VictoriaFineArtFestival.org
One in Five Show Dates
To the woman who just asked me about the One in Five show dates: I was clearly quite wrong. They are actually October 1 – 30, 2010, as you can see in the Call for Artists below.
Call for Artists Who Live With Mental Illness
The Victoria Fine Art Festival is seeking artists for its October exhibition, One in Five, an exhibition of artwork by people who live with mental illness.
Exhibition dates: October 1 – 30, 2010 in downtown Victoria, BC
The purpose of this exhibit is to educate our community on the mental illness stigma that many of the artists live with and help inform the general public about the many faces of mental illness through the presentation of a professional, curated, visual art exhibition.
One in Five is an important exhibition that will bring attention to the fact that 1 in 5 Canadians will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime. With a statistic this high and the stigma surrounding mental illness being so strong, this exhibition will be a vital tool in lessening the mystery and fear people have around this very prevalent issue in our community.
Artists who work and live in British Columbia are welcome to apply.
Submission must include:
· Up to 8 printed photos, JPEG or PFD images on a CD.
· A list of the works including title, medium, and size
· A brief artist statement, artist biography and resume.
· A self-addressed stamped envelope if you would like your submission returned.
Deadline for applications is August 15, 2010.
Accepted artists will be notified by August 30.
Please send submissions to:
Victoria Fine Art Festival Society
PO Box 8705, Victoria, BC V8W-3S3
Tel: 250-891-1901
info@victoriafineartfestival.org
www.victoriafineartfestival.org
Thank You!
The Victoria Fine Art Festival would like to thank all the patrons, customers, sponsors and press for making the Homeless Awareness Exhibition a huge success.
Over the course of the six week exhibition, we saw over 1,000 people at the exhibit and sold over $5,000 worth of art work which 100% of was paid directly to the artists.
We truly appreciate your support!
RED TENT 212282010
Limited Edition Print by Yuri Arajs
Dear Friends.
I was recently inspired when I heard, from my mom, about an organization called The Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver. They do great work on behalf of the homeless including the new Red Tent campaign. They will be using red tents to visually bring awareness to the issue to the world media in Vancouver from Feb 12 – 28, 2010. A very important time to be doing this. Visit their website and learn more about what great work they are doing. www.pivotlegal.org
So I decided to make this limited edition piece of art to raise awareness and money to support this cause, plus a little more. First, I hope to do is raise enough money to give a $500 donation to the Pivot Legal Society’s Red Tent campaign. Second, to buy $1,000 worth of art supplies and distribute it directly to artists in my community who are homeless or have experienced homelessness.
For just $25, you can help me achieve this and get a piece of my art as well!
Artwork information:
Title: Red Tent 212282010
Medium: Two color silk screen, grease crayon, ink
Paper size: 8.5″ x 11″
Edition size: 125, Signed and numbered
Price: $25 US or CAN
Thank you for supporting this project!
NXNW Interview
CBC BC’s North by Northwest interviewed Yuri on their Saturday show. You can listen to the podcast here.
Wild Orphans Interview
CFUV’s Wild Orphans arts program interviewed Maureen and Yuri about the Homeless Awareness show.
You can listen to the interview here.
The Times Colonist’s Review
Robert Amos of the Times Colonist reviewed the show in Monday’s paper.
Video Of The Homeless Awareness Show
Exhibit-V presents a video of the homeless awareness exhibit.
Homeless Awareness in Focus Magazine
Check out our cover story in this month’s Focus Magazine!
Homeless Awareness Show
The Victoria Fine Art Festival Society presents it’s inaugural exhibition, Homeless Awareness: an Exhibition of Art Work by People Who Have Experienced Homelessness.
January 15 – February 27, 2010
705 Johnson Street, Downtown Victoria
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm
Opening reception with the artists January 15, 5-8pm. Free event and open to the public.
Free Film events:
January 28, 7pm Anne
February 25, 7pm The Cats of Mirikitani
This juried exhibition features works for sale by: Vicki Bailey (painting/printmaking), Anne Campbell (drawing), Luke Garrison (digital collage), Jerry Hayes (painting), Paula Johnson (painting), Robert MacDonald (painting), Russell Maier (painting), Taras Masciuch (photography), Ian Morris (drawing/painting).
Director and Curator for the Victoria Fine Arts Festival Society, Yuri Arajs, has a long history of producing social mission-based art exhibitions.
“I feel strongly about VFAF’s inaugural exhibit focus on one of the most tragic problems in Victoria – homelessness. This exhibition is a good example of something concrete that can be done to help people directly. The artists in the exhibit will have their work framed for them and receive 100% of sales. Homeless persons seldom are given the opportunity to have their opinions heard — much less have their art valued in mainstream society.”
For more information contact:
Yuri Arajs, Director / Curator
Phone: 250.891.1901
Email: info@victoriafineartfestival.org
www.VictoriaFineArtFestival.org
The mission of the Victoria Fine Art Festival is to bring a better understanding of contemporary art to our community through the production of an annual, juried, contemporary fine art festival in October of each year. Beyond the annual festival, VFAF will produce other exhibitions throughout the year in various venues.
The Artists
Painter Vicki Bailey, has studied at Alberta College of Art and Design, and describes her work as reflective of “place, sanctuary, home and heart.” She’s been forced to move too often, helping her appreciate the centrality of home to well-being and creativity.
Ian Morris attended Concordia in the 80s. He’s worked as daycare supervisor, bike courier, sea urchin diver and commercial salmon fisherman. After moving to Victoria in 2000, he began chalk painting of old master works on downtown sidewalks. His works in this show are oils and ink drawings.
Robert MacDonald is a painter who fell into the drug scene at 15 and ended up on the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Rehab and farming as a “woofer” (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) on Salt Spring helped him move away from drugs. He’s now involved in yoga and the healing community, as well as his art.
Paula Johnson is also a painter from Salt Spring Island, where she’s lived (sometimes homeless) for six years. Some of her work has been done on cardboard boxes because of her poverty. She is 30 years old.
Luke Garrison studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, as well as UBC and Victoria College of Art. He has suffered from mental illness, but finds art a refuge from his difficulties. “I bounce design and art off one another, linking both creative approaches,” he says. His work in this show is digital collage.
Russell Maier’s home is a tent and a bike. He set out from his hometown of Smithers, BC in 2008 to orchestrate a planetary collaborative art project focused on peace. He made it to Italy, returning recently to Canada to recover his health. His art (acrylic paintings in this show) combines his academic background in philosophy, extensive experience in graphic design, and a passion for new methods of creation and expression.
Taras Masciuch is 64 and came to Victoria from Alberta a few years back for our clean air as he suffers from multiple chemical sensitivities. Initially, due to problems getting disability assistance, he was forced to sleep in parks and parking lots downtown. He will be showing his dramatic black and white photography.
Anne Campbell was born in Jamaica but came to Canada as a 17-year-old in 1967. Though she has studied art at colleges in Vancouver, she is has been homeless there for 14 years. A thoughtful artist, she quotes Rousseau: “It is too difficult to think nobly when one only thinks to get a living.” She and her ink and graphite on paper drawings are the subject of the documentary Anne which premiers at the exhibition on January 28 at 7pm.
Jerry Hayes is a watercolour painter who views art as a celebration of life and expression. There’s always a story behind his paintings, each of which begins with a meditation to clear his mind to allow himself a new way of seeing the image within himself.
Film Screenings
705 Johnson Street, Downtown Victoria
Free and open to the public
January 28th, 7pm
Anne: artist, writer, neighbour, homeless
A documentary by Katherine Surridge, 2009
Director discussion after the film.
Anne is a conversation with one homeless person, an intimate view. She is an artist and writer and has been living outside for fourteen years. Her daily routine covers a small section of the Kitsilano Community in Vancouver, BC.
Anne is always on the ground with the animals, facing the elements, in the same way they are. Through rain, snow, hot summers, freezing winters, autumn leaves and spring flowers she speaks directly into the camera.
Constance Anne Campbell’s voice has a wonderful lilt. She has a twinkle in her eye and her laugh is contagious. She is articulate and informed when she speaks about art, literature, politics, the environment and being homeless. She talks about how she got there, how she survives, her joys, fears and challenges. She never looks for sympathy and never asks for anything. She says living outside is a medieval way of life and calls it subhuman, she doesn’t recommend it.
February 25th, 7pm
The Cats of Mirikitani
Synopsis: Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy’s painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing powers of friendship and art. This documentary won the Audience Award at its premiere in the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
www.thecatsofmirikitani.com
For more information contact:
Yuri Arajs, Director / Curator
Phone: 250.891.1901
Email: info@victoriafineartfestival.org
www.VictoriaFineArtFestival.org
