Protesters against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the West Bank barrier wall take a more theatrical approach in Bil’in. On February 12, 5 Israeli, Palestinian and international demonstrators dressed as James Cameron-style Avatars marched towards the barrier, which has absorbed approximately 60% of this Palestinian village’s farmland, and were, per usual, met with tear gas and sound bombs. Though sporting blue painted bodies, pointy ears and long tails didn’t seem to faze the Israeli Defense Force, the tactics generated more media attention than usual for this weekly action.
In 2004, the International Court of Justice declared the barrier a violation of international law, and the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that sections of it imposed “undue hardships on Palestinians and should be re-routed.” 3 weeks ago Israel began reconstruction of the wall returning 30% of the land it previously confiscated. Though this sparked celebration, demonstrators and maybe even occasional ‘Avatars’ will continue their weekly action demanding justice and the return of all illegally confiscated West Bank lands as they’ve done for the past 5 years.
Click to continue »
Protest for Housing
If anything is making its slow way out of the Downtown East Side (DTES) and into mainstream Olympic news flows, it is the issue of homelessness. The Red Tent Campaign, the Tent City Squat on a VANOC parking lot, the homeless banner strung from the Cambie Bridge (for a VANOC sanctioned 20 minutes, and time immemorial photo-op), Saturday’s national housing rally …
This was the topic of conversation at last Sunday’s Safe Assembly Newscast at the VIVO studios. Safe Assembly is a gesture to protect the critical conversation about the Olympic games. Hosted by VIVO, a media arts collective who chose not to participate in the Cultural Olympiad, the Newscasts are opportunities for those critical of the Olympics to come together and reflect on the events of protest and dissent taking place in Vancouver.
What follows is a brief summary of the gathering — topics of discussion included the housing protest at the Vancouver Art Gallery last Saturday, update from the Tent City squat, a look at the growing phenomena of Olympic fans protesting against protesters, and the potential effects of university students as shock troops of gentrification in the DTES.
Click to continue »
When local homeless and under-housed residents of the Downtown East Side (DTES) were asked what they wanted during the Vancouver Olympic games, they said a safe place to hang out, get some food and coffee, relax and listen to music. And they wanted this without the invasive scrutiny of the media and without feeling like they were a problem to be solved with charity. The Homeground Festival was born, a festival of sustenance and sanctuary specifically for those struggling with poverty, substance dependency, homelessness and physical and mental health challenges.
The dates of the festival are not publicized. The only way to find out about it is word of mouth or if you happen to see a poster which only appear in the DTES. And with one exception, media is not allowed on site – no cameras or recording devices of any kind. It is a place where DTES residents can go and feel comfortable among themselves without the invasive gaze of outsiders.
(See the video interview after the jump.)
Click to continue »
In Quebec, public works are complicated: everyone knows that the roads and bridges are falling apart, but the public tendering process has lost much of its credibility through repeated and unresolved allegations of widespread corruption and the involvement of organized crime. In 2007, five people died and another six were injured when structural flaws caused the Concorde overpass in Laval, Quebec to collapse. Sexy beton II takes on this public tragedy in search of public accountability and justice.
After the collapse, a public inquiry found that no none was to blame. The government classified the event as a “car accident”, which although bizarre allowed the government to pay out small sums to the injured and the families of those who died through the province’s no fault auto insurance. Soon after, the public lost interest and the story slowly faded from public consciousness.
Enter the Porte Parole documentary theater company. Porte Parole is a Montreal based group dedicated to retelling current events with humanity, humour and humility through theater and online platforms. Sexy beton II is the second installment of their exploration/presentation of the story of the Concorde overpass. The play retells the story not only of the collapse and public inquiry, but how the playright’s own efforts to understand what happened became part of the story through the victims’ search for answers and justice.
This is theater like it used to be: relevant, critical, important, necessary.
The play is billed as bilingual, but – in case you are linguistically challenged like myself – the last half of the play is mostly in French.
On until December 1 at the Segal Center.
One of Canada’s preeminent video and sound art festivals Signal & Noise is calling for submissions.
Signal & Noise will showcase a spectrum of single and multi-channel audio & video works, live performances and immersive installations. Signal & Noise is an intimate forum for creative exchange between local, national and international artists. The event will take place in Vancouver May 27-29, 2010.
Submission deadline January 15, 2010. For more info go to the Signal and Noise website.
Click to continue »
Subscribe to Art Threat via RSS
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
