Ready to post about "studio space", places where those creative birds make magic happen. The last ART post, compared the hydro/telephone pole to an art exhibition which has been as layered, involving as many people and has similar controversy and irony. This week it's a poke at the landing pad where birds of a feather flocking together.
A recent conversation with an artist friend, nicknamed WildCard, got me thinking about some of the artists that live and produce here in the neighbourhood. Wild Card and I were discussing artist studio spaces that have been lost and the threat coming for more to be gone. Here are a few of the City of Vancouver's development/planning areas that effect the work places of artists, crafts people and designers (creative studio/production spaces):
NOTE: when you hit on the link, go to the tab titled "Details"; this should give you a visual of a map outlining the exact geographical area
False Creek Flats, Chinatown revitalization, Downtown Eastside (for some reason this link doesn't go straight to the map like the others when you follow the same search pattern -- guess those people don't deserve a map????), Northeast False Creek area plan, Hastings/Kiwassa (this one is interesting as it's a development within a development???) and Grandview Woodlands. It's a bit time consuming but you'll get the idea of geography and mapping/cartography.
Please don't despair!! This has been an exercise in cartography, more precisely an excellent example of non-cohesive cartography, particularly if one is looking for a lens that applies to work place for the arts community . Ptolemy's soul must be spinning in his grave (or the stars).
WildCard and I scurried down the creative wormhole playing with ideas of creative critical thinking as it pertains to the art community. We laughed at creative ways to help protect these spaces and the type of solutions other artists would devise. Thinking about all those creative birds living and working in those areas led to more discussion with an emphasis on the value of art in a city . We know creative contribution to the City of Vancouver goes beyond the economic benefits , to say nothing of it's culture, it speaks to the soul of society. Just a quick fyi, there are more than 12 artists who live in the area of project 851; either on the block of 851 Union or on the block directly across the street or on the block directly behind (the alley block). I think that's a pretty impressive part of the soul!!!
Here are a few images of things you'll find in that one block radius:
1-4 1)Artists to the south; the Big House getting a new roof facing south 2) Artists to the north; The Octopus (purely coincidental that we have the Takashi Murakami exhibition on at the VAG now called "the Octopus Eats its Own Leg"; those octopodes can really get around; 3) Not artists to the east; rather a moment captured of a different kind of the soul 4) Art in the hood; I love how art influences others like non-artist neighbours, who fit in with a Banksy reference which is charming! -- you go Balloon Girl.
"Poor non-cohesive mapping of artist studio spaces", Ptolemy could be saying. How would you cohesively show where the decisions from those 6 development plans effected artist studio spaces Ptolemy? Wild Card liked my response (for Ptolemy) "Well if we define "effected" in it's true sense, here being an example; The dictatorial regime quickly effected changes to the constitution that restricted the freedom of the people. We may prefer to consider the "affect" on the artistic community working in those studio spaces, since "affected" means made an impact on... and to easily show what area is affected let's look to some well done (but could be improved) cartography that already exists. This is what I would build on if I, Ptolemy, or any cartographer worth his/her salt, were you."
Sure hope those birds at planning and development pull "THIS" landing pad together so Ptolemy's soul can stop spinning.