The W2 Media Cafe (Vancouver) is hosting a day of remembering for the ill-fated Komagata Maru, a ship carrying 376 refugees from British India that arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1914. After two months, the Komagata Maru was sent back to India where many of the survivors were arrested, beaten and 20 were shot to death by the British.
The day of remembering will include panel discussions by filmmaker Ali Kazami, artist Rita Wong, lawyer Catalin Mitelut, and activist Kat Norris. The infamous history has clear echoes today with current treatment of refugees who encounter border policies based on race, wealth and political affiliation.
There will also be a 60-minute Komagata Maru Memorial Walk hosted by artist T’Uy’Tanat Cease Wyss (Skwxumesh) to the Coal Harbour to visit the site of the Komagata Maru memorial plaque.
The Komagata Maru memorial day program will conclude with the screening of Continuous Journey, the amazing and moving documentary film by Ali Kazami, with introduction by the filmmaker.
For more info: Komagata Maru Panel Discussions and Walk
A Montreal artist collective is taking their public art to the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. Billed as “The Pigeon’s Club”, an art festival for the homeless, the event will offer two days of revelry and amenities for Vancouver’s down and out, homeless and street involved.
The festival which runs May 20-21, is being organized by ATSA, the internationally acclaimed Montreal duo of Pierre Allard and Annie Roy who have held a similar although much bigger event in Montreal for almost a decade called Etat d’Urgence.
The idea is to offer an “all inclusive” vacation package to those who are traditionally excluded from such luxuries – food, health services, clothing give-aways, hair-cuts, live music and performances.
A few weeks before artist Ai Weiwei disappeared into police custody in Beijing (see link below), he was scheduled to present at a TED Talks Conference. He couldn’t make it, but he had a video statement delivered to TED Talks where it was presented with a slide show of some of his art work. In the presentation, he talked about his treatment by the Chinese government, the power of art to make social change and his need to speak out against injustice. Here it is.
Despite a growing number of countries including the US, Britain and Germany calling for Weiwei’s release, there is still no word on Weiwei’s whereabouts or well-being.
Art blogazine Hyperallergic is liveblogging developments relating to Weiwei’s disappearance. Visit them for the latest news on the situation.
Days after announcing his intention to build a new studio in Berlin, controversial artist Ai Weiwei has disappeared into Beijing police custody. Weiwei was apparently taken into custody sometime on Sunday after being prevented from boarding a plane to Hong Kong.
Also on Sunday, police detained eight people from his studio for questioning, and also his wife, who has yet to be released.
Weiwei’s detention and disappearance comes amidst what many observers are describing as one of the most severe crackdowns on dissidents in China in decades. The Chinese government has been detaining activists and critics of the government across the country in what is an apparently escalating fear about domestic unrest in the wake of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in Tunesia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, Yemeni, Oman, and Jordan.
Immediately on the heels of my last post about them, I’m happy to post that Liberate Tate is looking to collaborate with sound artists to create an alternative audio tour/guide for the Tate that will help in their efforts to stimulate debate around the relationship between art, oil and climate change.
The alternative audio tour is just one of many steps that Liberate Tate has taken in challenging the corporate presence of large oil companies inside cultural institutions, a presence they feel “compromises culture and expression.”
Liberate Tate will be one of the many artists featured in 6 Billion Ways, an event aimed at informing and mobilizing a wide range of people on local and global justice issues. The event takes place on Saturday, March 5 at Rich Mix in London.
In St. Petersberg yesterday, police attacked members of the Russian artist collective VOINA. In an unprovoked assault, members of the Criminal Investigation Department followed artists Oleg Vorotnikov, Leonid Nikolayev and Natalia Sokol (along with her two-year old child, Kasper) after attending a press event and jumped them, according to a VOINA spokesperson.
If you’ve been wondering how Wafaa Bilal — the artist whom we told you back in December had a camera installed in the back of his head — has been doing, the Globe and Mail recently posted a fantastic article about the artist as Cyborg in which his brave artistic experiment is featured.
The Globe reports that Bilal is currently wearing the camera around his neck because he has developed an infection at the site of one of the three steel posts that hold the device. Bilal’s project continues despite the recent difficulty, continuing to explore the loss of privacy in a high-tech age and also the idea of freedom through transparency.
Decemberists Commemoration: An action against racism, homophobia and violence against LGBT
When Banksy offered to pay $133,000 US to get artists Oleg Vorotnikov and Leonid Nikolayev out of a Russian jail, the local court said “nyet!”. But Russians charged with murder are routinely released for a fraction of that amount. Oleg and Leonid belong to the artist group VOINA (which means “war”), and they have upset some very powerful people in Russia.
Without international support, their members face life threatening conditions in custody, a corrupt legal system, lengthy sentences if convicted, and the continuing harassment and intimidation of VOINA’s members many of whom have gone into hiding.
An escargatoire (yup, that’s what it’s called) of giant pink snails is wrapping up their visit to Miami Beach this month, preparing to migrate towards other parts of the United States.
These colourful invertebrates — the largest of which measure 8 feet tall — are made entirely of recycled plastic and are intended to pique curiosity and encourage conversations on recycling and other issues of environmental sustainability. The forty-five snails are part of a larger initiative known as the REgeneration Art Project, which places big, bright animal installations in unexpected locations across the globe, including Rome, Venice, Prague and Paris.
Contributors
Stefan Christoff, Colin Horgan, Julia Pyper
Michelle Siobhan Reid, Valerie Cardinal, Race Capet
Laurence Miall, Terry Fairman, Tyler Morgenstern
The W2 Media Cafe (Vancouver) is hosting a day of remembering for the ill-fated Komagata Maru, a ship carrying 376 refugees from British India that arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1914. After two months, the Komagata Maru was sent back to India where many of the survivors were arrested, beaten and 20 were shot to death by the British.
