Eraser Street – Hubris, Humility and Humanity in the Making of a City! is an exhibition that mixes Robideau’s newest and oldest photographs of moments, milestones and monuments in Vancouver, tracing the character of the city and its residents during the last 40 years of non-stop growth. The work reflects upon the quality of life in Vancouver, the value of heritage, the economic engine of development, homelessness and the voice of the people. Robideau’s holographic satirical text charts history while critiquing the forces of government and commerce that have had a hand in shaping our urban environment.

Handmade black and white gelatin silver photographs are juxtaposed with computer mediated digital inkjet prints, reinforcing the flux of change experienced in these images. Robideau’s narrative embraces a lament for what has been lost, a celebration for what has survived, and an admonition for the future of a city still in its infancy.

Join us on Thursday April 9 from 7pm – 10pm for the opening reception of Eraser Street. There will be a forthcoming publication with an essay written by Clint Burnham. The exhibition runs from April 9 to May 16, 2015.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

An Evening in the Archive with Henri Robideau: A fundraiser for the grunt Archive
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Drinks at 6:30 pm, Dinner at 7:30 pm | Ticket Info:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-in-the-archive-with-henri-robideau-tickets-16293120161

Roundtable on Housing and photography in Vancouver: Henri Robideau
Saturday, May 9, 2015  (1–4pm) at grunt gallery. | FULL EVENT INFO.
facilitated by Clint Burnham

Audrey Siegl
Wendy Pedersen
Lorna Brown
Eugene McCann
Jeff Derksen
Henri Robideau
Clint Burnham

Press Clippings:

Georgia Straight | Henri Robideau’s Eraser Street tackles displacement

grunt gallery gratefully acknowledges support from the Hamber Foundation towards this exhibition and catalogue. The artist would like to thank CUPE 15 for supporting the production of the Solidarity Era series. An additional thanks to the BC Arts Council for the project funding making this exhibition possible.

Artist Bio:

Henri Robideau is a photographer and cultural narrator. His life in photography spans nearly five decades – the medium providing both his profession and his means of artistic expression. He is best known for The Pancanadienne Gianthropological Survey, a two-decade record of eccentric Canadian landmarks; Flapjacks & Photographs, the biography of early British Columbia photographer Mattie Gunterman; and 500 Fun Years, the story of colonialism. Panoramic image collages, holographic text and narrative sequences are the hallmarks of his work, which has been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally. Since 1979, he has taught photography in half a dozen Canadian universities and is currently a sessional instructor at Emily Carr University. For the past twenty years his large format photographic skills have been in demand by Canada’s leading artists, whom he has assisted in the production of their work. He is currently exploring digital colour technology, alternative means of perpetual photographic presentation and writing anecdotal stories about the ironic tragedy of human existence.

After a 30-year hiatus, the legendary Mainstreeters Dragball that transformed Mt. Pleasant is back, featuring Vancouver’s best drag queens, DJs, performers, and Vera Wong as the outrageous Mistress of Ceremonies. Co-presented by The Grunt Gallery.

The Mainstreeters
From 1977 to 1985, the Mainstreeters’ Dragballs began as intimate studio events, developing into elaborate art parties with spectacular décor, performances, and DJs. Shaping an important chapter in Vancouver’s history, the Mainstreeters were an “art gang” of East Van rebels who were fearlessly open about their work, sexualities, and lifestyles, helping to build a Warhol Factory-like scene that still resonates today. This month’s dragball will be a showstopping night of old and new-school gender-bending drag queens, kings, and everything in between. There will be special performances, homages, and awards for Best in Drag—the perfect opportunity to finally express your “other” self and take it to the next level
takingadvantage.ca

House rules: Come in drag, or not at all! Bring out your creative best.

Performers: Vera Wang, Maria Toilette, Badkitty Lulu, Dairy Queens, Edward Malaprop, Jane Smoker, and Berlin Stiller.
DJs: HEAVEN record-spinners Trevor Risk & Patrick Campbell.
Visuals by: Paul Wong and Patrick Daggitt.

This event is part of Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage, on view at the Satellite Gallery until Mar 14, 2015.

Saturday, March 7th.
Fox Cabaret
2321 Main St.
10:30pm-2:00am

Tickets available through Eventbrite.

grunt gallery decided to take a field trip to Cate’s Cove to visit Al Neil and Carole Itter’s cabin. Other than Glenn, most of the staff had never visited the little shack located off the water. We first stopped at the bird sanctuary where Ken Lum’s from shangri-la to shangri-la is installed, despite the woods dwarfing the size of the shacks, they are bigger than one might think. By the way, one of these shacks reference Tom Burrows old cabin, he currently has an exhibition at the Belkin.

We then continued up the road to Cate’s Park where Glenn Alteen guided us down a little known path towards the cabin.

Considering all of the media attention the cabin has received recently and the efforts from Glenn and the gang at grunt to help increase much needed attention about this amazing piece of history, it was really important for all of the staff to actually visit the site and get a feeling of what that area was all about.

This is a sort of evolving sculpture, apparently when the King Tide occurred in December, the water rose to the platform of the cabin but luckily pieces from this work remained intact.

The cabin is a single room and it’s heated by a wood stove, it’s entirely made of wood and includes a small kitchen, a living room area, a piano and a bedroom space at the far end.

If you want to keep up with what’s happening with the cabin, ‘like’ the Facebook page here.

This is a big year for grunt gallery and we’ve got a lot brewing. This September, we’re celebrating our 30th anniversary. Raise a glass and take a moment with us to celebrate what we’ve accomplished.

There’s a lot to celebrate! Thirty years is a long time and it’s time to proudly commemorate the institution we’ve become over these last three decades. Yeah, we said institution. Becoming what we are today did not come easy. It happened over many cups of coffee and numerous bottles of beer. Our vision continues by the generous input and support from people like you.

We’ve found our place, we know we belong here and we couldn’t have done it without the friendship and support of the communities around us. When grunt was founded in the 1980s, we found our footing through the support of the artist communities. In the 1990s, these same artists backed us up when we purchased our facility. Fast-forward a decade and some, our endowment and support from our communities has positioned us for long-term sustainability. Throughout it all, grunt continues to serve artists, and strives to exhibit exciting, provocative and compelling work. We are dedicated to reaching out to our audiences through our physical space or through online media, connecting with audiences near and far. grunt gallery is here to stay and we’re looking forward to a big future.

This year, we’re proud to host a series of events and projects relating to our 30th anniversary. Some of these include: An eBook anthology that republishes 30 texts from our past; The release of performance videos from our archive, curated by Alex Pimm; A series of interventions curated by our Curator of Community Engagement, artist Vanessa Kwan. Which includes a new commission to bring back our “kitchen” in grunt’s media lab using digital media; And, of course, a giant bash of a birthday party!

We hope to see you sometime over the next year at one of our various 30th anniversary events. Whether you’re new to grunt or an old friend, we look forward to catching up with you over a coffee or a beer.

About the 30th
Curatorial Statement
30th Events
Social Objects
Donate
Thank You

You can show your support to grunt gallery by donating online. Or, you can write us a cheque to ‘Unit 306 Society’. All donations will receive a tax receipt.

grunt gallery presents Crossed, an exhibition by artist Ahmad Tabrizi and curated by Makiko Hara. This multi-media exhibition creates a sense of portraiture compiled of Farsi script, piles of dressmaking pins, and glimpses of the artist himself – both visually and through audio.

Exhibition Location: Satellite Gallery (560 Seymour, 2nd Floor, Vancouver, BC)

Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage, 1972-1982 is an exhibition, website and publication that takes a close look at a self-identified collective of socially and artistically motivated men and women who came of age on Vancouver’s Main Street—once the dividing line between a predominantly Anglo middle-class west side and a multicultural working-class east side. The exhibition at Satellite Gallery contributes to the larger project of bringing to light an under-recognized chapter of Vancouver art history.

The Mainstreeters—Kenneth Fletcher, Deborah Fong, Carol Hackett, Marlene MacGregor, Annastacia McDonald, Charles Rea, Jeanette Reinhardt and Paul Wong—were an “art gang” who took advantage of the times, a new medium (video), and each other. Emerging from the end-stage hippie era, the gang drew from glam, punk and a thriving gay scene to become an important node in the local art scene. Their activities connect the influential interdisciplinary salon of Roy Kiyooka in the early 1960s with the collective-oriented social practices that emerged worldwide in the early years of the 21st century.

Like the current “digital natives” generation, the Mainstreeters were the first generation to grow up with video cameras. The resulting documents bring into focus a decade of their lives, including forays into sex, love, drugs and art.

Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage, 1972-1982 is curated by Allison Collins and Michael Turner and is a coproduction of grunt gallery and Presentation House Gallery. The exhibition is presented by Satellite Gallery. Mainstreeters launched with the December 2nd release of a video documentary chronicling the lives of the group. On January 8th the exhibition opens at Satellite Gallery along with the launch of the website, featuring selected images, videos and texts. Throughout the exhibition, Mainstreeter videos will be presented in storefronts along Main Street, and the project will be complemented by a publication featuring photographs and documents to be released in summer 2015.

Website: http://takingadvantage.ca/

Video: Watch the Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage, 1972-1982 documentary featuring footage from the Mainstreeters’ archives and new interviews with a number of the Mainstreeter artists. vimeo.com/gruntgallery/takingadvantage

Video Direction, Editing and Production: Krista Lomax

Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage 1972-1982 | Full Video from grunt gallery on Vimeo.

Press Clippings:

Remembering Mainstreeters | Georgia Straight

Main Street ‘art gang’ remembered | The Westender

The Mainstreeters straddled Vancouver’s great divide, quietly | The Vancouver Sun

Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage, 1972-1982 explores important chapter in Vancouver’s art history | BeatRoute

Part 1: “Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage 1972-1982” curated by Allison Collins and Michael Turner | Vancouver Art Review

Exhibition Event Details:

Opening Reception: A free courtesy bus will take visitors from the opening reception of Mainstreeters: Taking Advantage, 1972-1982 at Satellite Gallery to the opening reception of Tom Burrows at the Belkin Art Gallery (UBC) on Thursday, January 8. The bus will depart Satellite Gallery for the Belkin at 8:30 pm and return downtown at 9:45 pm. | Visit Satellite Gallery’s website.

During the exhibition, Main Street Tapes will be show in storefronts along Main Street, including:
Eugene Choo, 3683 Main Street
Smoking Lily, 3634 Main Street
Lifetime Collective, 4386 Main Street

Performance of Kenneth Fletcher’s Camp Potlatch
Directed by Paul Wong
Thursday January 22 at 8pm
At Satellite Gallery.

Exhibition Tour and Conversation with Allison Collins and Michael Turner
Saturday, January 31 at 2pm
At Satellite Gallery.

Main Street Walking Tour with Paul Wong and Annastacia McDonald
Saturday, February 21 at 2pm
Meeting point: Helen’s Grill, 4102 Main Street

Drag Ball
Saturday, March 7
Location: Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main Street

PART 2

Recordings

There’s two stories I want to tell, or rather, steal.

In both cases, the mind wanders to what might have been. Let me explain:

Hillary Wood, a founding member of grunt, told me this. It was the old days, before grunt owned a space, or had regular funding. There were openings every 2 weeks, and on any given night you might find the kitchen crammed full of artists and friends, drinking late and talking loud. On this particular night, the exhibiting artist had brought her cat to the opening (as you do), an act that precipitated the toppling and subsequent jail break of a terrarium housing 2 black scorpions, which belonged to the upstairs loft tenant. One scorpion was recaptured immediately, but the other remained missing. “[T]he kitchen was packed, as usual. As there were gaps between many of the loft’s floorboards, and some larger holes where bits of the floor had broken, we spent the rest of the evening imagining the worst – that the scorpion would tumble down on someone’s head, or fall down their shirt. Or even worse, into their glass of wine! That would have been a fine panic. The party proceeded without incident, however, and the scorpion was found about a week later hiding under a carpet.”[1]

Sometimes I like to think of the way things might have been, existing, wonky twin-like, alongside the way things are. Time is a bit more elastic in this version of history and so I ask you to consider, for a moment, a scorpion in your drink.

Julia Feyrer wrote: “Half an hour after the show is over, a random viewer is staring into her refrigerator, vaguely bemused by the fact that her six-pack of beer has somehow become a two-pack of beer. Rather than work out how this might have happened, it occurs to her to wonder how in the hell the kitchen took 30 years to turn into a sculpture.”[2]

This is where things get really elastic. How do 30 years of history, exhibitions, performances, interactions, parties, arguments, meals, fundraisers and sundries make their way into a sculpture? (Hint: they don’t, not really.) But somewhere between the six-pack and the two-pack the sculpture got made, and this gallery flourished, and here all of us are.

If we are in the business of imagining, then let’s imagine that Kitchen uses time as sculptural material.  That time, like plaster, can be spread out and coaxed into new configurations, played out in the space of both perception and an exhibition. Feyrer interprets what is recorded (and what falls through cracks), making surfaces and shapes anew.

– Vanessa Kwan, November 20th, 2014

This is the second of three texts, to be released over the course of the exhibition.

Julia Feyrer: Kitchen
November 1 – December 19, 2014

For events information and updates, please visit grunt.ca

[grunt had]… an embryonic beginning that was a toss-up. It could have ended several times, but the people who believed in it stuck around. There was always a coffee pot going (and a kettle for tea) to converse over, whether supportive or argumentative. The people were a diverse lot with a multitude of practices. There were musicians (jazz to folk to Cage), writers (Haikus to great epics), visual artists (from drawing and painting etc., to performance art, video and theatre); it wasn’t New York or Paris but just grunt. In its own way, for the community, more important. A safe place that accepted and cross- pollinated a great diversity of creative thought and people.
– Merle Addison, grunt founding member

The show that you’re standing in is part of a larger conversation. At the time of writing I can see a white fridge, a non- working stove, a set of second-hand Ikea cabinets, a pile of 2x4s, an old coffee maker, an arborite table, a chop saw. It is as yet unresolved—and will continue to evolve throughout the run of the exhibition, building in dimension and playing host to events, discussions and small gatherings.

The artist – Julia Feyrer – has been working in the archive for months now, pulling images and ideas out of binders and cupboards, watching videos and running slides. Central to her research has been images of the grunt kitchen, often mined from the background of documentation of openings, fundraisers and board meetings of years past. Faces, overexposed from a 90s-era flashbulb, laughing/ smiling/ smoking/ drinking in the grunt kitchen. Like so many archival investigations, this one is about filling in blanks—pulling information from the literal backgrounds of the collection.

…Read the entire text here.

PDF Download | Part 1 – History creeps: the grunt kitchen and Julia Feyrer

Exhibition info.

Sponsorship & Partnership:

Interested in sponsorship? Email Karlene at karlene(at)grunt.ca

Individual Support:

In Spring 2014, we reached out to our friends to help with an early fundraising campaign for the 30th Anniversary. We are so grateful for this initial support:

Andrew Siu, Bo Myers, Charlene Vickers, Dana Claxton, Danielle Peacock, David Khang, Erin Crisfield & Ian Forbes, Fiona Mowatt, Glenn Alteen, Henry Tsang, Innes Yates, Jayce Salloum, Jin Me Yoon, Karen Kazmer,Karlene Harvey, Kristin Krimmel, Laiwan Chung, Marcia Pitch, Mary Ann Anderson, Meagan Kus, Mira Malatestinic, Norman Armour, Paddy Ryan, Rebecca Belmore, Rita Wong, Ron den Daas, Rosanne Bennett, Sandra Semchuk, Sharyn Yuen, Tania Willard, Vanessa Kwan

Canada Helps:

You can donate to our 30th Anniversary Fund on our Canada Helps page, you will receive a tax receipt for your contribution.

Anonymous
Cesar Victor Arganda
Joseph & Rachel Lafo
Margo Kane

Kickstarter Support:

A big thank-you to everyone who supported our Kickstarter fundraiser!

Adad Hannah
Ahmad tabrizi
Alex Phillips
Allyson Clay
America Meredith
Andrea Kwan
Andrew Siu
Ann McDonell
Annie and Pierre
Anonymous
Ashok Mathur
Baco Ohama
Barbara Cole
Barbara Polkey
Beth Carter
Bo Myers
Bob Ayers
Brian McBay
Brian Nicol
Caitlin Jones
Carlee Price
Carol Sawyer
Catherine Siu
Charlene Vickers
Charlotte Townsend-Gault
Christina Adams
christos dikeakos
Claire Hatch
Dan Pon
Dani Fecko
David Diamond
David Khang
Deanna
Deanna Bayne
Deanne Achong
Deirdre Hofer
Devon Smither
Diana Zapata
Diyan Achjadi
Donna Alteen
Donna Hagerman
Duane Elverum
E Rausenberg
Eddie Chisholm
Eileen Kage
Elisha Burrows
Ernesto Gomez
Fiona Mowatt
Glenn Alteen
Gloria Henry
Guadalupe Martinez
Hannah Claus
Hannah Jickling
Helen Reed
Hyung-Min Yoon (윤형민)
Ingrid Mary Percy + Jon Tupper
Innes Yates
Jane Ellison
Jane irwin
Janice Toulouse
January Rogers
Jason Lujan
Jayce Salloum
Jeffrey Ng
Jen Crothers
Jenny Barclay
Jessie Caryl
Jill Baird
Joni Low
JP Carter
Julie Voyce
Julie Wong
Justin Langlois
Justin Wiebe
Karen Duffek
Karlene Harvey
Kate Hennessy
Katherine Dennis
Kathleen Ritter
Keith Wallace
Kenneth Yuen
Kim Nguyen
Klara
Kristin Dowell
Laiwan
Lana Shipley
Linda Grussani
Lora and Simon Carroll
Lorna Fraser
Lynda Baker
Maiko Yamamoto
Marcia Pitch
Marcus Bowcott
Margriet Hogue
Maria Lantin
Marie Clements
Marie France Berard
Mark Mizgala
Mary Ann Anderson
Meagan Kus
Meaghan Daniel
Meg Marie
Melanie Brown
Michelle Hasebe
Michelle Sound Perich
Mira Malatestinic
Miriam Aiken
Monique Fouquet
Nancy Bleck
Naomi Sawada
Natalie Siu-Mitton
Nicholas Galanin
Norman Armour
Paddy Ryan
Paul Wong
Philip Beeman
Pietro
Priscilla Ng
Rachel Barclay
Rachel Iwaasa
Randy Lee Cutler
Reid Shier
Rita Wong
Rolande
Rosanne Bennett
Ryder
Sadira Rodrigues
SD Holman
Sepideh Saii
Sharyn Yuen
Sherri
Sheryl Orr
Shirley Tillotson
Tania Willard
Tara Roberts
Tarah Hogue
Tracy Stefanucci
Vancouver Art and Leisure Society
Vanessa Kwan
Vanessa Richards

Early 30th Anniversary Campaign

Thank-you to everyone that donated to our early campaign in Spring 2014. A special recognition for these early contributors was included in our 30th Anniversary eBook, Disgruntled: Other Art.

Andrew Siu
Bo Myers
Charlene Vickers
Dana Claxton
Danielle Peacock
David Khang
Erin Crisfield & Ian Forbes
Fiona Mowatt
Glenn Alteen
Henry Tsang
Innes Yates
Jayce Salloum
Jin Me Yoon
Karen Kazmer
Karlene Harvey
Kristin Krimmel
Laiwan
Marcia Pitch
Mary Ann Anderson
Meagan Kus
Mira Malatestinic
Norman Armour
Paddy Ryan
Rebecca Belmore
Rita Wong
Ron den Daas
Rosanne Bennett
Sandra Semchuk
Sharyn Yuen
Tania Willard
Vanessa Kwan

About the 30th
Curatorial Statement
30th Events
Social Objects
Donate

This is a big year for grunt gallery and we’ve got a lot brewing: we’re celebrating our 30th anniversary! Raise a glass and take a moment with us to celebrate what we’ve accomplished.

Founded in 1984, we know there’s a lot to celebrate! Thirty years is a long time and it’s time to proudly commemorate the institution we’ve become over these last three decades. Yeah, we said institution. Becoming what we are today did not come easy. It happened over many cups of coffee and numerous bottles of beer. Our vision continues with the generous input and support from people like you. This year, we’re hosting a series of events and projects relating to our 30th anniversary. These include…

Click here to donate:

URL: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1687768919/brew-grunt-gallerys-30th-anniversary

>> About the 30th Anniversary
>> 30th Events
>> Social Objects
>> Donate