other sights

The Future is Float­ing 2

A Con­ver­sa­tion between Claire Doherty and Lorna Brown

Founder and Direc­tor Claire Doherty dis­cusses the ori­gins and the future of Sit­u­a­tions, a com­mis­sion­ing and research pro­gram based at the Uni­ver­sity of West Eng­land in Bris­tol and their cur­rent project, Nowhereis­land, a large-scale pub­lic art project con­ceived by artist Alex Hart­ley and com­mis­sioned as part of the UK Cul­tural Olympiad 2012. This island, orig­i­nat­ing from the Arc­tic, will jour­ney around the south west region of Eng­land this sum­mer, stop­ping at ports and har­bours as a vis­it­ing ‘island nation’. Accom­pa­nied by its land based Embassy, its six-week jour­ney will fin­ish in Bris­tol on the 9th Sep­tem­ber 2012.

This con­ver­sa­tion is the final install­ment of “The Sit­u­a­tion is This: Speak­ers Series 2011” and a bridge to “The Future is Float­ing”, a series of Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Office events that will take place in var­i­ous loca­tions around Van­cou­ver during 2012.

Lis­ten to the interview

Instant Cof­fee, Noth­ing Hap­pens in Good Weather

Fraser Street and 46th avenue, Van­cou­ver, BC — Novem­ber 2011 – 2013

Other Sights is pleased to announce the launch of Noth­ing Hap­pens in Good Weather, a short-term pub­lic art project that acti­vates a nar­row empty lot on a busy sec­tion of South Fraser Street. With wide stripes and stri­dent colour, what was once a gap in the streetscape has been trans­formed into an aes­thetic and social space. Inspir­ing the community’s imag­i­na­tion, the space encour­ages impromptu events, per­for­mances, or a place to meet with friends. Artist col­lec­tive Instant Cof­fee will com­plete their instal­la­tion over the course of sev­eral months with the addi­tion of an awning struc­ture to pro­vide pro­tec­tion from the rain and a casual arrange­ment of sculp­tural seating.

Instant Cof­fee is a ser­vice ori­ented artist col­lec­tive based in Toronto and Van­cou­ver. They have an exten­sive art prac­tice, span­ning over ten years. At present, their most active mem­bers are Cecilia Berkovic, Jin­han Ko, Kelly Lycan, Jenifer Papararo, Kate Monro and Khan Lee. As a col­lec­tive, they have been invested in com­bin­ing the social with the aes­thetic, and as such have worked in pub­lic spaces to engage large audi­ences. They have shown inter­na­tion­ally, have exhib­ited in many promi­nent art insti­tu­tions, and have pro­duced numer­ous projects in pub­lic space.

Learn more about the project here.

Bom­ford Project (work­ing title)

Upcom­ing in the fall of 2012
A co-presentation with Pre­sen­ta­tion House Gallery
Co-curated by Bar­bara Cole and Helga Pakasaar

The British Colum­bia based artist team Cedric, Nathan, and Jim Bom­ford are pro­duc­ing a large-scale float­ing sculp­ture that inter­prets the eco­log­i­cal, archi­tec­tural, and indus­trial his­to­ries of our regional water­ways. Con­ceived as a type of barge, it is expected the struc­ture will ini­tially be anchored in Van­cou­ver and then, over the course of two  years, will travel along local water­ways and dock at var­i­ous loca­tions. This highly vis­i­ble, quirky con­struc­tion promises to become an engag­ing pres­ence seen from many viewpoints.

Intended to be boarded and explored, this sculp­tural work will also func­tion as a mul­ti­pur­pose social space, which, through its evolv­ing activ­i­ties, will be acces­si­ble to a diver­sity of publics. Led by Cedric Bom­ford, the float­ing art­work will be devel­oped and built in col­lab­o­ra­tion with his father Jim Bom­ford (a retired engi­neer) and brother Nathan Bom­ford (an artist and builder). The art­work is cur­rently in stages of research and devel­op­ment, with antic­i­pated com­ple­tion in the fall of 2012. Stay tuned for sum­mer “The Future is Float­ing” pro­gram­ming dur­ing the build­ing phase.