Living Room Art in the Heights is going virtual.
The popular neighbourhood art event in North Burnaby is back after a one-year hiatus – and this time, it’s heading into cyberspace in response to COVID-19.
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Living Room Art in the Heights: the Virtual Edition is coming on Saturday, May 30.
“For years, Living Room Art in the Heights has been bringing the community of Burnaby North together through art,” said a press release from artists and organizers Yunuen Perez Vertti and Grant Withers.
In past editions, artists would convert a house into an “art gallery” for an evening, where local artists could invite their neighbours in and share their work in a variety of visual and performing arts disciplines – painting, sculpture, photography, film, storytelling, dance, music and more.
“In the current situation, although not able to share the same physical space, we aim to bring a similar experience of connectedness through an online/virtual space,” the organizers said. “We hope to convey the same celebratory spirit and inclusivity our audience has come to expect from a Living Room Art event.”
The event will use online meeting software and run about an hour-and-a-half.
To simulate the previous live, in-person Living Room Art experiences, there will be different “room” sessions available via separate links, and each artist will host a session. Audience members will be able to jump from one session to another within the length of the event.
What exactly those links will look like will vary depending on the artist. Some will offer virtual tours of their studio spaces, while others will have site-specific art installations or digital visual art displays via screen sharing. There will also be performances and art workshops, and the audience will be able to interact with the artists through question-and-answer sessions.
About 10 artists from North Burnaby will be sharing their work with the community.
Participants lined up so far are photographic artist Grant Withers, painters Sheila Chowdhury and Dianne Yard, photographer Carolyn Sullivan, textile and mixed-media artist Dawn Livera, visual artist Tami Cline and flutist Keri Povall, along with Julia Ramsey, Leith Davis and Marilyn Noort.
It’s being funded by a Vancouver Foundation Neighbourhood Small Grant.
Living Room Art in the Heights: Virtual Edition is set for Saturday, May 30. It starts at 7:30 p.m. and will run until 9 p.m.
It’s free and open to the public. See livingroomarttheheights.wordpress.com for all the details, or follow Living Room Art in the Heights on social media (@artroom_Heights on Twitter, @livingroomartheights on Instagram, @artintheheights on Facebook) to join in.
