Photo: Henri Robideau, 2019.

The Blue Cabin floated into Vancouver’s False Creek in summer 2019. In the fall of 2019, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency launched Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore, the inaugural program of artist residencies, open houses, talks and workshops. Situated in the unceded lands and waters of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency offers a vantage point from which to consider the city differently. International in scope but deeply rooted in the histories and narratives of this place, the Blue Cabin offers a unique opportunity to learn, explore and engage with the foreshore.

The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency brings forward a desire and need for alternate modes of living and working, and expands our understanding of what constitutes public space.

Despite Vancouver’s international reputation for producing exceptional artists, inflated real estate prices make it challenging for arts organizations to offer visiting artists spaces for research, experimentation, innovation, and exchange. Artist residencies exist worldwide, and the experiences of those who have been lucky enough to take part are often described as life-changing and transformational. Recognizing this need for such a generative space, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency presents an opportunity that is unique to this region while global in its reach.

The Blue Cabin sat between the low and high tide lines at Cates Park in North Vancouver since 1932 and has resisted ownership for nearly 100 years. It was home to maritime labourers and families – and since the late ‘60s was a place of creative respite and subsistence for Vancouver artists Al Neil and Carole Itter. Representing the last vestiges of a cultural tradition of artists and others living in squatter shacks along the foreshores of this region’s waterways, Al Neil and Carole Itter’s Blue Cabin was one of many structures that dotted the shores of Burrard Inlet. In 2014, the land adjacent to the cabin, McKenzie Barge and Marine Ways Co. Ltd., was sold to Polygon Homes for redevelopment, initiating the remediation of the foreshore and the small cove the Blue Cabin was nestled within. To avoid demolition, the cabin was moved five kilometres west to a secure storage lot, then later to Maplewood Farm in North Vancouver where it underwent a full remediation, completed in February 2018.

Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore is a celebration of Coast Salish weaving practices that have developed in these territories since time immemorial. As such, it is anchored by the participation of weavers from the three local nations: Debra Sparrow from Musqueam, Janice George and Buddy Joseph of Squamish, and Angela George from Squamish/ Tsleil-Waututh. Skeins also includes a residency with Australian Indigenous artist and activist Vicki Couzens (Gunditjmara) produced in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts. Rooted in the local, and spanning the international, these artists bring a long history of cultural, ceremonial and community involvement, organizing and reclaiming, aesthetics and activism.

Since 2015, grunt gallery, Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, and Creative Cultural Collaborations have been committed to ensuring the cabin’s legacy continues, and that its use as a floating artist residency will benefit both artists and broader public alike.

Learn more at thebluecabin.ca

For general inquiries please contact info@thebluecabin.ca 

Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore has been assisted by Vancouver Foundation, the City of Vancouver Public Art Boost program and the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency is grateful for the visionary support of Vancouver Foundation, the City of Vancouver, Heritage Canada’s Cultural Spaces Program, British Columbia Arts Council, BC Museums Association Canada 150 Program, BC Collaborative Spaces Program, District of North Vancouver, Wayne Saunders, Fred McMaster and Larry Carrier of Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd., Carole Itter, Marko Simcic of Simcic + Ulrich Architects, Australia Council for the Arts, Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corporation, Maplewood Farm, Polygon Homes, Canexus Corporation, Jane Irwin and Ross Hill, PM-Volunteers, Harold Kalman, Andrew Todd Conservators Ltd, Ian McMurdo, Wayne Poole, Lisa Muri, Clint Low of Bush Bohlman & Partners, Carlo Elholm of Advisian Engineers, Jeremy and Sus Borsos, Germaine Koh Studio Ltd., The Audain Foundation, Lehigh Hanson, Harris Steel, Inform Interiors, Native Shoes, Brent Comber Originals, K. Joseph Spears and Monica Ahlroos of Horseshoe Bay Marine Group, European Touch Hardwoods, Rick Erickson and Donna Partridge, Heritage BC, San Cedar, Robinson Lighting and Bath, Fasteel, Standard Building Supplies, ShapeMeasure, Fine Art Framing, Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative, Ames Tile & Stone, Australian High Commission, The Hamber Foundation, Port of Vancouver North Shore Waterfront Liaison Committee and our other generous supporters and donors.

The volunteer team that continues to work to develop the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency consists of Glenn Alteen, Program Director of grunt gallery, Barbara Cole, Director of Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, and Esther Rausenberg, Co-artistic Director of Creative Cultural Collaborations.

Join our Blue Cabin Newsletter list here. 

Please consider donating to the Blue Cabin project. Your support is important in achieving our mission.

Job Description

Position: Engagement Coordinator
Project: Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency
Location: Throughout the Lower Mainland
Reporting to: Blue Cabin Committee

Hours: $25-$27/hour, 18 hours per week. Some evening and weekend work. Flexible schedule.

Start date: July 29, 2019
Application Deadline: Thursday, June 27, 2019 @ 5:00pm

Project Description:
The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency (BCFAR) is a collaboration between grunt gallery Other Sights for Artists’ Projects and Creative Cultural Collaborations. The collaborating organizations have formed the Blue Cabin Committee to oversee the ongoing management of the BCFAR.

About the Blue Cabin:
The BCFAR provides artists with a unique opportunity to work in a completely restored and outfitted heritage cabin/studio with deep historical roots in both the foreshore past of North Vancouver on the West Coast of British Columbia and the early years of Vancouver’s contemporary art scene. Situated on a floating platform and anchored in a marine environment, the residency features a state of the art, self-sustaining “deck house” as accommodation. Responding to the unique environment, landscape and heritage of the region, the BCFAR will be a central feature of the selected artists’ experience. This is an artist–centred residency space that welcomes local, regional and national participants as well as international guests.

The BCFAR is open to artists in all disciplines and supports the creative development of all kinds, for artists at all stages of their careers. It is intended to support artists who wish to undertake research, reflection, contemplation, production or presentation activities. Artists are asked to propose a program of public engagement as the only outcome required of the residency.

General Description of the Position:
The Engagement Coordinator works with staff, contractors, volunteers, and membership to develop contacts, programming and strengthen relationships between the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency (BCFAR) and its partners in the community. This is a professional position that reports to the Blue Cabin Committee and associated staff.

The Engagement Coordinator is a planner, implementer, and relationship builder who is responsible for developing this new initiative in conjunction with multiple and diverse communities across the Lower Mainland. They are also responsible for developing strategies around programming, retention and recognition of audience members, volunteers and other communities, as well as strategies for outreach. This is NOT a fundraising focused position.

The Engagement Coordinator will work within the communities the facility inhabits making connections and strengthening bonds between stakeholders and increasing visibility and access. A major focus will be on the heritage and cultural communities, and the position will require the incumbent to familiarize themselves with the many different heritage stakeholders in Vancouver and on the North Shore including community groups, non-profits, government departments, universities and museums and archives. The Engagement Coordinator will work with these groups to develop programming for the BCFAR in the form of lectures, panels, open houses, exhibits and discussions around the Blue Cabin that are part of the project’s broader curatorial activities.

The Engagement Coordinator will work with the Blue Cabin Curatorial Committee to maintain relationships within the three Indigenous host nations; as the BCFAR will move throughout waterways in the region, we are committed to strong relationships with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (MST). The incumbent will play a fundamental role in continuing our conversations with the MST, and continuing to build strong relationships and opportunities for collaboration. The Engagement Coordinator will maintain relationships within the infrastructure of the cities of Vancouver, North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver, including targeted relationships with stakeholders at Northeast False Creek, the North Shore and Port Metro.

The Engagement Coordinator is expected to work independently while maintaining a strong connection to the overall project and curatorial planning.

Required Competencies:
Collaborative Reliable
Committed Independent
Community Minded Tolerant
Creative Flexible
Social Resourceful

General Responsibilities:
● Work with staff and committees to develop and enhance contacts within the identified communities.
● Develop strategies for outreach and active community development.
● Produce and develop programming at the BCFAR engaging the Heritage and cultural communities
● Design and implement a community plan that builds strong, long-term, and loyal relationships with audience members, supporters and communities.
● Forge relationships within the heritage and cultural communities across the Lower Mainland, and explore opportunities for co-programming, cross-promotion and outreach.
● Continue to develop relationships with Indigenous partners and collaborators from the host nations (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh) as well as the wider indigenous communities of Vancouver.
● Explore engagement opportunities from other communities as necessary, and in conjunction with the Blue Cabin Committee’s vision for programming and the residency.
● Produce a news feed around community engagement that is aligned with BCFAR’s social media, website and newsletters focusing on their respective membership and community activities.
● Collaborate and communicate with neighborhood organizations to develop activities that promote the BCFAR’s role in the community (eg. community events and festivals).

Required Skills and Education:
● Superior networking skills for arts and cultural-based environments.
● Strong knowledge and commitment to bridge-building within diverse community frameworks.
● Good understanding of artist-run culture.
● Post-secondary education in an arts related program, educational program or a relevant discipline is an asset.
● Previous experience (work or volunteer) in an arts organization, community centre, educational centre or activist organizing is an asset.
● Demonstrated supervisory and interpersonal skills; ability to perform well in a team environment and collaborate with others.
● Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to target events outreach materials to varying audiences and age groups.
● Strong organizational skills, able to identify and prioritize tasks with minimal supervision, work independently, and take initiative.
● Experience with youth/adult education programming an asset.
● Working knowledge of Social Media, e.g. Facebook, Twitter and mass email systems;
● Resourceful, hands-on and pro-active.
● Previous experience in developing and maintaining strong internal and external relationships.
● Demonstrated success with strategy development, implementation and evaluation.
● Proven ability to act in an assertive but professional manner and to represent oneself and an organization in a positive manner.
● Ability to work flexible hours.
● Ability to travel throughout the Lower Mainland.

Business Ethics and the Workplace:
• Must promote and set the example for ensuring a friendly, courteous, respectful and professional work environment.
• Must maintain the confidentiality of all personal, private, and professional information obtained within the course of employment.
• Must not accept any gifts, loans or anything of value from any individuals with whom contact is had during the course of employment.

To apply: Please send cover letter and resume to Sunshine Frere by email < sunshine (at) othersights (dot) ca >

Application Deadline: Thursday, June 27, 2019 @ 5:00pm

Job Description:

Position: Residency Coordinator (contract position)
Project: Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency
Reporting to: Operations Director (grunt gallery) and General Manager (Other Sights for Artists’ Projects)

Hours: $27/hr 18 hours per week. Some evening and weekend work. Flexible schedule.

Start date: July 2, 2019
Application Deadline: Thursday, June 13, 2019 @ 5:00pm

Project Description:
The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency (BCFAR) is a collaboration between grunt gallery Other Sights for Artists’ Projects and Creative Cultural Collaborations. The collaborating organizations have formed the Blue Cabin Committee to oversee the ongoing management of the BCFAR.

About the Blue Cabin:
The BCFAR provides artists with a unique opportunity to live and work in a completely restored and outfitted heritage cabin/studio with deep historical roots in both the foreshore past of North Vancouver on the West Coast of British Columbia and the early years of Vancouver’s contemporary art scene. Situated on a floating platform and anchored in a marine environment, the residency features a state of the art, self-sustaining “tiny house” as accommodation. Responding to the unique environment, landscape and heritage of the region, the BCFAR will be a central feature of the selected artists’ experience. This is an artist–centred residency space that welcomes local, regional and national participants as well as international guests.

The BCFAR is open to artists in all disciplines and supports the creative development of all kinds, for artists at all stages of their careers. It is intended to support artists who wish to undertake research, reflection, contemplation, production or presentation activities. Artists are asked to propose a program of public engagement as the only outcome required of the residency.

General Description of the Position:
The Residency Coordinator is charged with the administration, management and maintenance of the BCFAR as well as working with a variety of individuals and groups to coordinate and schedule all programming and artist in residence stays.

The Residency Coordinator organizes all aspects related to the residency, including support of the artist application process, support of the artist in residence, and ensures that the facility is safe and well maintained and that the ongoing maintenance plan is implemented.

The Residency Coordinator is responsible for the day to day operations of the BCFAR and the management of associated special projects. The Residency Coordinator reports directly to the Operations Director at grunt gallery and the General Manager at Other Sights for Artists’ Projects.

Required Competencies:
Project Management Communication
Time Management Collaborative
Committed Community Minded
Creative Flexible
Social Reliable
Independent Tolerant
Resourceful

General Responsibilities:
• Develop and maintain the day to day administration of the BCFAR.
• Help maintain the BCFAR’s public presence through the Blue Cabin website, social media channels, e-newsletters, and in print, in conjunction with other communications’ staff.
• Organize and lead the artist application process, assist the Blue Cabin Committee with artist selection, and coordinate all aspects of the residency including resource documents, contracts, communication with artists, fees, programming events, etc.
• Provide logistical and technical support to artists in residence.
• Organize field trips, studio visits, public presentations and other research and engagement activities.
• Develop a maintenance plan around the cabin facility for maintenance, janitorial and facility upkeep.
• Oversee the work of contractors implementing the maintenance plan.
• Oversee the residency budget, in conjunction with other staff and contractors.
• Provide budgets and expense reports to the Blue Cabin Committee at regular intervals.

Required Skills and Education:
• Strong familiarity with arts administration.
• Good understanding of artist-run culture.
• Preferably, post-secondary education in an arts-related program or a project management program.
• Previous experience (work or volunteer) with an artist residency programme an asset.
• Demonstrated supervisory and interpersonal skills; ability to perform well in a team environment and to collaborate with others.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills, ability to identify and prioritize tasks with minimal supervision, work independently, and take initiative.
• Experience with youth/adult education programming an asset.
• Strong knowledge and commitment to bridge-building within diverse community frameworks.
• Working knowledge of social media, e.g. Facebook, Twitter and mass email systems.
• Resourceful, hands-on and pro-active.
• Proven ability to act in an assertive but professional manner and to represent oneself and an organization in a positive manner.
• Ability to work at and travel to multiple sites throughout the Lower Mainland.
• Ability to work flexible hours.

Business Ethics and the Workplace:
• Must promote and set the example for ensuring a friendly, courteous, respectful and professional work environment.
• Must maintain the confidentiality of all personal, private, and professional information obtained within the course of employment.
• Must not accept any gifts, loans or anything of value from any individuals with whom contact is had during the course of employment.

To apply: Please send cover letter and resume to Meagan Kus by email < meagan(at)grunt.ca >

Application Deadline: Thursday, June 13, 2019 @ 5:00pm

Jeremy and Sus Borsos – The Blue Cabin Exhibition

ARTISTS: Jeremy and Sus Borsos

CURATOR: Glenn Alteen

OPENING RECEPTION: June 14, 7 – 9 PM

EXHIBITION DATES: June 15 to July 28, 2018

THE BLUE CABIN SPEAKER SERIES:

Wednesday, June 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Artist talk with Jeremy Borsos
Artist Jeremy Borsos will give a talk describing the restoration of the small 1920’s building known as the Blue Cabin. The talk will focus on possible translations of the cabin’s history.

Thursday, June 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Daniel Francis | Squat City: A Brief History of Squatting Around Burrard Inlet
Author and historian Daniel Francis will speak about the history of squatter villages on the region’s foreshore.

Saturday, July 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Carole Itter in conversation with Krista Lomax
Artist Carole Itter will present an informal talk about her artwork and writings during her 35 year-long residency at the Blue Cabin. She will be joined by artist and editor Krista Lomax.

Thursday, July 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, The Foreshore
Artist Jen Weih and curator and artist Vanessa Kwan will speak about The Foreshore, a project produced by Other Sights, in collaboration with Access Gallery and the Contemporary Art Gallery.

Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m.
The Blue Cabin Project
Blue Cabin founding partners Glenn Alteen, Esther Rausenberg, and Barbara Cole will discuss the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency project.

*To keep up to date with The Blue Cabin, please sign up for a separate newsletter online here.

When Jeremy Borsos and his wife, Sus, took on the remediation of the Blue Cabin, we at grunt never expected what would eventually come out of it! Using historical materials, they took the structure apart, methodically cleaned every inch, and replaced the rotted out bits. They insulated the walls and fixed the floor. Essentially, they treated it as an archaeological site, collecting its history in scraps of newspapers and mouse nests and, in an archival process, painstakingly saved what remained. The humble structure revealed itself slowly over the six-month period of the restoration and culminated – when they took up the floor – in the discovery of almost 40 posters that had been put there in 1927 to prevent the floor from squeaking.

In this exhibition, the Borsos’ present a body of work that documents this journey, while providing us a history of the cabin before Al Neil and Carole Itter’s tenancy, and offering us new insights into the earlier inhabitants— squatters, and marine workers on the foreshore.

Jeremy Borsos attended Emily Carr School of Art and the Art Students League in New York. His practice is multidisciplinary and includes writing, photography, installation, painting, and video. He has exhibited nationally and internationally. Together with his partner, Sus, the Borsos have developed a meta-historical use of salvaged architecture, constructing multiple dwellings and ancillary structures.

Sus Borsos was born in Denmark and studied statistics and computer sciences at Copenhagen University before managing Scandinavian Stage Design, where she oversaw the creation of stages for major events in Europe. After relocating to Canada in 1992, she worked with her husband, Jeremy Borsos, on constructing their Mayne Island home created from salvaged architectural fragments. Sus has also worked in digital film editing and design, and image output for reproduction.

Together, Sus and Jeremy have constructed a number of buildings using period architectural salvage. They have most recently completed a full remediation of the Blue Cabin, the studio component of a soon to be launched floating artist residency in Vancouver, Canada. Among Jeremy and Sus’s current creative projects is the redesigning and rebuilding of a studio and living space in Athens, Greece. They live and work on Mayne Island, British Columbia, and in Athens, Greece.

The Blue Cabin project is led by grunt gallery, along with Other Sights for Artists Projects, and Creative Cultural Collaborations (C3). This program has been supported by the Hamber Foundation.

Download the PDF of the catalogue and essay by Scott Watson

Photo: Henri Robideau, 2019

The Blue Cabin floated into Vancouver’s False Creek in summer 2019. In the fall of 2019, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency launched Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore, the inaugural program of artist residencies, open houses, talks and workshops. Situated in the unceded lands and waters of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency offers a vantage point from which to consider the city differently. International in scope but deeply rooted in the histories and narratives of this place, the Blue Cabin offers a unique opportunity to learn, explore and engage with the foreshore.

The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency brings forward a desire and need for alternate modes of living and working, and expands our understanding of what constitutes public space.

Despite Vancouver’s international reputation for producing exceptional artists, inflated real estate prices make it challenging for arts organizations to offer visiting artists spaces for research, experimentation, innovation, and exchange. Artist residencies exist worldwide, and the experiences of those who have been lucky enough to take part are often described as life-changing and transformational. Recognizing this need for such a generative space, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency presents an opportunity that is unique to this region while global in its reach.

The Blue Cabin sat between the low and high tide lines at Cates Park in North Vancouver since 1932 and has resisted ownership for nearly 100 years. It was home to maritime labourers and families – and since the late ‘60s was a place of creative respite and subsistence for Vancouver artists Al Neil and Carole Itter. Representing the last vestiges of a cultural tradition of artists and others living in squatter shacks along the foreshores of this region’s waterways, Al Neil and Carole Itter’s Blue Cabin was one of many structures that dotted the shores of Burrard Inlet. In 2014, the land adjacent to the cabin, McKenzie Barge and Marine Ways Co. Ltd., was sold to Polygon Homes for redevelopment, initiating the remediation of the foreshore and the small cove the Blue Cabin was nestled within. To avoid demolition, the cabin was moved five kilometres west to a secure storage lot, then later to Maplewood Farm in North Vancouver where it underwent a full remediation, completed in February 2018.

Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore is a celebration of Coast Salish weaving practices that have developed in these territories since time immemorial. As such, it is anchored by the participation of weavers from the three local nations: Debra Sparrow from Musqueam, Janice George and Buddy Joseph of Squamish, and Angela George from Squamish/ Tsleil-Waututh. Skeins also includes a residency with Australian Indigenous artist and activist Vicki Couzens (Gunditjmara) produced in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts. Rooted in the local, and spanning the international, these artists bring a long history of cultural, ceremonial and community involvement, organizing and reclaiming, aesthetics and activism.

Since 2015, grunt gallery, Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, and Creative Cultural Collaborations have been committed to ensuring the cabin’s legacy continues, and that its use as a floating artist residency will benefit both artists and broader public alike.

Learn more at thebluecabin.ca

For general inquiries please contact info@thebluecabin.ca 

Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore has been assisted by Vancouver Foundation, the City of Vancouver Public Art Boost program and the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency is grateful for the visionary support of Vancouver Foundation, the City of Vancouver, Heritage Canada’s Cultural Spaces Program, British Columbia Arts Council, BC Museums Association Canada 150 Program, BC Collaborative Spaces Program, District of North Vancouver, Wayne Saunders, Fred McMaster and Larry Carrier of Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd., Carole Itter, Marko Simcic of Simcic + Ulrich Architects, Australia Council for the Arts, Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corporation, Maplewood Farm, Polygon Homes, Canexus Corporation, Jane Irwin and Ross Hill, PM-Volunteers, Harold Kalman, Andrew Todd Conservators Ltd, Ian McMurdo, Wayne Poole, Lisa Muri, Clint Low of Bush Bohlman & Partners, Carlo Elholm of Advisian Engineers, Jeremy and Sus Borsos, Germaine Koh Studio Ltd., The Audain Foundation, Lehigh Hanson, Harris Steel, Inform Interiors, Native Shoes, Brent Comber Originals, K. Joseph Spears and Monica Ahlroos of Horseshoe Bay Marine Group, European Touch Hardwoods, Rick Erickson and Donna Partridge, Heritage BC, San Cedar, Robinson Lighting and Bath, Fasteel, Standard Building Supplies, ShapeMeasure, Fine Art Framing, Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative, Ames Tile & Stone, Australian High Commission, The Hamber Foundation, Port of Vancouver North Shore Waterfront Liaison Committee and our other generous supporters and donors.

The volunteer team that continues to work to develop the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency consists of Glenn Alteen, Program Director of grunt gallery, Barbara Cole, Director of Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, and Esther Rausenberg, Co-artistic Director of Creative Cultural Collaborations.

Join our Blue Cabin Newsletter list here. 

Please consider donating to the Blue Cabin project. Your support is important in achieving our mission.

Photo courtesy of Michael Jackson, PM Volunteers

Representing the last vestiges of a cultural tradition of artists and others living in squatters’ shacks along the foreshores of this region’s waterways, Al Neil and Carole Itter’s Blue Cabin was one of many structures that dotted the shores of Indian Arm.

Recently, the land adjacent to the cabin, MacKenzie Barge and Shipbuilding, was sold to Polygon Homes for redevelopment. Under their agreement with Port Metro, Polygon must remediate the foreshore, including the small cove the Blue Cabin was nestled within. To avoid demolition, the cabin was moved 5 kilometres west to a secure storage lot for repair and remediation.

Along with Other Sights for Artists’ Projects and Creative Cultural Collaborations, grunt gallery has a vision to save the cabin and continue its use as an artist residency on the waterways of the Lower Mainland. The following documents were produced in consultation with a number of stakeholders in the community to aid in planning and solicit support for the Blue Cabin’s future.

Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency: Preliminary Feasibility Report by Barbara Cole, Cole Projects

A Plan for the Conservation and Re-use of the Blue Cabin by Harold Kalman with Andrew Todd Conservators Ltd.

Blue Cabin Partner Information and Bios

Blue Cabin Project Support Letters

Jeremy Borsos on the Blue Cabin remediation, October 3, 2017 at 7 pm at the Seymour Art Gallery.

(more…)

As of  Friday May 29th 2020, grunt gallery’s founder Glenn Alteen, who served as the gallery’s Program Director for 37 years, has retired. The staff and board of grunt are incredibly grateful for the energy, ingenuity and spirit Alteen has given grunt since the very beginning; he has fostered an extraordinary community of artists, curators, and cultural workers that extends from Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood across Canada and internationally.

Since grunt’s inception in 1984, Alteen has recognized the value in platforming diverse voices and supporting artists through their creative processes, and has been committed to providing resources for artists to exhibit work that might otherwise go unrecognized. His boundless generosity and bold approach has been instrumental in building the vitality of the gallery and relationships with many exceptional artists and curators, including Rebecca Belmore, Dana Claxton, Margaret Dragu, Aiyyana Maracle, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Carole Itter, Adrian Stimson, Tania Willard, and Tarah Hogue. Throughout his career, Alteen has pushed boundaries with projects such as Queer City (1993), An Indian Act: Shooting the Indian Act (1997) by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, and the co-founding of LIVE Biennial of Performance Art in 1999. Showing no signs of slowing down, in 2019 Alteen and grunt launched three of their most ambitious projects to date: Wordless: The Performance Art of Rebecca Belmore, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency, and the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen.

His connections to artists is truly unique, and his commitment to long-term creative relationships has built a community around grunt that spans generations, cultural communities and disciplinary boundaries. Dana Claxton recalls:

“I think I first met Glenn at the Pitt Gallery on Water Street in the late 1980s. Early on in the realm of programming NDN’ art work, he was committed, supportive, made enormous space and provided guidance in a way, he may not even be aware of the guidance he gave. Our early morning talks for many years, as he would dream up projects…he makes ideas become concrete. And it was never about him, but always what can happen for other people.”

Alteen has championed intuitive, organic and artist-driven creation, while simultaneously ensuring the continued growth and stability of grunt itself. By developing grunt’s programming archive, securing a permanent space for the gallery and the creation of an endowment fund, Alteen has cemented the longevity of grunt and contributed to the sustainability of artist-driven culture in Vancouver. He was awarded the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2018 for his decades of exceptional contributions to the arts in Canada. Glenn Alteen has been a visionary for grunt gallery and Vancouver’s visual arts communities, and has left an enduring mark on the ways we work through, with and around art.

His unique perspective will carry forward into grunt’s future, and will continue to shape the organization. Incoming Program Director Vanessa Kwan, who has shared the role with him since last June, says:

“In so many ways, Glenn embodies what we hope for in a more compassionate art community. His leadership has taught so many of us about the importance of both resistance and care. His work proposes something no less than a revolution in how we understand a successful (dare I say legendary?) career in the arts: that ambition can be expressed as generosity, and that capital–cultural, financial and otherwise–is best shared widely rather than being kept to oneself.”

As grunt honours Alteen’s remarkable career and contributions to the art community, we are also proud to announce the re-naming of our endowment to the Glenn Alteen Legacy Fund, and we invite you to contribute to the future of the organization, and the furthering of its unique vision. More information can be found here.

Thank you so much, Glenn, for your audacity, persistence, disgruntlement and care.

Photo: Portrait of Glenn Alteen by Henri Robideau, Jaunary 1987.

grunt gallery’s Succession Plan for the transition of Program Directors

Program Director Glenn Alteen has worked with grunt since its inception in 1984 and in May of 2020 will retire after 36 years in the position. In early 2018 the board and staff of the gallery began activating our Succession Plan designed to provide as little disruption to the organization as possible during the transition of Program Directors. Our informed and active Succession Committee consisting of current and former board members and staff were tasked with addressing hiring in relation to leadership succession. After extensive work, the Committee has unrolled a timeline and hiring process for the transition. The Committee continues to refine this process on an ongoing basis and will address any succession planning issues as they arise.

A year-long transition period is being planned for the new Program Director in order to provide a seamless changeover and to download grunt’s programming and funding processes and allow for introductions to long-term artists, supporters and funders. grunt incorporated a Management Transition Reserve Fund into annual budgets since 2016 to facilitate this transition.

Formed in 1984, grunt gallery has built a reputation on innovative and dynamic programming: exhibitions, performances, artist talks, publications and special projects that showcase work by contemporary Canadian and international artists. grunt focuses on work and artists that would otherwise not be seen in Vancouver. We are proud of our ability to act as an intersection between various cultural groups based on aesthetics, medium or identity. With emerging programs such as the Blue Cabin Residency and the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen grunt is expanding and developing its range, providing artists with new and exciting opportunities and audiences with unique and important experiences.

The Program Director job call will be released on Friday, January 18, 2019. You can access information from grunt gallery’s website grunt.ca and follow grunt gallery news through our monthly newsletter and social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Contact Us:

Meagan Kus , Director of Operations

email: meagan at grunt dot ca
phone: #604-875-9516

CURRENT PROJECTS:

Mount Pleasant Community Arts Screen
grunt gallery’s new Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen (MPCAS) is an outdoor 4×7 metre LED screen featuring art-only content by and for the Mount Pleasant community, located at Kingsway & Broadway in Vancouver on the east side of the Independent building. The MPCAS was launched December 5th, 2019.

The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency
In 2015, two celebrated Canadian artists, the late Al Neil and his partner, Carole Itter, were evicted from their studio home, a small cabin that had been sitting in a secluded cove on the Tsleil-Waututh territory foreshore near Cates Park since 1932. Over the course of 4 years, a consortium of arts organizations came together to save the cabin and transform it into The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency. The Blue Cabin floated into Vancouver’s False Creek in the summer of 2019. In fall 2019, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency launched Skeins: Weaving on the Foreshore, the inaugural program of artist residencies, open houses, talks and workshops. Situated in the unceded lands and waters of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the Blue Cabin is international in scope but deeply rooted in the histories and narratives of this place, offering a unique opportunity to learn, explore and engage with the foreshore.

Wordless – The Performance Art of Rebecca Belmore
A beautiful new print publication examining the performance work of Canadian artist Rebecca Belmore, that brings together documentation of Belmore’s 30-year career, as well as generating a series of new work based on her past performance. This project feeds into grunt’s long-term interest in performance art, archives and support of Rebecca Belmore’s work. This project also included an exhibition of new photographs by Belmore, nindinawemaganidog (all of my relations), and the re-deisgn of Belmore’s website. Wordless: The Performance Art of Rebecca Belmore is now available via our online bookstore.

Spark: Fireside Artist Talk Series
January 2016 – Present
A series of informal artist talks hosted by the Native Education College (NEC) in partnership with grunt gallery.  These informal talks feature Indigenous artists whose work spans media from the two-dimensional to live performance and beyond.  Their works fuse traditional cultural knowledge with contemporary art forms, pose urgent political questions, and push the boundaries of how we think about art, history and culture more broadly.  Join us over the lunch hour to be inspired by these artists in the NEC’s longhouse!

Digital Stories
For Fall 2019, grunt gallery and EastVan Digital Stories join forces once again with Mount Pleasant and Vancouver residents who wish to create short videos around the theme of PLACE. Artists Lorna Boschman and Sebnem Ozpeta will host a series of six, free, weekly workshops at grunt gallery that walk participants through the process of digital story making!

Recollective: Vancouver Independent Archives Week
Multiple events take place from November 1-13, 2018 as a series of free public events, panels, conversations, and screenings that highlight artist-run centre archives, artists working with archives, and the intersections between contemporary art practices and social movements in Vancouver. Recollective is presented in partnership with Western Front, 221A, VIVO Media Arts, The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Artspeak, and Rungh Magazine. This series is the first part of a robust two-year program that will include presentations from international contexts to take place throughout 2019. All presentation documentation and accompanying critical responses by writers, artists, activists, and others will be published on archivesweek.ca as a research resource for wider and remote audiences.

PAST PROJECTS:

2019

Particles: Seoul to Vancouver
Particles continues grunt’s partnership with organizations and artists in Seoul, South Korea. This international program began in Seoul in 2018 with Instant Coffee’s project Pink Noise Pop Up and continues with an artist residency, an exhibition and a curatorial tour in Vancouver this May. Event information is below.

Together Apart 
Together Apart was envisioned as a way of making and holding space for 2SQ/Indigiqueer folks to come together and to be in dialogue with one another so that we might centre the conversations we’d like to hear or that we feel have been absent in our communities. However, our intentions were also simple: to celebrate and enjoy one another’s creativity and dedication to our practices, and to recognize one another in such a way that speaks across the distances we experience in our living and movement through our worlds.

2018

Pink Noise Pop Up
March – April 2018
A series of events that expands the relationship between the arts communities in Vancouver and Seoul, Pink Noise Pop Up seeks to highlight the ways that art interacts with the often complex social and economic conditions of the city. Based in the work of Canadian arts collective Instant Coffee, this exhibition includes installations, artist editions, performances and other collaborations that will take place in South Korea.

The Making of An Archive
Summer 2017 – Spring 2018
Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn’s project, The Making of an Archive, seeks to collect images of everyday life photographed by Canadian immigrants, in a direct, collective and exploratory approach.

2017

Journey to Kaho’olawe
May 25 – 30, 2017
Journey to Kaho’olawe is an artist publication by Hans Winkler and T’uy’t-tanat Cease Wyss. The book is the result of a four year process centred on the Hawaiian Island of Kaho’olawe, a sacred site to the Hawaiians in recovery after being occupied as a practice range by the American military. Returned to the Hawaiians in the 1990s, the island is being remediated and returned to its natural state. In conjunction with the launch of the publication grunt gallery and the artists present a week long series of events celebrating Kaho’olawe and the Kanaka presence in BC.

Spring Fever: Vancouver Independent Archives 2017
March 18 – April 8, 2017
This spring season, Vancouver Independent Archives will offer a series of free public talks, screenings and community workshops that foreground local art and art history by drawing on the archives of Vancouver’s independent arts community. Building on the success of Vancouver Independent Archives Week 2015, Spring Fever invites new partner artists, scholars, and organizations to share their approach toward and practice within the archive.

Intertextual
What’s At Stake? Intertextual Indigenous Knowledges is an afternoon of talks, panels and a spoken word performance which examines knowledge, power, authority, and sovereignty in the construction of artistic practices. The event follows from Intertextual: Art in Dialogue, a roving reading group that was held at participating galleries over the last year.

2016

Shako Club
A series of workshops in the Tonari Gumi kitchen and studio space around concepts of wellness, care and food where culinary “sculptures” were constructed, incorporating aspects of stories, ideas and wellness philosophies. By artist Cindy Mochizuki and members from Tonari Gumi.

Past and Presence: NEC Mural Project
The Native Education College and grunt gallery are partnering with Vancouver-based First Nations artists Corey Bulpitt, Sharifah Marsden and Jerry Whitehead to create a mural celebrating NEC’s 30 years in Mount Pleasant.

Cutting Copper: Indigenous Resurgent Practice
A collaborative project between grunt gallery and the Belkin Art Gallery, aiming to bring together a cross-disciplinary group of artists, curators, writers, educators, scholars, students, and activists to explore the embodied theory of Indigenous resurgence and cultural representation – both from the perspectives of their own disciplines and one another’s.

2015

Terminus: Archives, Ephemera, and Electronic Art
This workshop was a part of the 2015 International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA).  Organized by the Ethnographic Terminalia Collective in collaboration with Tarah Hogue and Glenn Alteen.

FutureLoss
Space, on Main Street and in Vancouver, is currency, and artist Zoe Kreye’s practice reaches through the overarching narratives of real estate, gentrification and speculation to consider the poetics of an individual’s connection to place.

2014

MAINSTREETERS: Taking Advantage, 1972–1982
The history of a gang of Vancouver artists who lived and worked together in drama, excess, friendship and grief.

30th Anniversary
Thirty years is a long time.  A retrospective of all that is (and was) grunt gallery.

Play, Fall, Rest, Dance
The artist works with children with disabilities to emphasize the state of making and being, the pursuit of uninhibited creative exploration that is void of rules, structures and concepts of ‘right or wrong’ and ‘perfection vs. mistakes’. Children are enabled with artistic autonomy and the artist thoughtfully guides them to explore their creative processes.  By artist Valerie Salez.

gruntCraft
A youth engagement pilot program developed to bridge the creative work being done by youth in the popular online video game Minecraft and artistic inquiry at grunt gallery.

2013

ThisPlace Vancouver
Rethinking ideas about Vancouver’s identity and history, this project attempted to compile a collaborative archive in order to expand the collective awareness of the city’s narratives.

2009

Vancouver Art in the Sixties: Ruins in Process
A digital archive of artwork, ephemera, and film.

2008

Nikamon Ohci Askiy (songs because of the land)
In December 2008, artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle made daily journeys throughout Vancouver and “sung” the landscape she encountered.

Beat Nation
Hip Hop as Indigenous culture.

The Medicine Project
Aboriginal notions of medicine and how they influence the lives of First Nations people and artists today.

2006

First Vision
Two worlds – curated by Tania Willard.

2005 – 2009

Brunt Magazine
Showcasing the artists exhibited at grunt gallery, brunt magazine is a complement to the exhibitions and a closer look at the artists, their processes, and the ideas that inspire their work.