Here’s What Happened in One of Vancouver’s Wildest Art Events
There’s a new event called Dustcovery- Yesterday’s Tomorrow at the PNE Forum. This event brings a unique art culture to the doorsteps. From the air hums with anticipation to the installations of neon lights, the Vancouver Burning Man Community transforms this space into an unexpected visual surprise to the naked eye.
This year’s theme focused on ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrow’, shows different artworks, some mixes old-fashioned ideas with futuristic imagination. Seeing someone in a traditional Victorian outfit with glowing wings in the back to help kids make paper rockets. While a DJ might play retro electronic music while old sci-fi films are projected onto the walls. At the invention station, people would gather around to build strange creations together, this theme is not just a show, it encourages everyone to explore the creativity between past and future.
At the Time Traveler’s Lounge, people can write time capsules for their future selves, to write down what we hope to be in the future. While on the other hand, we can burn old letters from ourselves to let go of the past. At the Retro Arcade Camp, giant screens that show classic games like Pac Man are available for everyone to enjoy.
Dustcovery is built on the ten principles of the Burning Man which consists of creativity, community, gifting, participation and more. People came here to gather to experience these activities for the first time, expanding their ideas and opening doors to think outside the norm. Everyone wears costumes that stands out from the norm to appreciate the ideas from past and future combined.
Performance in the event brings different kinds of music to blend together, fire dancers wearing steampunk clothing, spinning flaming staffs while mixing with LED lights, changing perception and creating an exceptional visual display. As the night winds down and the last bit of light starts to fade.
Dustcovery ends but with a twist, waiting for the next storytellers. Because everything in this event is more than just a piece of artwork, performance or display. It combines the creativity and meaning to tell a story, to combine ideas from stories that were once told and the stories that are yet to be told. Whoever you are, this event has showed me that anybody can be anything with just the exploration and breaking away from the norm, you can build, explore and connect yourself to the yesterday’s ideas and tomorrow’s dream in the same room, to bring your own spark into the mix.
Ben Chan kchan467@my.bcit.ca