As a festival that celebrates the medium of photography, Capture is a purveyor of perspectives and invites its audiences to challenge their own. From Thursday (April 2) to April 30, Western Canada’s largest photography festival showcases local and international lens-based art, playing homage to this region’s international reputation for photographic excellence.
In previous years, the festival included workshops and events but this year’s lineup looks a little different. In response to the current health crisis, Capture has adapted quickly to provide its audiences with engaging and meaningful content. Emmy Lee Wall, the festival’s executive director says “the recent challenges that we’ve faced globally have only served to remind us how art serves to unite and the critical function it serves in uplifting communities, especially during difficult times.”
Art holds the ability to connect individuals, deepen relationships, and facilitate self-expression. “Capture is an organization dedicated to collaboration with artists, curators, and groups to realize a collective energy during the month of April—and this year has been no different,” says Wall. “Capture continues to play an important role in advancing lens-based art in this community and providing meaningful engagement with art to a wide audience.”
Approaching photography in expansive ways allows festival attendees to uncover the many rich and vibrant layers that exist below the surface of an image and beyond its frame. In a world increasingly saturated with images and with photographs becoming a primary tool for communication, Capture aims to unpack what it means to read an image.
Capture is especially recognized for its public art program that includes lens-based work on the Dal Grauer Substation on Burrard Street, Pattison billboards, the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain Station. The Canada Line will also feature gorgeous lens-based art displayed at eight of the stops around Metro Vancouver. The locations of the other outdoor art displays can be found .
<span class="picturefill" data-picture data-alt="Elisabeth Belliveau, Still life with fallen fruit, 2019, time lapse and stop-motion animation video, 5:51. Made by Elisabeth Belliveau at Studio Kura (Itoshima), and Youkobo Art Projects (Tokyo).”> Elisabeth Belliveau, Still life with fallen fruit, 2019, time lapse and stop-motion animation video, 5:51. Made by Elisabeth Belliveau at Studio Kura (Itoshima), and Youkobo Art Projects (Tokyo).Courtesy of the artist.
“The numerous public art installations throughout Vancouver feature the work of international, national, and local artists, including Paris-based Kapwani Kiwanga, New York-based Moyra Davey, and Vancouver-based Elizabeth Zvonar,” says Wall. People are encouraged to visit the public installations as soon as it is safe to do so.
In the meantime, Capture Photography Festival is pivoting to a largely digital platform to bring art to everyone in the community through its broad collection of online content. Audiences are able to enjoy virtual exhibitions, filmed tours, and talks in the comfort of their own home.
The , available as a hardcopy and online, is full of information on the artists, exhibitions, and public art projects that comprise the festival. It also offers engaging editorial content including essays on the state of contemporary image culture. These are by a diverse range of writers such as best-selling author Douglas Coupland, London’s Hayward Gallery senior curator Cliff Lauson, and Capture’s TD assistant curator Cheyenne Rain Legrande.
Also featured is a conversation between local luminary Ian Wallace and internationally renowned street-style photographer Scott Schuman, also known as The Sartorialist. Their dialogue will focus on the development of Schuman’s practice, which marries the traditions of street photography and portraiture.
For more information, visit .
Follow Capture Photography Festival on and for updates.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
