Blog Posts
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Celebrating Community at Second Street Community SchoolWe recently had the chance to visit Second Street community school in Burnaby where the entire school of over 300 students has been working for the past three months with local artists Anna Talbot and Mona Lochan and the City of Burnaby’s Community Arts Development Coordinator, Shelley Twist to create a series of banners that explore the theme of Celebrating our Community. |
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Music, Dance and Martial Arts, A True Visual Feast with Aché BrasilFor our January installment of ArtStarts on Saturdays workshop series, we were delighted to host Aché Brasil for a fun and engaging workshop where both parents and kids were clapping along and dancing to the drumming rhythms. |
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Imagination Play with Kathryn RickettsWe all had an entertaining morning and afternoon as artist and story teller, Kathryn Ricketts tells us a story through her imagination, physical gestures and interactive performances. Kathryn's method of storytelling is to get children and families excited about the content, in this case Dr Suess, and relate in a physical way so that everyone has a deeper experience beyond listening to a story. |
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Around the World with Boris SichonFor our Septemeber ArtStarts on Saturday’s workshop, we had the pleasure of hosting Boris Sichon for an amazing musical experience that kept us all captivated. |
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Welcome Sarah Kim, our new Booking & Touring managerAnnouncing the arrival of our brand new Booking & Touring Manager, Sarah Kim! Sarah succeeds Tara Bailey who served five years in the position. |
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A Closer Look at Booking & TouringArtStarts is dedicated to increasing BC student’s access and exposure to professional artists and art. Our Booking and Touring service is one of the key ways that we achieve this. With the annual Showcase recently behind us and booking and touring requests beginning to pour in, we thought we’d check in with the program’s manager, Tara Bailey, for some insight into the inner workings of the service. We discovered that the process isn’t always smooth sailing, providing some twists and turns that keep her and her team on their toes! |
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Haida Stories with Roberta KennedyParents and children were captivated by the words of Haida storyteller, Roberta Kennedy (Kwii-Ge-Ii-Wans), who recently joined us for ArtStarts on Saturdays. |
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Hoop Dancing with Teddy AndersonIn honour of Culture Days and the opening of our new exhibition, ArtStarts showcased two interactive workshops by traditional First Nations Hoop Dancer Teddy Anderson as part of our ArtStarts on Saturdays series. Teddy's moves, which sometimes had him spinning up to 20 hoops at one time, captivated the audience. |
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Taiko Drumming with Bonnie SoonBonnie Soon stopped by the Artstarts gallery on Saturday to lead two lively Taiko drumming workshops. Using garbage can as drums, kids and parents learned the basic stance and movements involved in Taiko drumming, and also did some fun vocal shouts! |
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Instrument Fun with The KerplunksAward-winning band The Kerplunks visited ArtStarts today to deliver a fun-filled musical performance. The 4 talented members taught the audience about a variety of instruments, including bass, guitar, trumpet, trombone, banjo, drums, and even kazoo! |
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Sudnya Mulye at the ArtStarts GallerySudnya Mulye visited the ArtStarts Gallery on Saturday for a workshop on Indian Dance. Kids and parents learned about the classical dance style Bharata Natyam, exploring Indian culture and tradition through this expressive medium. |
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Drumming with Milton RandallSaturday marked another action-packed ArtStarts on Saturdays workshop. Milton Randall dropped by to teach kids & parents about the language of drumming. Participants got a workout and practiced their counting skills as they banged on their individual drums. |
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Sing-along with Bobs & LoloAfter a month in hiatus, the ArtStarts on Saturdays series is off to a great start in 2010. In record breaking numbers, families poured into the ArtStarts gallery for a performance by popular local artists, Bobs and Lolo. Kids sang and danced to a number of songs, using movement and imagination to celebrate the natural world. |
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More photos of African Dance!Here are some more photos from our exciting African Dance workshop with Maobong Oku. Many thanks to Lia Margueratt for documenting the event. |
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African Dance with MaobongThe ArtStarts Gallery was packed on Saturday for two invigorating African Dance workshops with Maobong Oku. Kids and parents got a workout as Maobong led them through a series of different dances that celebrate Nigerian culture. |
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Halloween with Max-i-MimeHalloween was an opportunity to get creative and act out some fun and spooky characters at the ArtStarts Gallery this weekend. Max-i-mime started off our free Saturday workshop with a hilarious performance, demonstrating how to tell an expressive story without using any words. |
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Lord Roberts Elementary gears up for a special drawing project...This morning excited students from Vancouver's Lord Roberts Elementary visited the ArtStarts gallery to get a glimpse of where their artwork will soon be exhibited. Three classes will be working with artist Julian Lawrence throughout the fall to produce a comic book project reflecting their connections to the spirit of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Games. |
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Michael Mitchell gets kids dancing to songs about Canadian history!Seasoned children's performer Michael Mitchell visited the ArtStarts gallery on Saturday to perform some songs about Canadian history! He got kids stomping around like prehistoric dinosaurs, paddling an imaginary canoe through the Land of the Silver Birch, and waltzing like Log-Drivers on the Ottawa river. |
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SWARM takes ArtStarts by storm!What an exhilarating performance by Vancouver's very own hyper- kinetic percussion troupe SWARM! The group offered a unique hands on experience filled with fun, music and movement. Kids learned action drumming using funky recycled instruments such as rubber tubing, garbage can drums and even rubber duckies and chickens. Parents and kids leaving the event told us it was a blast, so awesome, and that they i loved it all! |
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Traffic Saftey for everybody!Once again, kids, parents and grandparents joined us for another successful Saturday event featuring the dynamic and playful, Major Conrad Flapps. His“Traffic Safety Show” parodies hip-hop and rap as Flapps demonstrates the right and wrong ways to cross the street. |
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Vancouver Operas visitVancouver Opera in Schools' Education Manager, Patrick Le Blanc stopped by ArtStarts for a visit late this afternoon. It'll be another exciting year for the Vancouver Opera, as they are en route across the province with their show "Jack Pine," an operatic performance that explores issues of self-esteem and the environment. |
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They sang, they danced, they played!Children and parents were captivated by popular children's entertainer Art Napolean at the ArtStarts in Schools Saturday series on June 27th. Art's performance was fun and interactive, which kept the audience interested as he playfully taught kids Cree chants, drumming and traditional stories ending in a friendship dance. |
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Joe Ink moves it!Both children and parents shook it up and stretched it out at the May 30th Move it Show. The Joe Ink workshop was stimulating and interactive for kids and allowed their parents to bring out their inner child as they joined in the live dance performance. Energetic lead dancers Jacci and Barb encouraged everyone to be a "super dancer" as they coached participants to follow the magic hand, do the robot or paint the bubble. |
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Free performing arts workshops for familiesStarting January 31st, ArtStarts is presenting a free performance series for families in Vancouver's downtown area. "ArtStarts on Saturdays" will kick off with a workshop by circus artist Sand Northrup AKA One Woman Circus, who will introduce youngsters to circus skills including feather balancing, juggling, rola bola and plate-spinning. |
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Iskwew tours schools in the StikineIskwew, a trio of First Nations women, who perform in the plains and West Coast traditions toured the Stikine and the Kootenays with ArtStarts in November and got an early welcome to winter. |
