Archives Access: Warren Arcand

Nov 13, 2025
Field:

Screening, Talk

 Location:

Grand Luxe Hall / library, Western Front

 Time:

7:30 p.m.

Description:

Archives Access: Warren Arcand was an evening of archival excerpts showcasing the performance-based works of artist, writer, and educator Warren Arcand by curator Aaron Rice. 

This event honoured Arcand’s life and contributions as an active member of Vancouver’s thriving Indigenous arts community between the 1980s and 2000s. Selections from the archives of Western Front and grunt gallery offered a glimpse into a specific period of his creative output, highlighting the quirky, cerebral, and playful qualities that defined his practice. Rice spoke alongside video documentation of Arcand's performances, offering insights and context. Associated print materials were displayed in a vitrine in Western Front's library for audience members to view. 

The evening opened with a Coast Salish welcome by T'uy't'tanat Cease Wyss and featured tea and bannock service by Raven and Hummingbird Tea Co. The gathering was a moment to reflect, connect, and remember a remarkable and charismatic artist—allowing the public to engage with and appreciate Arcand’s legacy ahead of his celebration of life on November 15, 2025.

Presented in partnership with grunt gallery, with support from the Hamber Foundation.

Curated by Aaron Rice.

Documents:

Susan Gibb addresses an audience in the Grand Luxe Hall. She is standing in front of a turned-off projection screen while the audience members sit in chairs directly in front of her.
T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss addresses the audience, holding a microphone with their left hand and a hand drum with their right hand. She has a tender smile and a soft expression on her face, she holds the warm memory of her friend close to her heart.
T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss performs a song while playing a rawhide drum on the stage of the Grand Luxe Hall. The performance appears to be heartfelt and intense.
Curator Aaron Rice addressing the audience. He stands behind a wooden podium reading out from a laptop. The room is dim and there are two spotlights on him.
Aaron Rice speaks from behind a podium, turning his body slightly to look back at the projection screen behind him. He has a stern and focused expression.
An audience sits in a dark room looking at a projection screen. On the screen we can see an excerpt from Warren Arcand’s solo performance Orpheus. A man sits in a chair sideways next to a red line-phone, he holds the phone up to his ear and he appears to be listening to a conversation.
An audience watches a film projected on a screen. In the video, a man in Western attire sits next to Warren Arcand in drag. They’re framed by a hand-painted bed-frame.
Video documentation of a performance by Warren Arcand is projected on a screen. Seated audience members are seen from behind. Two men in black attire perform on a stage holding two mic stands, and multiple people can be seen dancing behind them.
Two individuals stand behind a glass showcase looking at the archival material in the exhibition, samples of magazine articles and posters are on display.
Four individuals look carefully at archival ephemera from Warren Arcand’s archive collection displayed in a glass showcase.

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Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.

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