Taking back public space, now featuring lasers!

Got plans for this weekend? Two exciting events are exploring the question of how we use media tools to affect public space and generate conversations.

On Sunday, July 17, our pals over at Fresh Media are holding their latest Remixology event at the Vinegar Factory (more info) exploring how we can re-imagine public space using media in order to promote critical thinking and civic engagement.

“Media is a major part of our urban fabric in the form of advertisements, public art, performance and street art,” event co-organizer Umair Amjad Riaz explains. “But so much of the media in our public spaces is only available to those who can afford to pay for it, or, in the case of most City programs, carefully curated. We want to explore how to take back this space and have it reflect the community and its inhabitants.”

The Remixology panel includes:

• Alexander Biko McNaughton: (helping create vibrant public spaces in Vancouver community gardens, public art, etc.)
• David Mattatall: (operates the Zoo Zhop Record Store and is the past director of Safe Amplification Site Society)
• Jenifer Papararo: (curator at the Contemporary Art Gallery, where she is curating a new augmented reality walking tour series)
• Debra Zhou: (currently curating MAP SENSE at Centre A, an interactive community mapping project by Vancouver-based artist Germaine Koh and writer Gillian Jerome)

One reason we at the VPSN are really excited about this Remixology is that we’ll be spending the next couple of Friday and Saturday nights using new media to turn public spaces into sites of public art and community expression! With lasers!!

As noted previously, we’ll set up a mobile digital projection unit that will allow pedestrians walking by to digitally write or draw on the blank walls of buildings. The building surfaces act like a blank canvas for the temporary projections people create!

We’ll be biking around Mount Pleasant this Friday (yup, tonight!) and Saturday, and next Friday and Saturday as well. This project is part of Viva Vancouver.

Check out this map to find out where we’ll be stationed, or e-mail our Public Art Coordinator at jaspal [AT] vancouverpublicspace.ca.