Vancouver’s Anticipated Eastside Culture Crawl Returns to Highlight our City’s Prodigious Artist

The 19^th annual Eastside Culture Crawl – Vancouver’s treasured four-day fete in celebration of visual arts, design, and crafts – runs November 19 to 22, 2015 in studios, homes, and garages throughout Vancouver’s Eastside. More than 25,000 visitors from across the Metro Vancouver area and beyond are expected at this year’s event, which is bounded by Columbia Street and Victoria Drive, north of 1st Avenue, and to the waterfront.
 
“The Crawl offers artists, collectors, and visitors alike an unparalleled opportunity to engage with our city’s vibrant visual arts community and the art-making process,” said Esther Rausenberg, Executive Director. “This four-day celebration showcases Vancouver’s abundance of talent to tens of thousands of visitors seeking to further their understanding of the visual art form. Every year, I witness the Crawl’s ability to bring people together, fostering fascinating dialogue between visitor and creator, inspiring new perspectives and commentaries, while igniting the city with a renewed energy and commitment to supporting the arts.”
 
Now in its 19^th year, the Eastside Culture Crawl has become a permanent and anticipated fixture on Vancouver’s cultural calendar. The 2015 festival will present its biggest line-up of artists, venues, and events to date with more than 400 artists showcasing their artwork in 75 locations across Vancouver’s Eastside. Visitors and collectors will be treated to an impressive assortment of work from painters, sculptors, potters, photographers, glassblowers, furniture designers, and much more.
 
Added to this year’s exciting line-up is a series of new, intimate workshops and demonstrations, providing curious Crawlers with the chance to witness the art-making process. These workshops and demonstrations will include a mix of glass blowing, wood carving, and Jacquard Loom weaving - a unique and rare artistry that combines 1800s technology with modern day computers to create detailed and highly customized textiles.
 
Members of the public are also invited to extend their Culture Crawl experience through a number of feature presentations and installations:
 
Preview Exhibits – Opening Night November 4, 2015
Learning To Crawl - New Artists at the Crawl: Firehall Arts Centre, Oct. 27 to Dec. 7, 2015
A juried exhibition and preview featuring the wide range of artistic works presented by first time participants of the Eastside Culture Crawl.
 
Hanging By A Thread: The Cultch, Nov. 3 to 29, 2015
A juried exhibition and preview showcasing a collection of artists’ broad interpretations on the physical and metaphorical definitions of ‘thread.’

Moving Art – 2^nd Annual Film and Video Projection Series, Nov. 19-22, noon to 11pm
Six filmmakers contributed to this year’s 19-minute video montage, elaborating on themes of memory, time, and place in Do You Remember? Running throughout the Culture Crawl, visitors can catch this thought-provoking video loop projected at Charles Clark Gallery located within Strange Fellows Brewing, 1345 Clark Drive.
 
Hot Talks: Eastside Culture Crawl @ Hot Art Wet City, Nov. 5 at 7pm
An intimate evening featuring “show and tell” style talks from eight participating Culture Crawl artists, in which they will present their work, offer a peek into their studio, and share their art-making process. Visit hotartwetcity.com for tickets and information.
 
Studio 101: Britannia Elementary School
This one-day, invitational program brings school children into artist studios to create original artwork, including textiles, prints, hand-tinted photos, and leather and jewelry items. The students are also given funds to purchase a piece of art to hang in their school, as an addition to their school’s art collection.
 
Full listings for all Eastside Culture Crawl events, artists, demonstrations, and locations can be found at culturecrawl.ca.