the community. We welcome proposals for the use of our space, and we would appreciate any assistance toward the growth and development of this multi-disciplinary arts centre. Exhibition The PORTRAIT Project. A group art show of portraits created by artists from a random name draw.

• The Slide Room Gallery
2549 Quadra St.
phone: 250.380.3500
[email protected]
http://www.slideroomgallery.com

The Slide Room Gallery was formed as a society independent of the Vancouver Island School of Art in the fall of 2006. It is a non profit, artist run centre, operating in the lower level of the Vancouver Island School of Art. This space houses a regular rotation of exhibitions and events, and seeks an eclectic range of artists and independent curators. The SRG aims to energize and compliment VISA’s role as an educational institution with strong ties to the community at large. Exhibition AMBULATOR Graduation Exhibition for Diploma of Fine Arts candidates: Rebekah Johnson and Marlene Bouchard. This exhibition will focus the work of the Vancouver Island School of Art's first students to complete the Diploma of Fine Arts program.

• Studio 16 1/2 art emporium
Fan Tan Alley
250.595.6709
www.fantanstudios.com

Studio 16 1/2 is a boutique and gallery showcasing artists and designers from Victoria and beyond. Studio 16 1/2 host monthly art exhibitions and run collaborative art projects in its studio space, as well as producing publications and recordings, and participating in various community events. Studio 16 1/2 emphasizes the importance of installing artwork, as opposed to the imposing artwork on a given space. Exhibition HERE I AM... victoria postcard collection Victoria is a tourist destination, and any good tourist will be sure to seek out a few postcards to mail to their friends back home while they are visiting. I'm thinking of the postcard with the shiny, jumping killer whale. Are we really representing the real Victoria in the imagery these tourists take home? As locals, we know there is so much more to this town, we even see tourists trying to capture it daily with their own cameras. So we thought, Why not save them the trouble? and give them that quality photo of Fan Tan Alley that they are shooting for? Studio 16 1/2 is tackling this challenge as we rally photographers to present images that capture quintessential Victoria, and we will be producing actual postcards to sell to actual tourists! And maybe a few locals, too. Watch the website for artist updates and images!