Photo By NATASHA IRVINE
It is great to go to galleries to see familiar works of art, but the works in the new exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery are literally in your own backyard.
WE: Vancouver opened on Friday night and shows the work of over 40 new or recently exhibited projects by Vancouverites for Vancouverites.
From the seemingly banal components of Vancouver — like Kingsway or the Vancouver Special — to architecture, activism, and archiving; the exhibit asks us to stop looking outwards at Vancouver’s magnificent views and focus on what is in the city around us.
WE: Occupy, Carrall Street by Althea Thauberger
It is designed around Twelve Manifestos named for verbs. These action words suggest different ways of being in and thinking about the city.
Exhibition designer, Christian Kliegel, wanted people to think of the city and the gallery differently so he made some changes to the space itself. “Moving the walls was a way to change the way people move around the gallery and make the space more exciting,” Kliegel said, “It makes you look at the whole space differently… and the kids get pretty excited about it.”
Kliegel worked with exhibit curators Bruce Grenville and Kathleen Ritter to bring together cross-disciplinary practitioners who are interested in the city. “The kind of people who use the city as a way to produce work by thinking critically about what they are working on,” said Kliegel.
These practitioners produced a cocktail of spatial, visual, and auditory experiences. “I could tell you more” Kliegel said, “But the best thing is to just go and experience it for yourself.”
WE: Use, Mycologic Chandelier by Propellor Design
Take a peek at more of the contributors and their work here.
WE: Vancouver is on now until May 1.
Natasha Irvine 
Great post girlfriend. I must go see this!