No matter what city you’re in in August, it feels like the art is in any other city, just not your own. I’ve been visiting galleries out of town, and waiting for September, when SWARM makes Vancouver feel busy again.
Last night however, I visited Goonies, gallery, a relative newcomer on the art scene, for a music show featuring locals Make Love and Sounds Fun Club, and Montreal-based Elfin Saddle. Sitting under the giant woven tapestry pictured below, and lit with a single light evoking a campfire, attendees were treated to music played on xylophones, drums, guitars, guitars used as percussion, synthesizers, cymbals played with bows, mallets and hands, and, most incredibly, a saw, all accompanied by some of the sweetest voices Vancouver has to offer, all in the space of a few hours.
I missed the last hour, trying to catch another night of music around the corner at the Helen Pitt Gallery. I was too late, but as the title 4 Nights of Improvised Music suggests, there are three more chances to hear talented people playing with unconventional instruments. The whole thing is organized by Robert Pedersen, whom I know from Glaciers but who does plenty of other things, joining in on Monday with Burrow Owl. Tonight, the second installment of experimental music features Sam Shalabi and Josh Stevenson, Delicate Sen from New York city, and Tim Olive and Jeffrey Allport.
Last night ended after a party at soon-to-be demolished (?) art house 536, and walking back up Main street, I noticed this:
Maybe the art leaves the city for a reason in August, but if it makes more space for music I won’t complain.
Goonies is a multi-purpose studio and exhibition space. Located at 108 east Hastings, it was opened by artist and designer Merida Anderson in April, 2009. It is currently hosting the Vancouver installment of Room-a-Loom. Originated by LA-based artist Julia Sherman, the Room-a-Loom is a collaborative woven tapestry occupying, you guessed it, the entire front room of Goonies, and other participating galleries. The last few open weaving days are Monday, August 23rd, Wednesday the 26th, and Sunday the 30th, from 6-9 pm. Admission is free, and you can bring your own weaving materials or pick and choose from the many boxes of stuff at the gallery.
The Helen Pitt Gallery is a non profit artist run centre just a few blocks away from Goonies, at 102-148 Alexander. The front room is dedicated to experimental contemporary art from both local and international contexts, and the back room is curated separately from September to April, by Emily Carr student interns. Until Tuesday, August 25, 4 Nights of Improvised Music opens the doors from 7:30 pm until finished, and your admission is donation.
We’ve already discussed Instant Coffee.
