Branscombe House Artist Residency

Keely O’Brien is the 2018 Branscombe House Artist in Residence. 

Keely is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice incorporates intricately handmade objects with innovative theatre productions. She is Co-Artistic Director of Popcorn Galaxies, a Vancouver based experimental theatre company. She is also a community engaged arts educator for children and youth in both theatre and visual arts and holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from SFU. 

Her artistic practice includes the creation of handmade puppetry, immersive installations, extravagant costume creation and imaginative ephemera. During her residency, Keely plans to explore the universal and topical experiences of finding, making and then ultimately losing a home and community. Keely hopes to spark conversations about how we inhabit new communities and how we can work together to make them our own.

Visit Keely’s Artist-in-Residence blog.

Upcoming Free Workshops
All ages and experience levels welcome; materials supplied. 

Perfect Strangers at Richmond Culture Days
Friday, September 28, 1:00-3:00 pm
Saturday, September 29, 1:00-3:00 pm
Branscombe House, 4900 Steveston Highway
18+ years. Free. Wheelchair accessible. 
Pre-registration required. Visit branscombehouseart.weebly.com to book your spot!

Part walking tour, part platonic blind date and part social experiment, Perfect Strangers is a delightfully quirky way to get to know your neighbours. Participants will be paired up and embark on a walk around the neighbourhood, navigating together through a curated journey of questions, conversations, games and challenges. Perfect Strangers is a one-of-a-kind experience that invites consideration of how we perceive strangers in the world around us and the potential for curiosity, creativity, and empathy to spark between people who might not otherwise meet.  

Project created by: June Fukumura, Keely O’Brien, Cindy Mochizuki, Sophia Wolfe, & Daniel O’Shea 

Community Lantern Making Workshop 
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Drop in 1:00-3:00 pm
Branscombe House, 4900 Steveston Highway, Richmond, BC
Free. Wheelchair accessible. Open to all ages and experience levels

Join Keely for a relaxed, hands-on workshop at Branscombe House and make a lovely lantern! Try your hand at drawing graphic images to create luminous artworks. After the workshop, participants are invited to take their lanterns home to brighten up their front porches and windows, adding a glow of warmth and welcome to the neighbourhood. As always, you can also expect to enjoy tea, snacks, records and some great company! 

Exhibitions

Pop-Up Exhibition at the Richmond Cultural Centre
August 1 to December 1, 2018
Richmond Cultural Centre Hallway, 7700 Minoru Gate
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Branscombe House is located at 4900 Steveston Highway and is one of the earliest homes built in the area; as such it is significant for its historical association to Steveston and for reflecting the pattern of commercial and related residential development that occurred in Steveston’s early history.