It’s nearly show time at the Cobalt and Valynne Vile is “bloody nervous.” This will be her first time performing in drag, ever. Performing is a scary thought. There’s a saying in Vancouver that when a drag queen screws up, you don’t hear an awkward silence – you hear gunshots being fired. Not only is [...]
They tuck themselves away in warehouses and back alleys. They spring up in art galleries late at night. Sometimes they can even be found in the back of a retail store. They’re Vancouver artists desperate to find affordable, intimate places to present their work. Vancouver has the highest number of artists per capita in Canada. [...]
John Brennan’s music struck a discordant note in his hometown of Goderich. The Ontario town of 8,000 on the banks of Lake Huron boasts famously beautiful sunsets and proudly calls itself “Canada’s prettiest town.” When Brennan and his high-school friend detuned their guitars and walked onstage at an old local theatre, the sound that came [...]
Evan Clayton returns home after an eight-hour day selling clothes at Topshop. He relaxes for a bit, then surveys the list on his wall and chooses his next task. “I think I’m probably nuts for doing this, but I honestly, now that I’m doing it, I can’t picture myself doing anything else. I’ve never been [...]
Cail Judy was 19 when he started working the night shift at the Maple Leaf slaughterhouse in Brandon, Man. After the daytime workers had all gone home, Judy would show up to clean the mess left behind. “I had to clean the de-hairing machine,” Judy recalls, “which was a three-storey-tall machine with this giant auger [...]
A massive expansion is about to provide the UBC Bookstore with much more room for shopping, eating, and studying – but not for books. First proposed to UBC’s board of governors in April, the 5,500-square-foot expansion includes increased store space, a larger café, and a convenience store, as well as bringing the store’s entrance up [...]
In her basement studio in east Vancouver, Morgan Green pulls out a few pieces of handcrafted jewelry she’s been keeping under wraps. An intricate gold and silver butterfly pendant and Raven ring emerge from a drawer beneath her desk. The curving artwork is instantly recognizable as classic Northwest Coast formline – Tsimshian to be precise. [...]
Artist Suzy Birstein needs to think creatively about space because every inch counts in her pantry-sized studio. In one corner, there’s a desk sprinkled with her students’ creations: misshapen cats and princesses moulded by tiny fingers. In the other, a massive kiln is covered in fine dust. Birstein, a Vancouver sculptor and painter, has used different [...]
At the base of the enormous Wall Centre development near Vancouver’s booming Olympic Village neighbourhood is a 260-seat theatre space first intended for the Vancouver Playhouse. When the Playhouse closed this past March, it was unclear what would happen to the space. That question was answered recently when the city of Vancouver conditionally accepted a [...]
An experiment in having local residents of Vancouver’s famous Downtown Eastside give guided walking tours generated enthusiastic response from guides and tour members. But the unusual tours also drew criticism from those who were unhappy that they had been put on display with no notice. Organized by the Union Gospel Mission for Homelessness Action Week in [...]
