When Sad Mag hears about an event that combines art, fashion and utilitarianism, we get interested. When it turns out the show will also give back to the community, we’re totally on board. dutil. denim in Gastown is throwing the DENIM + ART Fundraiser Show & Art Raffle this Thursday at their location at 303 W Cordova. Sad Mag had a chance to chat with dutil.’s PR team, Jenn and Thalia, and one of the artists, Anna Tidlund, about the what and why of DENIM + ART.
Sad Mag: Who are dutil. denim?
Anna Tidlund: dutil. is a denim store that opened in 2006. They curate and sell a selection of quality denim products, both from big name brands to micro brands.
SM: Jenn and Thalia, could you tell us a little about the DENIM + ART Fundraiser Show & Art Raffle. What is happening now, and what will happen the night of?
Jenn and Thalia: In September 2013, dutil. sent out a call for submissions. We invited local creative minds to create literal ‘denim art’. We chose nine artists from the Greater Vancouver Area to explore the connection between denim and art by turning old blue jeans into non-wearable art. On Thursday, October 24th between 7pm and 9pm PST the artists will exhibit their multi-media works.
dutil. believes that artist should be able to make a living off of their works of art, but also recognizes the various obstacles that prevent most artists from succeeding in doing so. The DENIM + ART show aims to reward artists for their efforts by giving them 75% of the proceeds raised from the event. The remaining 25% of proceeds raised to The Vancouver Coastal Health’s Art Studios – a not-for-profit organization that utilizes art in their rehabilitation and recovery programs for youth and adults who live with serious and persistent mental illness.
SM: What sparked the idea for DENIM + ART?
Anna Tidlund: DENIM + ART is a show that, in part, seeks to raise awareness about the relationship between the two, denim plus art! Denim is a signifier for many things: identity, for artists such as Diego Riviera and Jackson Pollock, and for its accessibility in everyday use and utility, for pop culture, and even history. The show is also meant to be a way to raise funds for The Art Studios which is a facility that offers mental health and psychosocial rehabilitation with art as therapy and to build a community where their art practice is accessible, safe, and accepting.
SM: Anna, as an artist participating in the show, what will be your contribution?
Anna Tidlund: I work mostly with digital media dealing with the absurd and the act of art production. Lately I’ve been working on a series of cinematic animated gifs, and the contribution to the show will be a gif.
dutil. had given each artist some denim to work with, with the sole guideline being that the denim could not be wearable as the finished product. I wanted to make something concerning the physical and personal relationship of material commodity, and the possibility of its alternative history. Its acquisition and destruction that is kind of held in limbo by the law of its own coding, the piece is called Ctrl-Alter-Del.
You can see it below!
SM: Do you know the other artists who are participating? If so, what are other’s contributions going to be like?
Anna Tidlund: Surprisingly, I have a few friends who are also participating in the show (just because we applied without the knowledge of the other). There is a great range of stylistic and conceptual differences that I’ve seen so far. Every person took the project in different ways so it will be fantastic to see them all together. There will be sculpture, painting, and digital media.
