City of Richmond
shOP ART Hits Lansdowne Centre
26 January 2011Go shopping. Get culture. As part of the 2011 Richmond Winter Festival of the Arts, local artists are exploring the medium of Installation Art in an unusual setting—a shopping mall.
As part of shOP ART 2011, six local artists rolled up their sleeves on January 22 and started working collaboratively behind the scenes at Lansdowne Centre. Over three weekends and some evenings they will create imaginative works and install them in empty storefronts throughout the Centre.
Their creative installations will be on public display in the storefronts around the shopping centre for the remainder of the Richmond Winter Festival of the Arts, which runs February 1 to March 15, 2011.
The visual artists will experiment—or develop their existing practice—with Installation Art, under the mentorship of professional visual artist Marina Szijarto. From seventeen applicants, the following artists were selected to take part in the program:
Tony Yin Tak Chu (Richmond), a mixed media painter whose abstract and fragmented landscapes suggest historic Chinese scholar-paintings. (www.landscapepaintings.blogspot.com)
Liane McLaren Varnam (Burnaby), a curator, painter and printmaker who depicts strange imaginary animals and characters. (www.lianevarnam.com)
Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin (Delta), a mixed media artist, performer and photographer who began her practice after retiring from nursing at age 65. (www.ilsookyung.com)
David Akselrod (Richmond), an animator, visual artist and musician whose pen and ink drawings are improvisational images of daily life and memories.
Teresa SW Chow (Richmond), a landscape painter and special projects coordinator for the Richmond Artists Guild.
Julie McIntyre (Vancouver), a printmaker and mixed media artist whose recent exhibit consisted of wearable art created from printed paper and thread. (www.juliemcintyre.org)
shOP ART 2011 is presented in partnership with the Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond Arts Centre, Richmond Public Art Program and Lansdowne Centre.
For a complete schedule and more information on the Richmond Winter Festival of the Arts, visit www.richmondwinterfestival.ca or pick up a rack card at any Richmond community centre, the Cultural Centre or City Hall.
