Urgent Imagination: Art and Urban Development, Part 2

Description:

Urgent Imagination: Art and Urban Development was a two-part project that proposed creative alternatives to developer-driven architecture and urban planning in Vancouver. The project generated events, artworks, conferences, and an online platform for critical inquiry into issues concerning urban development, planning, and critical theory. 

The first part of Urgent Imagination was a multi-site public art exhibition that invited an international roster of artists, collectives, and architects to create artworks and proposals for a multi-acre site one block from Western Front that was slated for development. Participants included Assemble, Nils Norman, Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, Urban Subjects, and Holly Ward, who developed installations for Western Front's façade and surrounding areas of Mount Pleasant. 

Part two of Urgent Imagination featured a multi-day conference at Western Front that addressed the artwork produced in the previous iteration of the project to examine how art and creative thinking can influence issues of urban planning and spatial justice. The conference featured artist talks, film screenings, readings, and roundtable discussions in the Grand Luxe Hall. Participants included Assemble, Geraldine Dening, Jeff Derksen, Seema Jethalal, Am Johal, Mike Lombardi, Brian McBay, Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, Meredith Quatermain, Urban Subjects, Annabel Vaughan, Holly Ward, and Bob Williams.

Program:

Oct 2, 2015

Welcome and introduction by Caitlin Jones, 7:00 p.m

Talk by Urban Subjects and Assemble, 7:30 p.m.

To Build a Better City: Selected Films about Art and Urban Development, curated by Caitlin Jones and Jesse McKee, 8:30 p.m.

Oct 3, 2015,

Politics and Urban Spaces, roundtable discussion with Am Johal, Seema Jethalal, Bob Williams, Mike Lombardi, and Caitlin Jones, 10:00 a.m.

Talk by Holly Ward and Other Sights for Artists’ Projects, noon

Reading by Meredith Quatermain, 1:00 p.m.

Communities, Culture, and Consultation, panel with Annabel Vaughan, Geraldine Dening, and Brian McBay, 2:00 p.m.

Open panel, moderated by Jeff Derksen, 3:00 p.m.

Curated by Caitlin Jones. 

Documents:

• Urgent Imagination: Art and Urban Development, Part 2 conference schedule (2015).