You’re invited to grunt gallery on Thursday, August 28th for a cake-cutting event that will kick off grunt’s year-long 30th Anniversary celebrations!

The event will take place from 6:30-8:30pm at grunt gallery and in the adjoining Amenity Space. We will cut the cake at 7:15pm.

Please join us for a slice of cake and a glass of wine or iced tea. We will have refreshments for children and the party is dog friendly. Stop by to check out a slideshow of past and present art exhibitions; meet our board and staff; or take a break to socialize with your neighbors.

Artist Sola Fiedler will have her Vancouver tapestry on view in the Amenity Space. Sola produced this work in her studio at Main Space over the past few years. This monumental work is truly spectacular and representative of the important work that happens regularly in our building.

Whether you’re an old friend of grunt or a new one, we want to celebrate this momentous time with you.

There is no need to RSVP. Come one, come all, and invite your friends.

We hope to see you on August 28^th as we raise a glass to 30 years of supporting Vancouver’s artist communities!

Discussing urban development with grunt’s Glenn Alteen

[Published by VANDOCUMENT]

Words by Brit Bachmann + Edits by Christopher Millin + Photos by Alisha Weng

Last month Western Front, grunt gallery, Arts Factory, VIVO and C-Space were awarded a combined $4.5 million in the form of CACs, or Community Amenities Contributions. This money was part of $6 million donated to the City of Vancouver by Rize Alliance Properties in exchange for zoning permits for their development on the corner of Broadway and Kingsway.

The amenities contributions will help fund new programming and development for these established arts organizations in Mount Pleasant. The CAC has been met with mixed responses, however. While $4.5million is a substantial chunk of money to the average person, certain organizations argue that it is not enough money to kickstart a cultural revival against the gentrification that is occurring in the neighbourhood, especially with the inflating costs of living and operations.

VANDOCUMENT will be interviewing representatives from each arts organization awarded CAC to hear their individual perspectives on arts funding and urban development. We previously publishedan interview with Elia Kirby, and this week we talk to Glenn Alteen of grunt gallery.

x

Until the mid 90′s, Mount Pleasant was a low-income area of Vancouver. The affordability of live/work spaces attracted artist-runs operating on minimal funding. Organizations such as grunt gallery acted as drop-in centres for the neighbourhood. These galleries helped establish community identity by providing exhibition space to emerging and established artists alike.

CAC Party at grunt gallery July 10th, photographed by Alisha Weng

grunt gallery opened in 1984 in a storefront now occupied by The Whip on East 6th Ave. Back then, its programming focused on promoting local artists and ‘outsider art.’ grunt has expanded its reach since then. Its mandate is to provide artists with resources to further their practices, with an emphasis on community engagement. Glenn Alteen was one of the founding members of grunt. Since 1990, he has acted as Director.

(…Continue reading this article at VANDOCUMENT)

We’ve received a few postcards sent to us by grunt volunteers and staff who are travelling this summer.

Isabelle is the dedicated sculpture / assembler of the Grunt group.

She loves colour, shape, pattern and texture.

She has a hard time with figuring out what to do.

I asked her to choose a few items…spontaneously.

Then we hung out on the floor and simply played with the materials.

Eventually a tower rose out of the chaos.

This was a brave balancing act that Isabelle carefully pursued .

She never gave up or got frustrated.

This is an amazing  8 foot tower that when looked at in person is totally a psychedelic optical mind game.

Read more here

Deshik does not have any pets.

Yet all he talks about and draws are animals and birds.

I promised I would bring my dog (Negrita) to the gallery so Deshik could meet her.

Upon meeting the dog Deshik spent the first 20 minutes running in a circle around her.

Then he spent a full hour examining Negritas fur, teeth, nose, inside of ears, etc.

Negrita is infinitely patient and gentle.

She is so mellow that she would often lay her head down amidst poking and prodding.

When this happened Deshik would ask “Is she dead now?”

Deshik started to get objects from the materials room and test them out on Negrita.

Basically this was the art process / project of the day.

I just let it unfold.

My favorite…..a bone balanced on dogs head.

Then he wanted to feed her.

I brought him half a carton of milk.

Deshik grabbed it and poured it directly on the gallery floor.

Fascinated, Deshik watched Negrita gently lap up the spilt milk.

He observed that as she licked away the white liquid  “…….It makes a moving drawing!”

For the last hour Deshik gets to drawing directly on the wall.

He draws animals. He draws quickly and with full assurance in his sweeping lines.

The whole while he talks about Negrita and his observations.

Mostly he repeated that Negrita was “…..so unusual cause she’s got a mane like a lion and fluffer ears.”

grunt gallery is excited to announce a new youth arts engagement project entitled, gruntCraft

The project uses the popular computer game Minecraft as a tool and studio to create new and incredible structures in a virtual world. Youth participants will be mentored by professional artists to explore their creative processes and discover new ways to approach art making through a collaborative, online, video game environment.

Follow the development of the virtual studio by subscribing to gruntCraft’s YouTube site. As part of the studio program, youth studio members (aged 11-18) will have access to professional artists feedback and mentorship, 3D printing workshops, and opportunities to participate in studio open houses at grunt gallery.

gruntCraft will occur from July to December 2014 and is led by artist and project manager, Demian Petryshyn. Please visit gruntcraft.ca for more information and project updates.

We’re on the lookout for youth participants and volunteers.

Feel free to check out the studio server at: 50.23.129.103. If you are interested in becoming a youth studio member (aged 11-18) or would like to get involved as a volunteer, please contact Demian at gruntcraftvancouver@gmail.com or visit gruntcraft.ca for more info (coming soon).

Amelie was the first and only participant to use the tall ladder.

Being an accomplished gymnast might be why she has no fear of heights.

Amelie has an extremely shy disposition yet there is a fierce strength to her.

Her style was fragile yet focused and determined.

Besides using paint she made a few deep red chalk lines with a plumb line.

At one point she looked at her hands intensely and seemed concerned.

Amelie thought they were bleeding.

I check it out and we concluded it was red chalk dust.

She looked up at the wall, smiled and whispered “The wall is bleeding.”

Amelie is termed  ‘medically complex’.

‘Medically Complex’  is a term used for babies born with a rare and undefinable disorder.

Multiple life threatening illnesses will seriously affect the person in undetermined ways.

8 to 10 years ago medicine and medical procedures were not able to keep medically complex babies alive.

Amelie’s heart is severely affected as well as her white blood cell count.

She has had numerous open heart surgeries since birth and catches phenomena regularly.

Yet she has defeated doctors prognosis’s of having completely flaccid muscular structure by 8 years old.

She is 9 and ripped!

Play, Fall, Rest, Dance is an exhibition project by Valerie Salez. The artist works with children with disabilities to help them explore the creative process of installation making. The exhibition runs from June 3 to July 5, 2014. The public is welcome to visit grunt gallery to see the installations that will continuously change and evolve over the course of the project.

Read more here.

BY JEFF LEE, VANCOUVER SUN JUNE 5, 2014

VANCOUVER — City hall is bringing some relief to Vancouver’s embattled arts community, which has for years complained about a lack of stable accommodation, with a $5-million commitment to help groups find, buy or rent their own space.

Most of the money — $4.5 million — is coming from community amenity contributions the city collected from a developer in return for approving the controversial Rize Alliance tower in Mount Pleasant. Those funds will help four groups — Western Front, grunt gallery, Arts Factory and a combination of VIVO Media Arts and C-Space, to buy or rent their own space.

The city is also putting up one-third of a $900,000 seed fund to the Toronto Artscape group create a B.C. affiliate that will emulate its successful endeavours to find workspace and sometimes living space for artists. The $300,000 in Artscape money, coming from the city’s Innovation Fund, is contingent upon matching dollars from the Vancity Community Foundation and the McConnell Foundation.

In a report going to council Wednesday, city staff say the funding from the Rize development will help stabilize arts groups in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, one of the city’s “artistic hubs.” They note that over 50 cultural non-profits operate in the neighbourhood, but they face increased pressure from urban redevelopment.

Under the proposal, the city will give out $2.2 million to Western Front, grunt gallery and Arts Factory to secure or enhance their existing facilities. Of that, Western Front gets $1.5 million, grunt gallery $400,000 and Arts Factory $300,000…

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Vancouver+invests+stable+space+arts+groups/9911840/story.html#ixzz33ryaFoCf

THURSDAY MAY 29

grunt gallery announces the official launch of the Background / ThisPlace website.

Background / ThisPlace is a collaborative project that revisits a conceptual project created by Michael de Courcy in 1972, entitled Background/Vancouver. Forty years later, artists Emilio Rojas, Guadalupe Martinez, and Igor Santizointersect the original project with new ideas regarding identity, history, and social intervention.

Join us at grunt gallery for the launch reception, the newly created website will be accessible in the gruntKitchen Media Lab. Artist Eric Angus will be presenting his new live audiovisual performance 49.2500° N, 123.1000° W built around audiovisual documentation from across the greater vancouver area.

thisplace.grunt.ca/

1) [Vancouver] If you didn’t get a chance to stop by grunt gallery for the exhibition “10 Years of State of Emergency” then fear not. You can still check out the co-exhibition over at Gallery Gachet which runs until Sunday May 25.

Catch up with ATSA on this interview written by Maria Fedorove and Gizem Sozen.

2) [Vancouver] Last week, grunt gallery had a get-together to introduce new staff-members and volunteers. Robert Chaplin stopped by and told us about his exhibition that opened last week, About Time. It’s at the Unit/Pitt gallery until June 28.

3) [Vancouver] Claiming Spaces: Voices of Urban Aboriginal Youth is opening at the Museum of Anthropology on June 1, 2014. The show includes work by a number of indigenous youth artists, it’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on some of these up-and-coming youth artists. The show is curated by Pam Brown and curatorial assisted by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. The opening reception has an incredible line-up of musicians and DJs including Skookum Sound System, check it out here.

http://moa.ubc.ca/experience/exhibit_details.php?id=1335

4) [Vancouver] We’re pretty amazed by the work produced for the Year of Reconciliation project. Many will recognize Sonny Assu’s graphic style on bus shelter posters around the city. But perhaps you’re not as familiar with Gabrielle Hill’s work, she’s involved with a project that includes Tania Willard and Peter Morin. We’re also looking forward to getting downtown to see Krista Belle Stewart’s, Her Story.

5) [Toronto] And to wrap it up, we truly wish we were in Toronto for Rebecca Belmore‘s solo exhibition, Kwe. Did you see it? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

Read this recent interview with Rebecca by The Star.
Listen to Rebecca Belmore interviewed on Q CBC.