24th Annual EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL Expands With Live and Virtual Offerings

Vancouver's Eastside Arts District invites audiences to experience the creative resilience of the visual arts community during the newly expanded 24th annual Eastside Culture Crawl, taking place across two consecutive weekends: November 12-15 and November 19-22, 2020.

The beloved arts festival offers attendees a fully customizable experience, designed to suit the needs and comfort levels of all arts enthusiasts during these extraordinary times. Arts patrons will have the opportunity to engage in an innovative, intimate and enriching Culture Crawl this year through enhanced, interactive virtual programming, as well as a new digital appointment scheduler for controlled, in-person engagement at open studios.

"Each year, we welcome visitors to explore the richness and vitality of the Eastside Arts District. And while artists have faced unprecedented hardships this year, our mandate for the 24th annual Crawl remains the same-to celebrate the extraordinary talents of our visual artists and inspire a creative connection between artists and the greater community," says Esther Rausenberg, Artistic & Executive Director of the Eastside Culture Crawl Society. "The strength and resilience, the fortitude and passion arts patrons have come to expect each year from the Culture Crawl will be on full display. It promises to be an inspiring, uplifting and unifying experience."

In an effort to maximize the safety and wellbeing of both artists and Crawl visitors, the Eastside Culture Crawl Society has developed an enhanced festival experience delivered across multiple platforms. Artists will have the chance to expand their digital presence, by participating in increased virtual opportunities, including virtual studio tours and livestream and live chat functions within each artist's profile page at culturecrawl.ca.

Visitors can enjoy a sneak peek of Crawl festivities during an exclusive Virtual Preview Week November 2-9, featuring a curated selection of artist workshops, demonstrations, and talks, as well as the 7th annual Moving Art exhibition. Crawl enthusiasts can also use this time to begin planning their personalized festival experience, reserving timed visits at favourite studios and sites via the Crawl's brand-new, comprehensive appointment scheduler.

A highlight of Vancouver's arts and cultural calendar, the Eastside Culture Crawl offers unparalleled access to visual artists practicing a bevy of different art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, photography, jewelry, glass art, furniture, and more. Through an enhanced digital presence and customizable Crawl engagement, both long-time fans and first-time visitors across the Pacific Northwest-and beyond-can now experience an even more intimate, exclusive connection with artists and their art.

Crawl goers are invited to supplement their Eastside Culture Crawl experience through a number of feature presentations and exhibitions, including:

DIS(PLACE)MENT: EXPLORATIONS OF PLACE, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Skwachàys Lodge Gallery
November 7-23, 2020, from 10am-5pm
This exhibit, curated by Cheyenne (Natoyihkii) McGinnis, highlights the issue of displacement in Indigenous communities while simultaneously inspiring individuals to create their own spaces through sharing culture, self-reflection and community-building.

TAKE FLIGHT VIRTUAL BENEFIT
October 14-November 7, 2020
The Crawl's 4th annual benefit and festival launch, this year's virtual event features a silent auction, event-tote auction and the return of the wildly popular Art Roulette. For more information, and to view auction items and art posted online beginning October 14, visit culturecrawl.ca/takeflight2020.

TALKING ART
November 3-5, 2020
Centred on the theme of "Creative Resilience," this series of three intimate and entertaining discussions by 2020 Culture Crawl artists is moderated by former journalist and fellow creative Carlyn Yandle. Topics include: "Pivoting in a Pandemic," "Working through Loss," and "Traversing Sensitive Territory." Visit culturecrawl.ca/events for more information.

MOVING ART
November 2, 2020 at 7pm (online premiere)
The Culture Crawl's 7th annual film & video exhibition is titled "Connection in the year of our disconnect." This showing of evocative contemporary films features 11 artists who have dug deep within their own creative reserves to challenge and embrace our multiplicity of experiences. Visit culturecrawl.ca/events for more information.

Full details of Eastside Culture Crawl events, artists, talks, and locations can be found at culturecrawl.ca/events.

About the Eastside Culture Crawl (culturecrawl.ca)
The Eastside Culture Crawl Society is a visual arts organization dedicated to connecting the public with the visual arts. ECCS produces the annual Culture Crawl Visual Arts, Design and Craft festival held in November that involves artists on Vancouver's Eastside opening their studio to the public. The event is focused on the area bounded by Columbia Street, 1st Avenue, Victoria Drive, and the Waterfront and involves painters, jewellers, sculptors, furniture makers, weavers, potters, printmakers, photographers, glassblowers; from emerging artists to those internationally established. ECCS produces additional programming including Talking Art, juried exhibits, Studio 101 arts programming for inner-city children, and Moving Art Video series.

The Eastside Culture Crawl began in 1997 with a handful of visual artists in three Strathcona area studio buildings. Since that time the event has grown to include more than 500 artists, craftspeople, and designers attracting an audience of more than 45,000 studio visits. The organization itself has evolved to represent the heart of the East Van creative community.

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