Lulu Series: Barbara Cole
Barbara Cole | Blue Cabin
The Blue Cabin – Year One
Blue Cabin Committee member Barbara Cole will share the history of the Blue Cabin, from its humble beginnings as the home of North Shore Maritime labourers to its storied past as the creative home of Vancouver artists Al Neil and Carole Itter, to its restoration and first year of programming as a floating artist residency.
Currently moored at the Plaza of Nations in False Creek, the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency’s inaugural program of residencies, open houses, talks, workshops and performances was launched in August, 2019. Situated on the unceded lands and waters of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the floating residency offers a new lens through which to consider the city differently.
Barbara Cole along with Glen Alteen from grunt gallery and Esther Rausenberg from C3 (Creative Cultural Collaborations) are the founding members of the Blue Cabin Committee which acts as steward for the cabin and the long-term vision of it being a floating artist residency.
Representing the Blue Cabin Committee, Cole is an artist, curator, educator, and consultant. She is also the Curator of Outdoor Art at the University of British Columbia, the principal of a public art consulting firm called Cole Projects, and the founder and producing member of Other Sights for Artists’ Projects. She has led workshops, lectured widely, and published articles on the subject of art in public space. Cole taught at Emily Carr University from 1984 to 1999 and worked as a consultant to the City of Vancouver’s Public Art Program from 1999 to 2004. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in the Vancouver art community, serving on gallery and art society boards and has participated as a jury member for numerous art initiatives. In 2011, Barbara received the Mayor’s Award for her contributions to the advancement of public art in Vancouver and in 2013, was a curatorial resident at ZK/U Center for Art + Urbanistics in Berlin, Germany.