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Tran APus Rex // images c/o belle ancell photography
It’s been a couple of weeks now since I saw the riveting performances of those who participated in Jen Crothers and Kristina Lemieux’sQueer Arts Festival production, Reflection/Refraction. Before the night of the performance, I knew the production’s format but I didn’t really know what to expect: the individual performance pieces were to be completely subjective interpretations and responses to one of five short queer films assigned to each performer. These short films whimsically or charismatically provoked a number of ideas and issues associated with identity, gender, sexuality, intimacy and community. The films included galactic docking, “Miss Chief” dancing, choreographed “brother-herrd,” bus passing and Hawker anime. The performers, having had several months to reflect upon their personal responses to the short films, were to share their reflective and refracted pieces with the audience.
The first piece was performed by the enthusiastic Ralph Escamillian, who started the show off with a baring it all reverse strip tease, which he described as being his response to the “stereotypes of homosexuality” after refracting his assigned short film, Galactic Docking Company. The disco pop track “The Beat” got the audience in the mood and Escamillian’s energetically sensual display of layering clothes made me feel that this was now a revolutionary disco docking celebration.
“There’s more between the earth and sky than we can understand,” Mette Bach repeatedly projected. Bach was assigned the short film Dance to Miss Chief which directed her, surprisingly she admitted, towards a desire to dance that has been something she has struggled with since losing a loved one. Bach embraced her response to her assigned short film and gave a moving, insightful and honest speech about her loss. Having lost my Mother recently, Bach’s monologue reminded me that losing someone does produce a period of grievance but can also produce beautiful art by which we can celebrate and still dance with Miss Chief.
The third performance swayed me back into dance mode when Tran APus Rex appeared on stage. Responding to the assigned short film Herr, Tran APus Rex put identity, gender and sexuality back on the interrogation table by playing around with pieces of clothing, strip teasing and jumping out of a giant blue vagina. Tran APus Rex’s performance piece, much like Herr, made me wonder about this performer’s identity but care less as to what that meant to me and care more for what that meant to the individual. It was a lovely display of gender and sexual interaction, and I felt that Tran APus Rex had self-birthed into herr own.
Ralph Escamillan // image c/o belle ancell photography
The Bus Pass evoked a musical response in rising star, cellist Cris Derksen, who took the short film and reworked the scenes whilst creating an original electronically fused performance piece accompanied by her cello. Derksen told the audience she felt some awkwardness in the film that she wanted to work out. The intensity of Derksen’s music amplified the room in such a way that made me feel those thoughts circulating and consuming the film actor’s mind. I felt a tension in the performance piece much the same way that I did when watching the film and in both, that tension had been resolved.
Last, but not least, came David C. Jones’s fishing fiasco. Jones’s performance was a response to the short film, an animation titled The Hawker. Jones focused on themes of love and loss and was inspired by the fish in the film to tell a story as a person at sea through a physical mime piece. I watched Jones’s character spread ashes into a sea of water and cope with what felt like feelings of estrangement and a restructuring of identity. Without dialogue and scene structure it felt difficult to know precisely what was happening but that was the magic of this performance for me – that in losing someone you might often feel lost and struggle with knowing the way or with knowing how to deal with your emotions and loved ones. The grieving period of loss is different for everyone and I felt that Jones was successful in displaying a subjective and natural response to self-identity, loss and grief.
It was a pleasure to watch the queer short films and witness the emotions, responses and inspiration evoked in these five performances. A good life involves reflection but a great life is formed through refraction.
Inspiration strikes. Like lightening? Or something much less dramatic? This year, at Vancouver’s Queer Arts Festival, a group of inspiring and inspired writers has been brought together for “A Literary Soiree: A Celebration of Poets and Writers.” It will be hosted by Rachel Rose at the Roundhouse Exhibition Hall at 7:30 on August 6th.
Rebecca Brown c/o Andrea Auge
Of the five participating writers, the following four: poets Rachel Rose, Billeh Nickerson, Betsy Warland and writer Rebecca Brown, were kind enough to allow Sad Mag glimpses into the inspirations for their new or forthcoming works (Gregory Scofield will also be there on the 6th). Sad Mag asked about new projects and favourite Vancouver moments, in order to glean a little about what compels these writers’ interest and engagement. Reading over their responses, it became clear that to be inspired is the most flexible and atemporal of feelings: a response that might occur immediately or might take years and decades to coalesce. Like lightening, then, but with a slow burn.
For Rebecca Brown, who is the author of twelve books of prose, inspiration means being elevated by others: “Though I am not ‘inspired’ as an artist, other artists’ work inspires me,” says Brown, “I am rarely, if ever, ‘inspired.’ The word suggests someone filled with urgency or commitment. Or the simple, necessary act of breathing. On the one hand art making/writing is necessary to me (though not as necessary as breathing…). On the other hand, it is for me usually quite labored and erratic; hardly as even or regular as breath.”
“I used to have this notion,” continues Brown, “[which was] inspired, that is to say, misinformed, by romantic notions of an artist being possessed, as if by a god or passion, to make something. That some muse or spirit comes upon one, possesses one, and gives one some message/object/word. More like some divine madness than the sweaty slog I go through to find words. Having said that, though, I am inspired, in the sense of being encouraged or sustained, by others’ art and words. When I see the amazing things my friends create or do, when I read and read again work by Kafka, Woolf, Stein, Flannery O’Connor, Fanny Howe, I am moved, elevated, encouraged to live more.”
Brown’s newest project is the curation of a group show on the theme of “Devotion” at the Hedreen Gallery in Seattle on August 7th. Participants in the shown include professional visual artists, as well as “folks who don’t think of themselves as artists,” notes Brown, such as “a beekeeper, a teenage boy who collects sports caps, a librarian, a priest, a dj, a restauranteur– but each of whom is lovingly devoted to something.”
Rachel Rose is similarly inspired by those outside forces, past and present, with whom and with which she has engaged. Her newest project, which comprises writing poems about “mythic and monstrous women,” aims “to give voice to the female beast.” It was inspired “by many things,” says Rose, “studying Beowulf 20 years ago; VIDA and CWILA, rage and hope and curiosity and wanting to honour those women who misbehaved, whether literally or mythically, and who were transformed into fearsome legends in order to keep the rest of us in line.”
Billeh Nickerson
Betsy Warland, in contrast, recalls the exact moment that inspiration struck. Warland, who has been writing “Oscar of Between” since 2007, describes her inspiration as that moment “when a trapdoor of understanding sprung open beneath my feet when seeing the Camouflage Exhibit at the Imperial War Museum in London.”
Warland explains “Oscar of Between” as a series in which “Oscar, who routinely is addressed as a woman, then as a man, then man, then woman within seconds apart in public [finds] a label for herself that finally fits: a person of between.”
Billeh Nickerson, whose fifth book, Artificial Cherry, will be released by Arsenal Pulp Press this upcoming February, was inspired to return to “the naughtier side” of his writing. After books about fast food and the Titanic, Nickerson’s newest is an offering that he describes as “cheekysweet.”
What strikes me most about all these different inspirations, is the way they expand and contract over time. Some inspirations become recognized only retroactively, or, in Brown’s case, one notion of what it is to be inspired is dismissed and other notions taken up. When I met Rose the first time, it was at the Vancouver 125 Poetry Conference, which was organized by then-Poet Laureate Brad Cran. At the time, I was tasked with interviewing poets who were involved with the conference, and I had decided to ask each one of them the same final question: if you could describe your work in one word what would it be? Rose’s answer, which broke my “one word” rule, did so beautifully, and has really inspired and stuck with me. She said her work was about “Connecting-yearning. Yearning to connect.”
Connecting, and yearning to connect, is so often about finding confluences and points of shared interest. When I asked the QAF poets about their favourite aspects of Vancouver, I received responses that gave me that thrill of recognition for all the inspiring moments that the city has to offer. For Rose, it is “the flats at Spanish Banks at low tide…” which, of course, go on for what seems like infinity. For Betsy, there was “No question about it = The Drive!” and for Nickerson, Betsy’s answer provides a kind of coincidental connection: Nickerson noted “I live on Commercial Drive. I love it when a large shipment of fruit comes in and the grocers sell big bags of the older stuff for a dollar. Once a thrifty artist, always a thrifty artist.”
The Queer Arts Festival is here! Co-curators Kristina Lemieux and Jen Crothers have come together with their production, Reflection/Refraction, which will be showcased on August 1st. Chatting over antipasti and casual drinks at Charlie’s Little Italian Pizzeria on Main, Sad Mag correspondent Monika Malczynski learns more about Kristina and Jen and how they found their inspiration.
Kristina Lemieux
SAD MAG: Who are you?
KRISTINA LEMIEUX: My name is Kristina. I am originally from Edmonton, well [laughs], Drayton Valley. I’ve lived in Vancouver for about seven years now and I’m an arts and cultural manager and thinker. Currently my primary project is with Brief Encounters -we take an even number of artists (ranging from opera singers to architects) and we pair them together and give them two weeks to create a five to twenty minute performance piece. I also am working on Reflection/Refraction. I also am a co-director of a community dance troop called Polymer Dance. And I host a dialogue series called SANKASETwhere I get arts professionals together to talk about directed topics in the arts. Lots of things, all kinds of things!
SM: Sounds like it! And what about you, Jen?
JEN CROTHERS: I am Jen Crothers. Crothers rhymes with brothers, not that you need to know that in a written document
KL: [Laughs] It’s going in there now!
Jen Crothers
JC: [Laughs], yeah. So I guess I’d say I’m an artist and an organizer. I am the treasurer on the board on the Queer Arts Festival and I’m pro-curating the show in the Queer Arts Festival with Kristina. I am an organizer with the All Bodies Swim which is a regular private event at Templeton pool where people who might feel normally feel awkward or excluded from swimming pools are invited to come and swim and have fun in the pool. We invite all kinds of people – fat people, people with scars, lots of tattoos – and we run this occasion every six weeks or two months. I’m a filmmaker as well; I made a couple of films one of which is called “Butch Tits” and it’s been around a bit. I also organize Queer Bodies Film Night which is a semi-regular film night that I show short films that deal with issues such as gender, sexuality, mental health, those kind of things. So yeah, you know, random projects. And I’m, obviously, not from here [since she speaks with an accent]. I’m from Australia, from Tasmania, and I traveled to a bunch of places before I got here but I’ve been here for six of the last eight years and I will stay here for the foreseeable future although Australia kind of has my heart.
SM: You two have paired up to co-curate Reflection/Refraction for the QAF. How did you begin working together and what is this production all about?
JC: Kristina and I knew each other before the project. We were friends for probably about six years before the project began and we sort of connected over the love of spreadsheets, organization and ‘geekery’.
KL: [Smiles] Yeah, and I think we were just talking one day about how we both wanted to do more organizing or more programming in the arts as we were seeing a bit of a gap in what kind of programming was happening in the queer communities and Jen loves films and I love performing art – although we both love films and performing arts – but in terms of expertise, we thought we could blend the two together and bring both of what we are most passionate about. So we came up with the idea of having five short films by five queer filmmakers that would then be responded to by five queer performing artists. We did this back in 2011 for the Queer Film Festival and then our lives got busy last year and we realized that we didn’t do anything for 2012 so we thought we should definitely get involved again and approach the queer arts festival and we did. So, here we are.
SM: So essentially the shorts will be shown and then each performer, having spent approximately four months coming up with their own interpretation or response to their film, will perform. Is that right?
JC and KL: Yes, that’s right.
SM: So if you can recall, because you originally came up with this idea in 2011, where did your inspiration come from?
JC: I think the inspiration- we were sort of just talking and all of a sudden it kind of just came. We were doing a lot of this: eating a restaurants, have some casual drinks and ideas were being discussed.
KL: Yeah, and I don’t think it came out in the way that it was a completely laid-out format, that this was going to be the way it was done, but that after some conversations back and forth we sort of figured things out. We were brainstorming ideas and ways which a performance could address certain issues. And the other thing we both really like is creativity within certain boundaries: time frames are limited, time performances are limited, what happens when you sort of constrain the creative process. And that’s how we came up with Reflection/Refraction; it was something that we thought could fit into that creative boundary.
JC: Yes, and we talked quite philosophically about it. We talked a lot about the difference between film and performance and we found that when a filmmaker makes a film, at some point it becomes fixed. That first you edit, then show some friends and you might edit it again and again but at some point it becomes a fixed piece of art that you can no longer change again. Whereas with a piece of performing art, you perform it and you have an audience reaction and you might tweak it and then you have another performance then talk to someone or have another reaction and then you tweak it again. I mean, this doesn’t always happen, sometimes people perform the exact same thing. But even on a good night a performer might respond to the energy of the audience. If the audience is giving a lot of responsive energy, the performer might give a bigger performance. Whereas film is fixed and it’s flat. So when we were thinking about the idea of putting people into the position where they were kind of forced to be inspired. It was somewhat of a theoretical approach. Kristina is a total theory nerd and I’m a bit more scared by her intellectualism but nevertheless, I try to keep up [they both smile].
SM: Have you seen the progress that the performers have made with their approach or will you be seeing their performances for the first time next week?
JC: We did want to curate the performances; we did want to interact with the performers, critique them, give them suggestions of how what they’re doing might work or not. So we did meet with them once about their initial ideas about the films. Some of them were like “yes, I’ve got an idea of what I’m going to do” and others were like “I have twenty ideas and don’t know which one to choose” and other people were like “uh, I have no clue what I’m going to do.” This weekend we are going to see them again and see what they’ve come up with and give them some feedback again and then they’ll have a chance to fine tune their performance and then yeah, then we’ll get to see it again.
all photos c/o Monika Malczynski
SM: Having been involved with many creative projects over the last several years of living in Vancouver, and coming from different cities, how do you feel about the “creative scene” in Vancouver? Do you think this city poses challenges for artistic people or do you find there to be easy and creative avenues to explore?
KL: There is a lot of amazing stuff happening in the arts in Vancouver but I think that if anything could be improved that there be stronger avenues to communicate with people on what they’re doing. In the last eighteen months we’ve lost, like three cultural reviewers? Don’t quote me on that but a good chunk of cultural reviewers from our major publications. And not that I think our general public is reading print media but because where we are getting our information from is in flux, there’s nowhere to go to get a curated list of what’s happening. Almost every week I’m asking myself, “which one of these amazing productions do I want to pick to go to tonight?” which shows there’s a lot going on.
JC: Yes, and just to clarify that – in a sense that information is out there like with Sad Mag, Vancouver is Awesome, the Province and so on but it’s just so across the board that you have to be reading all of those publications to get the full sense of what is going on. I personally hear about things through friends, Facebook, social media and word of mouth. Usually, unless I know someone who’s involved with something or unless someone suggests we go to an event so it makes such a difference when someone says to me “you should really see this show.” So, word of mouth is really important. And being a smaller city, Vancouver is good for word of mouth but there still lacks a space where people, critics, are giving opinions and suggestions about the arts. There’s just an overwhelming amount of choice which is both good and bad. Vancouver is a lot smaller than Sydney, for example, but there’s usually a lot of choice so I personally get overwhelmed and that’s why that personal connection or suggestion really pushes me and makes a difference for me.
KL: Yeah, and just to also point out, I’ve personally been involved with arts management for the past 15 years and one of the reasons I moved to Vancouver is because it is a city that does allow one to make a living in an artistic field. Sure, I may not ever own a home but I’m not sure that that’s important anyway. And in the smaller cities, at least the more isolated ones, you don’t have the same level of municipal and provincial support that you have from the government so there are lots of opportunities for the arts here.
For more information and to buy tickets, check out Reflection/Refraction on Facebookand on the QAF website.
Dean Thullner is my neighbour. He and his husband, David Veljacic, opened Volume Studio Gallery Ltd.’s doors a couple of months ago, only a block from my apartment. What was once a flower shop has been turned into a bright and sparkling hair salon-cum-art gallery. And they’ll still sell you flowers (with 10% of the florist’s annual profits going to St. Paul’s Hospital, no less). It’s been sidewalk chats, pink tulips, and puppy love ever since.
I mean the puppy-love part seriously. Whenever I walk by with my boyfriend and our dog, Safie, she scrambles along the sidewalk to get to Dean’s door. There Dean will be, with his husband or one of his stylists, with a dog treat in hand and a word about the beauty of the day. The shop is always filled with people, fresh art hangs on the walls, and they even have a shop dog whose “stage name,” Sweetie, is a testament to her geriatric gorgeousness.
Volume Studio is an important addition to the West End, and to Vancouver. It represents a new kind of gay lifestyle in Davie Village, one that brings health and community-involvement to the fore. Dean speaks about a generation of men who suffered during the HIV epidemic of the 1980s, who fell, perhaps, into drugs and alcohol as an escape, and who, in many cases, are no longer with us. Dean, given three-months to live at age 29, is now, along with his husband, taking community-building to the next level through their involvement with St. Paul’s Hospital, Brilliant! A Show of Love for Mental Health, HIV and AIDS, and Pride Week 2013.
Sad Mag: Who are you?
Dean Thullner: I’m Dean Thullner—community enthusiast, creativity curator, HIV-positive thriver—I am also a founding partner of Volume Studio Ltd. at 1209 Bute Street, in the heart of Davie Village.
Volume Studio is my seventh business, and it is also my favourite business, because this business isn’t about me. I turned 50, and all of a sudden I’m in the latter part of my life, and so this business is about giving back. I love it.
But, as you know, in my late twenties I almost died. When you are told that you only have three months to live, and you are HIV positive during a big epidemic, you really learn to take care of yourself. Oddly—and people don’t like to hear this—but being diagnosed HIV-positive was probably the single most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, in hindsight.
I’m not judging anybody. But having to live your life for the everyday, having to think that each small illness might be the beginning of the end, and not really knowing that I was going to be here until November 11, 2011 when St. Paul’s Hospital announced that HIV is about living and not dying. Up to that point, I really didn’t want to sustain a future. Now that I am 50 and I have this second chance—and I have the community’s backing—I really want to say thanks to the people who have helped me, and who’ve helped others living with HIV/AIDS.
SM: Can you describe the support networks and caregivers that have helped you recover from your HIV health crises?
DT: I survived the worst of the epidemic. Now, thanks to St. Paul’s—and St. Paul’s Hospital, a lot of people don’t realize, are one of the leading hospitals that came up with the cocktail, a treatment known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy or HAART. They changed the world. Whereas other hospitals may have opened their doors, at St. Paul’s they opened their hearts and their doors. In the 80s, St. Paul’s opened up a whole floor for gay men suffering with HIV/AIDS and St. Paul’s looked after them until they died. And the Hospital did that for the first twenty years of a thirty-year epidemic, without even knowing what the repercussions were going to be.
It was a really unique situation. Because Vancouver had probably one of the highest gay demographics in the country…we really felt [the HIV epidemic]. In the early 80s, when I moved here, Davie Street was filled with gay restaurants and coffee shops and flower shops and drag queen revues and then, bang. All the older men were gone. All these younger men, with no mentors, were basically living fearful lives, and this really contributed to [gay drug culture in the 1990s.] It was a difficult time in the community.
Now, we are turning it around. I see [in the West End] not at 80s or 90s version of what Davie Village was, but a new, fresher version of healthier choices, healthier lifestyles, and younger people wanting to give back to the community. It is exciting! And I hope that I can help out.
SM: What does community mean to you?
DT: It means recognizing where help has come from, and giving back. Volume Studio believes in the fortitude of the organizations that it supports, and we give back to those organizations.
SM: What is Volume Studio and how does it help build community in Vancouver?
DT: Volume Studio is a hair salon, an art gallery, and a flower shop.
At Volume, we really support all levels of the artistic community.
The first Friday of every month we invite a local artist to show their work. The artist donates 20% of their proceeds to the ward of their choice at St. Paul’s Hospital or to the charity of their choice.
[I have been throwing] Brilliant! A Show of Love for Mental Health, HIV and AIDS, every year, an event which reaches out to as many artistic people as possible. This year we’re featuring fashion, hair, makeup dance, theatre…we’ll have an art auction where we take local art. Everything is community-community.
SM: What hurdles or challenges has Volume Studio had to overcome?
When we took this space over on a sub-lease, we thought that we would get a couple months free rent and we would just put some glitter and feathers around and it would be fine. Instead, it was filled with dust and mould and rats. We couldn’t go near it for three months. That saga [getting it cleaned up and passing the health inspection] went on and on and on.
The other thing that happened was that no one has ever had a flower shop and a hair salon and an art gallery in one, and because of the city’s colonial laws, we had to fight for our right to sell flowers and art in the same building we were cutting hair. Now, anyone can get a license to open a hair salon and a flower shop or gallery space.
SM: People often accuse Vancouver of being “no fun city.” Do you agree or disagree?
DT: I don’t believe that at all! I came here from a small area in Winnipeg and, when I arrived, it was during Expo and I’ve had fun every day since.
SM: Favourite Vancouver person place or thing?
DT: My husband David. I love him. He’s my best friend and he’s the florist at Volume. He’s an amazing person…we’ve been together eight years. We’ll be together forever.
SM: What are you most excited about right now?
DT: Brilliant! A Show of Love for Mental Health, HIV and AIDS, I am so excited. I’m so excited about how excited the community is. The theme is “Fashion Through the Ages” this year, so we’re celebrating 120 years of fashion and music and talent and iconic figures. We’ve drag queens, we’ve got singers and dancers and choreographers and performers, not to mention all the fashion: the hair and makeup and clothes.
It’s going to be probably about 168 people in a 55-minute fashion show that’s going to blow Vancouver away.
Tickets are only $75 and you get a $50 tax receipt.
I am also very excited that, this year, the Vancouver Fireworks [the Festival of Light]has finally decided to recognize that Gay Pride begins at the same time, which they’ve never ever recognized before. So, the community reached out and I took it and decided to host the event with Simone [drag queen Christopher Hunt]. So Simone and I are doing a “Sport a Speck of Pink” party—you have to wear a speck of pink to get in—and it will be at Brand Live, which is sponsored by the Keg. Partial proceeds from the fireworks ticket sales go to St. Pauls’ Hospital.
The party is on August 3, in a huge tent, and it’s is usually just a party for the Keg, so primarily heterosexual, but it came up that why, on the evening of Gay Pride’s launch, we never recognized it? So that’s what we’re doing! Next year it’ll be even gayer.
The other thing that I’m really excited about is that John Ferrie is showing at Volume Studio and he is one of Vancouver’s hottest artists. We are expecting a great turn out —it’s on the 2nd of August.
Bam! What do you get when you mix a fashion show, live music, and a bow tie tying contest? BAM: an Alopecia Awareness event happening at Ginger62 this evening, Wednesday June 19th. Partnering with Suki’s Hair Salon and Knot Theory, Erin Leach and Tanya Huang are fundraising for the non-profit organization BAM (Bold Alopecia Movement), by mixing sugar, spice and everything nice in order to create a fun and memorable event that is close to their hearts. Two of Erin’s favorite bands, Their There and Dogwood & Dalia, will entertain, and Tanya’s tie tying contest—as well as a fashion show featuring hairstyling’s by Suki’s hair salon—means the night is sure to be a hit.
Being a lover of dance parties, hair, bow ties, fashion and great music, I jumped at the opportunity to support BAM. Not only is BAM increasing awareness about the autoimmune condition Alopecia Areta, it’s actually one that will get you involved! BAM’s Alopecia Awareness Event is not your typical fundraising dinner or auction: this dance party will keep you on the edge of your seat. Fortunately for me, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the ambitious and always smiling Tanya Huang. As the founder of Knot Theory and one of the organizers of BAM, Tanya found the time (somehow!) to chat with me on a hot sunny day about her business, BAM, and of course, about Tanya’s experiences living with Alopecia Areta.
FT: When did you find out you had Alopecia Areta?
TH: I was in Taiwan [when] my hair fell out completely. They didn’t tell me what it was. They just said, have a baby and it’ll be okay…. I was 10 years old. The last time I had my hair [was at] age 16 when I went on this diet. I was about 90 lbs. I ruined my health [because] I thought if my health were down, my hair would grow back. [However] six months later, I lost my hair again! So three years ago, the same time I started Knot Theory, I started a support group. [Right now] we have 45 members in BC and we meet every month in person. Not everyone is brave enough to come to a meet up; it takes time. Because of this group, it helped me become more open about [Alopecia]. No one knew I had Alopecia. I thought I was confident [but] there was still something I was not okay with for my whole life. There are some people in the group that totally impress me. This girl, who’s had it for two years. She lives in a suburban area, she came downtown one time, and thought ‘hey, I don’t know anyone here. I’m going to Starbucks without my wig on!’ She did that for the first time and said it felt great. I thought, wow, I couldn’t do that! I think that listening to stories like that [really] helps. I started going to hot yoga without my wig. It was really good, because everyone was still blow-drying his or her hair and I was done!
TH: [It] was overwhelming! I didn’t expect so many people to reply and post something nice. I didn’t expect my friends to react badly of course. [However,] I was worried about the people who would find me attractive. The sex appeal! I’ve always thought this doesn’t look good; guys would see no sex appeal since hair is so strongly associated with beauty and femininity. It took me a long time to [think] I could rock this. This one guy I was seeing at the time, I told him about it [before the video], but I didn’t show him. After a couple of months, he asked me to see it. He was so turned on. This was one of the hottest guys I’ve ever been with!
FT: How was your experience on Dragon’s Den? Did it teach you anything?
TH: It was a lot of fun [leading] up to going into the den. […] It was kind of nerve-wracking preparing for it, but once I was there, I was so excited! I wasn’t nervous at all. The dragons were nice. I got all five of them to say yes to me; I thought I was getting airtime for sure! I [honestly] cared about two things: the image of Knot Theory was good, and that I get aired in front of 3 million viewers. I know a lot of people thought we got funded, but almost no one I know [that goes on the show] gets funded […] I learned what I already knew going in… it’s show business. It’s not really a show, about business, it’s [just] reality TV. My plan was if I got an offer, I’d say yes. If they were mean to me, I would make a scene, scream and cry. Maybe get a reality show offer! It was a good experience…the process of being in the studio was fun.
FT: How did you come up with the concept of re-inventing ties and why hasn’t anyone ever thought about changing it up before?
TH: I studied computer science [in University] even though I’ve always loved both art and science. I always wanted to do fashion. I kept saying, I’ll do it I’ll do it! It got to me one day [that] I was all talk! I quit my job after six years. [That same] month, I was looking at my old sketchbooks and came across these ties that didn’t look like ties. I actually hated ties! This is something I admit to more now. Before I wouldn’t want to say that because a lot of my fans like ties. I developed an appreciation for ties. They [actually] haven’t changed in centuries; they went through a lot of forms in the last few hundred years. Everything else [in fashion] has changed but ties are just ties. [One night] I was watching Battlestar Galactica and came up with twenty designs. I made a prototype; [this was] the first time I put on a tie. I thought that it looked good on a girl too. I could pull this off based on something artistic that you could wear. Ties don’t have to be functional. [For example,] pants have to be comfy, but ties are just ties. You get to have a lot of freedom with it. When I started it, I wasn’t thinking functional. I designed something very architectural. Then I thought people would like it if I changed the colours. Some people like the knots, some like the art of it. The first design took 11 months; it took a year to start the company. That’s why no ones done it, because its too hard!
FT: How did you get involved with BAM?
TH: I was talking to Ken Takagi [the president of] Suki’s last year, and it got me thinking, we have a pink bowtie that’s the same colour as their brand; maybe we can collaborate! In March, I decided to do the video [about having Alopecia on YouTube]; it got a lot of response. So [this year] I talked to Ken, and I said ‘hey, how do you feel about a hair salon donating to people without hair?’ He said ‘Okay love it! Let’s do it!’ At the same time, Erin Leach from my support group wanted to do a fundraiser to celebrate alopecia. So I thought ‘Let’s all combine!’ So its Erin, Tanya, Knot Theory, and Suki’s! We wanted to do something that’s actually fun; we have a fashion show, a bowtie tying contest, and a light-hearted alopecia Q&A. The idea of BAM is to get people more exposure. [When you] give more exposure to the public about alopecia, it becomes more sexy.
If you want to support the cause, hit up BAM’s Indiegogo page to either contribute to the fund, or buy tickets to the event happening June 19th at 7pm. Tickets are $10 dollars to get into Ginger62, PLUS you get a free drink when you enter. 100% of the proceeds go to charity. Such a steal of a deal!
For the love of Chinatown, come to the Night Market!
“Now that the weather is warming up, it’s hard not to get excited about the night market and to see everything we’ve been working on become a reality,” said Tannis Ling, managing director of behind the new vision for the Night Market.“The buzz has grown quickly and the response from everyone has been extremely positive. People are looking forward to the changes but also their returning favourites so there is literally something for everyone.”
To kick off the new program, ping pong enthusiasts–novice and expert alike–are invited down to take part in the inaugural Chinatown Night Market Ping Pong Club. Some highlights to catch in the weeks following include Rain City Chronicles; Hip Hop Karaoke; The Chinatown Mahjong Social; Night Vision: Projection Photo Show including works by Fred Herzog; a Dumpling Festival; Weekend Leisure Karaoke; Chinatown Outdoor Cinema; Sonic Boom! The Street Fighter II Tournament.
There’s so much to see and do (and eat!) including some of the best outdoor entertainment and shopping in the city as well as a weekly on-site food truck gathering organized by the Vancouver Street Food Society and will include favourites like Vij’s Railway, Roaming Dragon, Le Tigre, Tacofino, and Mogu.
“This summer is unlike any other in the history of the Chinatown Night Market,” said program director, Ken Tsui. “The team and I are proud to be collaborating with organizations in the neighborhood–places like The Vancouver Public Library, The Carnegie Community Center, Girls Rock Camp, Vancouver Moving Theater and Project Limelight–in creating culturally unique entertainment on the market stage.”
This spring, Sad Mag mailed disposable cameras to various Canadian electro-pop bands so we could see what they see and wander where they wander. Maya Postepski, drummer of Austra and one half of goth duo TRST, was one of the lucky participants in Sad Mag’s Disposable Camera Project.
Get a sneak peek–before Saturday’s Mad Mad World Party–of the various objects, subjects and locales on Maya’s radar, and read her thoughts on music, feminism and feeling like a rock star.
Maya Postepski
ARIEL FOURNIER: Maya, you toured with Vancouver artist and musician Grimes, who holds strong opinions about stereotypes in music. What did you think about Grimes’ open letter about sexism in the music industry? Did you identify with any of her points in particular?
MAYA POSTEPSKI: Touring with Grimes was awesome, I think what she’s doing is relevant and interesting. Her open letter was brave and refreshing. So many female artists or public figures are afraid to even say they’re Feminists—I found her letter very intelligent and compassionate, and powerful. I liked how she specifically explained how being a feminist does not make one a ‘man hater’ and how she went into details about her family, her father and brothers. Being a feminist does not make one a man hater. I am in line with that and I think the word Feminist has way too many negative connotations, which is a such a shame. Being a feminist, in my mind, means I’m looking for women and men to gain equality
AF: What was it that grabbed you about The Organ’s music before you went on tour with them?
MP: I liked the sound, the aesthetic, [and] the nostalgia in Katie’s performance of the vocals. I loved how sad and romantic the songs were. I also loved how greatly they’re crafted—the pop structures in each track are impressive and sophisticated. Each song is barely over three minutes long and hits you where it hurts. Wicked songwriting and awesome musicianship.
AF: How influential was The Organ for you?
MP: They took me on my first real tour. That’s a huge deal—I felt like a real rock star, like my dreams came true, like they saved me from all the horrible thoughts I had of failure as an artist. I felt like I was finally real, like I mattered, and that was very empowering. As a fan I was also very inspired because I finally found a band that I looked up toward, that I could relate to on some distant level, and that I believed was writing music for people like me: young, gay, and confused.
AF: Maya, we talked about how Vancouver used to be less associated with an innovative music scene in your mind. Did Vancouver seem like a more interesting place to you when you were a teenager or when you joined up with The Organ’s tour? Do you feel now that that has changed?
MP: I don’t know Vancouver intimately enough to comment that deeply but I think it’s been a city that people in Canada consider to be kind of sophisticated or fancy, bourgeoisie. I guess it’s quite expensive and getting really developed with condos and the nouveau riche, as is Toronto. With money comes innovation, so there you go. I don’t think any of that affects the art scene though. In fact, I think it draws artists away because artists are generally not wealthy so they leave and go to cheaper cities like Berlin or Montreal. I might do that soon as well, heh.
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More photos from the Disposable Camera Project will be on display at The Gam Gallery on May 18th. Come hang out with us at the Mad Mad World Party and peruse photographs by HUMANS (Robbie Slade), MODE MODERNE, AUSTRA and CITY OF GLASS; Lauren Zbarsky, Alex Waber, Brandon Gaukel and Matty Jeronimo.
{cover photo of Maya c/o Hannah Marshall}
“Sad Mag’s Disposable Camera Project is like a behind the scenes from the folks who are in the scenes you wanna get behind.” –Katie Stewart, Sad Mag’s Creative Director.
ANCHOR GUITAR STUDIOS
103-339 Railway Street
Vancouver, BC
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Tannis Ling, Paige Cowan, Michelle Fu, Hannah Reinhart, Ken Tsui, Michele Guimond and Megan Lau at Bao Bei // photo c/o Leigh Eldridge
Vancouver Notables is the ongoing interview series where “No Fun City” shows off. More like burlesque than a talent show, Vancouver Notables wants you doing what you do best, but with sequins on your nipples. Tell us who you are, what you’re doing that’s of note and why, oh why, are you rocking that boat?
Sad Mag cornered the team behind Vancouver’s new Chinatown Night Market and asked them all sorts of questions about the history of the Night Market, how it’s going to reemerge (re-surge!) this year, and the challenges they’ve faced in getting it there.
Alright, team: introduce yourselves!
ML: I’m Megan Lau. I’m Sad Mag alumni and family. I read, write and sometimes take pictures.
MG: I’m Michele Guimond. I work for a big organization by day doing marketing PR etc… but by night I like to use my marketing powers for good, connecting with people with a good idea that want it heard.
MF: I’m Michelle Fu. I’m an artist and designer, and the co-founder of 221A, a non-profit artist run centre based in Chinatown, Vancouver.
KT: I’m Ken Tsui. I’m a filmmaker and host of pop-up events around Vancouver. I currently have the honour of working with the Vancouver Chinatown Merchants’ Association as a program director for this year’s Chinatown Night Market.
HR: I’m Hannah Reinhart. I’m an arts administrator in Vancouver, and am thrilled to be able to say I’m a part of this crazy talented group.
TL: I’m Tannis Ling. I own Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, which is a restaurant that sits on Keefer St. where the market happens every year. I’m the [Night Market’s] Managing Director.
Photo c/o Chinatown Night Market & Glasfurd + Walker.
ML: I grew up in Vancouver. As a kid, I went with my parents on their grocery trips in Chinatown every weekend. Back then, the neighbourhood was loud and alive. Those memories have a big place in my heart. I got to know the market around 2006, when I got involved with a magazine that was based in Chinatown. The Night Market meant we had tasty and affordable eats outside our door. When Ken asked me to join this team, I had to do it. This has been one of those rare opportunities to work with creative, generous and like-minded people.
HR: Ken recruited me to the team. We met about a year and a half ago when I was working in the neighbourhood, and I have always had a ton of interest in and admiration for his pop-up events and general zest for community building. I’d expressed this to him in the past, so I guess he knew I’d share his interest in bringing new life to the Night Market.
MG: Ken and I know each other through a shared love of food. Despite eating together for a couple of years we never really discussed the details of day jobs, of which mine happens to be marketing. Over a meal at Bao Bei (of course) he told me what he was planning for the market with Tannis. Seeing Ken turn most of what he touches into gold, including his pop up restaurants, I was excited to offer help with some marketing, social media, PR, etc. I am really excited by helping people get the message out about an idea that adds to the cultural landscape in Vancouver. This project was a great opportunity to get involved with a team of people dedicated and passionate about the same things.
MF: I’ve been actively working in Chinatown since 2008, and since then I’ve spent many nights working late into the evening. In the summer the Night Market is a welcome excuse for a stroll, a treat and the inevitable chance of running into a neighbour or friend. Moving here last year really cemented how much I love the neighborhood, and my desire to immerse myself even more increased. I’ve tried on numerous scales to create community engagement, and it’s a fun dilemma I’m constantly rethinking. Ken and I worked together once in the past, and have since kept an eye on each others’ projects (at least I did — is that creepy?), so when he approached me about working together again for the Night Market, he knew I’d be more than interested!
TL: I always knew that I wanted to open Bao Bei in Chinatown for the obvious reason that a Chinese restaurant belongs the best in Chinatown. I also loved the neighbourhood and felt that, unlike other areas of Vancouver, it had a gritty realness to it that I was attracted to and felt at home in. There’s also nothing handier than getting most of your produce, dry goods and smallware within a couple blocks of the restaurant.
When I opened the restaurant and realized that the night market was going to happen outside every summer, I couldn’t believe how lucky I had gotten with that location. I’ve always had a great love for markets and was excited to have the summer weekends on our street imbued with a sense of liveliness and fun. However, I think once the two night markets in Richmond opened up, a lot of business went over there and the market started to feel a bit sparse. My opinion was that there was no point for the Chinatown Night Market to compete with Richmond and that it should be its own entity, reflecting the emergence of a very exciting, young, entrepreneurial and creative spirit in the neighbourhood yet still preserving its cultural identity. I went to the Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee (VCRC) and suggested the idea to give the night market an update which seemed in line with their mandate of bringing life back to the streets of Chinatown. They in turn introduced me to the Vancouver Chinatown Merchants’ Association who has organized the night market for the last 17 years, and welcomed me and a group of volunteers to facilitate this new vision.
What is the history behind the Chinatown Night Market?
KT: The Chinatown Night Market has been a summer cornerstone for the neighbourhood for almost 20 years. For years, the market was a bustling and full of energy. However, what was once a three-block market is now just a single block. Despite scaling down, the market still maintains a cultural significance to the city that the new market team is excited to be a part of it.
TL: This was also the first night market in North America.
Things have really changed in Chinatown; even in the last five years there’s been a huge turnover in the types of businesses and events that are making Chinatown their home. How is the Chinatown Night Market walking the line between old and new?
MF: This is exactly what got me interested in working with the Night Market this year. I wouldn’t say its been a turnover of businesses in the area; I’d rather say that there is more diversity side-by-side. Though we do have to be realistic about the changing neighbourhood, we can also be very sensitive to everyone living and working here. It’s something I’m very aware of, having been part of the initial change five years ago. So our main thing is to make sure that diversity and accessibility are at the top of the list. We’re not replacing traditional with new; we’re adding to it. We’re keeping it as affordable as it was before, but making it more engaging. We want the Night Market to be a place you can buy a plate of shrimp dumplings, then finish it off with homemade ice cream while listening to Chinese opera, or trying your hand at Hip Hop Karaoke.
Can you recall some of the challenges (overcome or not) that you’ve faced while organizing this endeavour?
HR: Time has been the big one. Annual summer festivals of this size usually take the entire year to plan, and we’ve been working since January (Ken and Tannis started a bit earlier). We’re playing catch up this year and looking forward to getting a head start on next year!
MG: I knew from the start that this was going to be a marketing challenge. How do you get people engaged with something that isn’t happening yet? It is hard to get people focused on an event for summer in the middle of a long, drizzly winter and spring. However, every week as ideas turned into concrete plans and so much amazing talent started signing up, it became clear we just needed a way to help people see what was coming. We are now covering the programming on the wesbite/ blog weekly and activating social media with announcements about what’s coming. Soon we will have a full program up for the summer. We have had so much great support from collaborators and press. Overall, when people hear about what we have planned they are super excited! It’s not hard to convince Vancouverites about the value of a new cultural event. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for announcements throughout the summer.
MF: Working with people from all different backgrounds! That’s been an enlightening challenge — working with different generations, cultural backgrounds, language barriers, different interest groups, and the list goes on…
TL: I’ve realized that creating something from the ground up like the restaurant is difficult but that trying to take an existing event and altering it after 18 years has its own set of challenges.
Okay, team stuff: complete the following “Mad Libs” with the appropriate activity/member of the team…
“Getting it done,” means getting great, crazy, overworked people on board.
Tannis’ cat always manages to make meetings about driving Ken crazy.
The absolute best answer to any question that anyone asks is always ”let me talk to the team about that and get back to you”.
What are you all most excited about right now?
HR: I think I’m most looking forward to seeing Rain City Chronicles perform on the stage. I just went to one of their events a few weeks ago on the theme of “Fame and Fortune,” and it blew me away.
MG: I am really excited about Hip Hop Karaoke hosted by HHKVan. Ken was saying these guys have been looking for way to make these nights accessible to a younger audience. To date, their nights have drawn huge crowds at legal age venues like Fortune Sound Club, but the market is now offering them a way to invite younger kids up on stage. I have no doubt this event is going to be huge.
MF: Outdoor films, and dumpling weekend! Who doesn’t want to know more and eat more dumplings?
ML: I’m with Michelle. Dumplings forever. It’s also going to be beautiful to see Keefer Street transformed and the neighbourhood bustling at night. I want to experience something like the vibrant Chinatown of the 1950s and 1960s that I’ve heard and read about.
KT: I’m excited to see Girls Rock Camp and Green Burrito Records’ band The Courtneys on share the stage. Nothing says summer jam more to me than The Courtneys’ “90210.” Am I allowed two? Screw it. Of course, I’m allowed. I can’t wait to shout “Warrrrrrriorrrrrs come out and playyyyyyyayyyayay” on the mic during our Street Fighter II: World Warrior tournament.
TL: New vendors! We have have a slew of new sellers with products that range from jewelry, laser cut crafts, vintage sunglasses, books, design magazines, ceramics, flowers, chocolate, ice cream sandwiches, and chutney. We also have a couple of collective stalls, one being run by the popular design blog Poppytalk, and the other by China Cloud, a neighbourhood studio/gallery space, that are planning to showcase different artists every week for the entire summer.
The Night Market begins May 17th and runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until September 8th. Check out the action on the 100-block of Keefer Street from 6pm-11pm!
On April 21, Sad Mag writers Jessica Russell and Farah Tozy went on assignment for Vancouver’s Eco-Fashion Week with the intent of discovering how fashion—that most of ephemeral and wasteful of pursuits—justifies its involvement in the eco-friendly scene. How do luxury and consumerism co-exist with frugality and restraint? Over the following days, Jess and Farah discovered quite a lot that is new (most of it vintage!) in fashion and the green movement. Part 1 of 3.
GOING GREEN // Eco-Fashion Week // P.1
Jess and Farah here, reporting from Robson Square on season six of Eco-Fashion Week, where we got a taste of Vancouver’s fabulous fashion scene, and started to feel a bit like celebrities ourselves. (Can you say complimentary Noodlebox and cocktails?) We discovered that eco-friendly fashion has a wide variety of incentives, initiatives and styles, which demonstrate just how inclusive eco-fashion and sustainable clothing’s development has become. EFW showcased designers and products not only from Vancouver, but from all around the world.
But before the good life goes to our heads—all those free carbs!—let’s turn to the people who are actually talented: raw material designer Madera Elena, Diana Svensk with her warm stylings, and Evan Ducharme with his polished looks.
'Merely Me' by Madera Elena, photo by Jessica Russell and Farah Tozy
MADERA ELENA, MERELY ME
“This woman radiated positive energy. I felt an honesty that is hard to come by.” -Jess
“Grace.” That is the word New Yorker Madera Elena chose to describe her collection, “Merely Me.” Elena believes that everything we have in this world is given to us, and it is our responsibility to reuse, recycle and protect the earth we live on. Her spiritual outlook influences every aspect of her collection; this season, she placed her focus on earth tones, pure whites and grays.
From Elena we learned that the most common reason people throw away their clothing is because it doesn’t fit anymore. Which is why, instead of using buttons, all of Madera’s pieces are tacked with a floral pin that is adjustable and allows the body to be free and comfortable. Each of her versatile pieces is reversible, convertible and can be worn in at least three different ways. In order to reduce her carbon footprint, she uses 80% recycled fabrics for her clothing in addition to recycled paper for her shoes and accessories. Her fabrics are light, breathable and simple.
According to Elena, we should recycle our clothes, just as we recycle our experiences throughout our lives, by taking the ugly things that don’t “fit” and making them positive. She left us with these inspiring words: “Being conscious of who we are is just ‘Merely Me.’”
Diana Svensk, photo by Jessica Russell and Farah Tozy
DIANA SVENSK, SVENSK DESIGNS
“Diana was such a riot to talk to! I honestly wanted to hang out with her after the show, and of course, borrow all her clothes!” –Farah
We have never met a more down-to-earth designer than charismatic Swedish designer, Diana Svensk. Svensk creates knitwear that is fun, flirty and wearable, focusing on warm and comfortable feel-good clothing. Svensk began her business making bow hats, and now she incorporates her velour bows as a trademark into her skirts, jackets, sweaters and winter accessories.
In her words, her style is “what you see is what you get.” Her designs are straightforward and are easily worn with a pair of black leggings. This one-of-a-kind designer embraces feminine colours such as pale pink and mustard yellow in combination with bold patterns. What makes her clothing eco-friendly is her use of 100% organic alpaca wool which is hypoallergenic as well as seven times warmer, three times stronger than sheep’s wool.
When asked about Eco-Fashion in Sweden, Svensk replied that it is developing and hopes that her appearance in Vancouver Eco-fashion week will help her generate awareness back at home.
'Belladonna' by Evan Ducharme, photo by Jessica Russell and Farah Tozy
EVAN DUCHARME, BELLADONA
“We knew he nailed it, and so did he. Fighting back tears of happiness, Evan melted our hearts and we were there to witness his first huge success!” –Jess and Farah
VCAD graduate Evan Ducharme blew us away with his collection “Belladonna” featuring feminine silhouettes, detailed tailoring, and a sophisticated modern style. This 20 year-old Manitoba native started connecting with the fashion world by volunteering at Eco-Fashion week. He was then approached by the head of Eco-Fashion week, Myriam Laroche, to present his first eco-friendly collection. Designing in East Vancouver, he utilizes reclaimed fabrics as well as natural fibres and transforms them into reworked form-fitting garments.
Together with inspiration from style icons Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn, Ducharme aims to create a look for women of all ages who are strong and independent. Ducharme explained that military jackets had a big impact on his vision for this collection; he wanted to focus on accentuating the waist by cinching it in and having fuller skirts on the bottom. We look forward to seeing what this young designer does next!
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