Audio-visual storytelling and digital innovation will take centre stage at the Cinevolution produced Your Kontinent Digital Carnival, part of the Richmond World Festival.
The Richmond World Festival, presented by Coast Capital Savings, hits the field on Friday, August 31, and Saturday, September 1, in Minoru Park. Admission is free.
The canoe and the water top projection are part of the special exhibition by Featured Artists Terrance Houle and Lisa Birke. Different Ways is a collaborative multi-disciplinary, multi-media, community engaged project that weaves together new and old art forms to reimagine first encounters and to explore contemporary relations between settlers and the Indigenous community. The exhibition will be presented in the Richmond Art Gallery for a limited two-day run, with live performances starting in the gallery at 8 p.m. each night, and an artist talk at 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 1.
Houle, born and raised in Calgary, is a proud member of the Kainai Nation. He explores his identity and ways of knowing through interactive performance, photography, video and print media. An award winning video artist, Birke examines ‘self’ by situating in spaces of liminality whilst dismantling notions of femininity. Created in collaboration, Birke and Houle’s Different Ways carves out new space for a conversation around regenerating the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities while simultaneously acknowledging and honoring the land.
A cross country initiative, “this project takes to heart the call to action for all Canadians to begin a conversation—to listen and to learn—in a bid for reconciliation” said Birke and Houle. “Through ceremony, music, live performance, animation and innovative projection, we are exploring the slippery and unsteady understanding of our shared history and stories at events and festivals across the country, in an effort to demonstrate how dialogue and reclamation can steady the course in Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations.”
In addition to honouring Indigenous culture, the Digital Carnival programme seeks to create space for other diverse voices. “Cinevolution’s goal has always been to foster intercultural dialogue through immersive, artistic experiences beyond the borders of language” said Artistic Director Lynn Chen. “This means being intentional about including and inviting diverse artistic voices, as well as making the event accessible for all members of the community.”
International recording stars Lights and Magic! headline the 2018 Richmond World Festival, which will feature more than 90 artists performing on nine stages. Other highlights include the FEASTival of Flavours with more than 50 food trucks presenting cuisines from all over the globe and the Culinary Stage featuring top local chefs. There’s also the Global Village and Bamboo Theatre, with diverse, interactive cultural activities and performances, Africa Zone cultural pavilion, Artisan Marketplace and Imagination World at the Richmond Public Library.
The Richmond World Festival takes place from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 31 and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 1.
The festival is produced by the City of Richmond and presented by Coast Capital Savings. Stage and zone sponsors include Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Tourism Richmond, Cowell Auto Group, CF Richmond Centre and Vanprop Investments Ltd. Community sponsors are Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Telus and FortisBC. Accommodation sponsor is Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel. Media sponsors are CTV, 94.5 Virgin Radio, Richmond News, Georgia Straight, Kiss Radio, AM 1320 102.7 The Peak, Z95.3, and Miss 604.
Full event details are at www.richmondworldfestival.ca and for updates follow @FunRichmond on Twitter, @RichmondWorldFest on Facebook and Instagram, as well as the #RichmondWorldFest hashtag.
