The Last Days of the Vancouver Art Gallery's Beat Nation Exhibit

In less than 2 weeks, the Beat Nation exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery will end.  During yesterday's visit I found a number of excellent pieces showcasing the talents of a new generation.

Beat Nation includes artists who use pop culture, graffiti, fashion and other signifiers of urban life in combination with more traditional forms of Aboriginal identity.  This exhibition reflects artists who "juxtapose urban youth culture with Aboriginal identity in entirely innovative and unexpected ways".

Beat Nation introduces work from a number of artists including Shawn Hunt, Maria Hupfield, Kent Monkman and Rapsure Risin.  If you are visiting the Beat Nation exhibit in its remaining days, do not miss:

Shawn Hunt's Master of Ceremony (2011)

Heiltsuk artist Shawn Hunt draws on Aboriginal imagery to make an abstracted figure of an MC.  The work is painted directly on wood.

In 2011, he was awarded the British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art. Follow Shawn Hunt on Twitter at @ShawnHunt.

Maria Hupfield's Jingle Boots (2011)

As you tour the 3rd floor, upon exiting the hall playing three videos, be sure to look to your immediate left. You will see and hear a working example of the Jingle Boots.  You will see these boots on display later in the collection.

Jingle Boots (2011)
by Maria Hupfield

In the same area, take a close look at the silver 'Bear Mask, with Ear to the Ground' (2011).

Kent Monkman's Dance to Miss Chief (2010)

Take the time and put on the headphones to fully enjoy the video by Kent Monkman.  Dance to Miss Chief is a playful critique of the German facination with North American "Indians".  He appears as his alter ego, the stiletto-heel-wearing, Miss Chief Eagle Testicle.  This remix of contemporary and vintage footage celebrates Miss Chief's on-screen romance with leading man Winnetou, the ficticious "Indian" from Karl May's German Western films.  Just try not to dance while listening.

Rapsure Risin's Video of The Lights Go Out



Corey Bulpitt's Graffiti Mural with Haida Figures

Get out of the way George :)

Seen in the background in the picture to the right, is the large-scale graffiti wall painting.  The mural is from Vancouver-based Corey Bulpitt.  Residents of Vancouver may recognize his other street mural found under the Granville Street bridge.


I hope that you make the effort to visit Beat Nation by the Vancouver Art Gallery before it's gone.  You will enjoy.

About the Vancouver Art Gallery:

The Vancouver Art Gallery was originally designed by Francis Rattenbury as the Provincial Courthouse in 1906.  From 1979-1982, the interior of the building was renovated by Arthur Erickson.  It is now the 5th largest gallery in Canada, and holds the largest collection of works by Emily Carr.

The next exhibition to visit is Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters.

The London Heritage Farm

On the weekend of May 12-13, 2012, the London Heritage Farm is holding its annual plant sale fundraiser.  It is a great family event that helps to raise money to maintain the Farm which is a great asset to both the local Richmond community and the Lower Mainland.

If you need any perennials, herbs, annual, etc... or would like to come visit the community gardens, see the chickens, beehives and make a donation.  It is a great weekend day trip which can be included in as part of a visit to the Steveston Village Community to buy seafood and have some fish and chips from local favorite Pajo's.

About London Heritage Farms

London Heritage Farm is a 4.06 acre historical site that overlooks the south arm of the Fraser River.   The site offers a 1880's farmhouse in a park-like setting with lovely heritage and herb gardens, the restored Spragg family barn, old farming equipment, a small hand tool museum, chickens, bees, allotments and large lawns.

The London farmhouse has been fully restored and furnished to reflect life in Richmond during the 1880 to 1930 era.  Six rooms display the furniture, pictures, clothing, quilts and everyday articles of the era and the many London family photographs that hang throughout the house give you a glimpse into their history as one of the pioneer farming families of Richmond.

History of the Farmhouse

Charles Edwin London, aged 16, and his brother William, aged 17, arrived in British Columbia from Ontario in 1877.  Three years later, the brothers purchased 200 acres of land for $2000, erected a small farmhouse and began clearing and draining the land in preparation for farming. In 1888, Charles married Henrietta Dalzeil of Dalbeattie, Scotland, and started building the farmhouse that still stands today.

The farmhouse was built in two stages, with the back, northern wing being completed first and the front, southern part of the house added in the 1890s and finished in 1898.  The house is situated in its original location.  In addition to the house and farm, the London’s established a general store and post office and built a wharf to receive supplies and to ship their milk and produce (hay, oats and vegetables) to New Westminister.

Charles and Henrietta London had eight children, of whom three died in infancy as was common in those days. Henrietta died in 1916 and the family stayed at London Farm only another three years before selling up and moving to the Marpole area of Vancouver.  However, in 1921, Lucy (the London’s eldest daughter) and her husband, Herbert Howse, bought the farm back.  They farmed and raised their family at London Farm until 1948. Thereafter, the farmhouse was rented by a series of families until its purchase by the City of Richmond in 1978.

London Heritage Farm is owned by the City of Richmond and operated by the London Heritage Farm Society. Operations and improvements to the house are financed through donations, the operation of the tea room, gift shop and special events held by the Society.

Ederlezi Balkan Brass Festival 2012

On May 4-5, Vancouver's Russian Hall played host to the "Ederlezi" Balkan-Roma Brass Band Festival. The festival featured special guest trumpeter Demiran Cerimovic as well as:

• Orkestar Slivovica (Vancouver)
• Orkestar Zirkonium (Seattle)
• The Bolting Brassicas (Lasqueti Island)
• Bucan Bucan (Victoria)

Orkestar Slivovica

Wandering the streets of Vancouver with battered and ancient instruments, appearing and disappearing into the night, and dressed in the highest fashions of your great-grandparent’s youth, with a bottle in hand of that delicate concoction which is half of the band’s name, everything they cross paths with becomes a Balkan wedding dance party, with tunes from Serbia, Macedonia, and other mysterious and distant lands.


Orkestar Zirkonium

Orkestar Zirkonium is a mobile, thirteen-member brass-and-drum ensemble that borrows from a variety of musical traditions, composes original music, and kicks out celebratory spectacle in a variety of circumstances. They are based in Seattle, Washington.

The Bolting Brassicas

The Bolting Brassicas Marching Band are a street-side ensemble that play Balkan Gypsy and Klezmer Funk tunes which are loud, happy and danceable. They are based in Lasqueti Island.



For more information on other Caravan World Rythms events, visit http://caravanworld.homestead.com/.


For more Music, Food and Things To Do in Vancouver, follow ShaunsVancouver on Twitter.