This is the 29th annual Eastside Culture Crawl, inviting guests who are indulged with art, a passion for art and love the expression for culture. This is the event you don’t want to miss; Vancouver’s Eastside will transform into an open-air gallery where over 500 artists will open their studio doors, and everyone will have the chance to enter into their creative worlds. It allows you to step into the world of creativity, experiencing how different ideas are born, and hopefully you can take something that inspires you from it.
The festival welcomes visitors into studios and workshops across more than 80 registered buildings in the Eastside Arts District, surrounding Colombia street, 1st Avenue, Victoria Drive, and the Waterfront. This year features 20 new buildings to the event, giving more exploration in arts and inviting more talent into the festival. Whether it’s a tiny workshop tucked behind an alleyway or a top floor studio lit by giant windows, each space becomes part of a larger story about the artistic spirit of the city.
The unique beauty of the culture crawl is not just the artwork, but how you perceive them. Walking into a studio on Parker Street and watch artists do their work. Chat with friends or the artist at their studios asking about their processes in front of their canvases. The even expects more than 45000 visitors annually, but it never feels like a crowd, because everyone spreads across buildings, walking to explore each unique pieces of work from one studio to the next.
Whether you’re looking for unique holiday gifts, searching for the perfect art piece to blend into your home. The culture crawl brings opportunities for both the artist and the consumer, one might discover a new favourite artist working right next to you, or you might have an entirely new experience from a conversation that changes how you see art entirely.
The Eastside Culture Crawl isn’t passive observation, it’s more than that. It invites discovery and curiosity within this event, Vancovuer’s creativity brings the passionate artists and fanatics into these studios, workshops and maker spaces, everyone is ready to share their process, passion and work.
Ben Chan kchan467@my.bcit.ca