Events

April 17−June 6, 2021 Artist Talk: Saturday, April 17 | 1:00 p.m. –2:00 p.m. PST on Surrey Art Gallery’s Facebook page and YouTube channel

Surrey Art Gallery launches their spring exhibit Mark Soo: Twilight on the Edge of Town on Facebook Live and YouTube on Saturday, April 17 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. PST with a talk by the artist that will be available for replay afterwards.

Drawing from an archive that evokes the history of science fiction film, 3D animation, documentary photography, and literature, Mark Soo’s newest video artwork explores the nature of perception and the limits of storytelling.

Through his juxtapositions of visual and experiential phenomena, this project stimulates poetic associations to place, reality, and imagination.

Across multiple screens, the artist creates an immersive choreography of visual elements over twenty-five minutes. Holographic images depict objects and events of the seemingly everyday where surreal log jams and raindrops mingle with flickering streetlights and backyard scenes.

An ambient soundtrack includes the voices of a child and adult simultaneously narrating the images, one in a speculation on the future and the other in a recollection of the past. Experienced in an ambiguous present, remembrance slips into projection and past and future are intertwined.

Mark Soo says, “I’ve tried to make a work that speaks to a complicated relationship to where we are, and of how we perceive that in terms of time and the relation to space.”

The result is part theatre, experimental cinema, and art installation. “By experimenting with the relationship between image and sound, fact and fiction,” says curator Jordan Strom, “Soo’s large-scale environment is a compelling meditation on the nature of individual and collective memory.”

Twilight on the Edge of Town builds on Soo’s work of the past decade and a half, including his interests in photography and film, the history of social movements, and experiments with the technological image. Surrey Art Gallery and Wirklichkeit Books, Berlin, will be co-publishing a catalogue about Mark Soo: Twilight on the Edge of Town in the fall of 2021.

Twilight on the Edge of Town is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded in part through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

Other exhibitions at Surrey Art Gallery include Art by Surrey Secondary Students, a display of collages, drawings, and paintings from local youth (closes April 30) and the artist video Yam Lau: Hutong House. At UrbanScreen, Surrey Art Gallery’s offsite art venue, the Flavourcel collective presents I Spy a City, a series of animations that capture different sights in Surrey (closes May 2).

About Mark Soo

Cinevolution’s flagship annual event, Digital Carnival, returns with the theme of “Z” from April 21 to June 5, 2021! A cutting-edge media art festival for all audiences, Digital Carnival Z will be headlined by UNION, a speculative sci-fi exhibition set in the year 3000 created by Featured Artists Nancy Lee 李南屏 and Kiran Bhumber ਕਿਰਨਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਭੰਬਰ, presented in partnership with the Richmond Art Gallery.  In addition to the interactive gallery exhibition, join us for a dynamic array of online exhibitions, performances, and talks, where artists explore the relationship between bodies, gestures, culture and society to imagine new futures #BeyondTheBinaries. Discover new media works ranging from dance, poetry, video, interactive media, live coding to web XR online at DigitalCarnival.ca.  ASL interpretation, closed captioning, and audio description available. For detailed accessibility information, please contact Regan Shrumm by email at regan@cinevolutoinmedia.com or by phone at 778-803-7150.  Learn more about Cinevolution www.cinevolutionmedia.com www.instagram.com/cinevolution www.facebook.com/cinevolution

Virtual event features sustainable crafts and Indigenous performances

Surrey, B.C. – Presented by TD Bank Group, Party for the Planet returns virtually for its 10th annual event on Thursday, April 22, 2021.

The livestream will feature environmental education from departments across the City, including urban forestry, park partnerships, sustainability, culture services, engineering, waste collection services and recycling. The livestream will be hosted by Neal Aven, Manager of Parks for the City of Surrey.

“Virtual Party for the Planet will showcase the City’s environmental initiatives and commitments in an engaging and inclusive way,” said Neal Aven, Party for the Planet event host. “The virtual event will demonstrate our City’s resilience to combat climate change and promote environmental stewardship through our many programs and services.”

The livestream will feature a variety of videos highlighting the collaboration between sustainability and art such as: Museum of Surrey’s Nature’s Clothesline Exhibit; how to make crafts using re-used materials with the Surrey Art Gallery; sustainably themed Public Art installations; and how to make a button blanket and cloth canoe with LaDonna Wiks Joseph.

The show will also feature Indigenous performances by the Stars of the North Drum Group, Wild Moccasin Dancers, Andrea Menard, Wayne Lavallee and Candace Curr.

Party for the Planet is offering many opportunities for residents to enter to win prizes to local and sustainable businesses. Residents can post a photo of their 99 Nursery and Florist Gardening Kits in the Party for the Planet virtual photo booth for a chance to win a $200 gift card to Central City Shopping Centre.

The livestream will offer a chance to win prizes from a variety of virtual Sustainable Marketplace vendors including eco-friendly bath & body, aromatherapy, and outdoor adventure packages.

Party for the Planet will offer themed colouring sheets, paint by numbers pictures and an Earth Day scavenger hunt for viewers to complete on Earth Day. For more information visit surrey.ca/partyfortheplanet, facebook.com/partyfortheplanet or instagram.com/surreybcevents.

 

Surrey, B.C. – Presented by TD Bank Group, the City of Surrey will host the tenth annual Party for the Planet event virtually on Thursday, April 22 at 5:00 p.m. hosted on Facebook and YouTube Live.

The broadcast will feature environmental education for all ages through virtual workshops, informational videos about Surrey’s sustainable initiatives, music, dance, children’s performances, and Indigenous programming.

The livestream will include a yoga workshop, interactive gardening tips and an Earth Day scavenger hunt. This year’s performers include The Zolas, Andrea Menard, IAMTHELIVING and Teon Gibbs, Glass Forest, Wild Moccasin Dancers and Bobs & Lolo.

The virtual event will also kick off the Surrey Love Where You Live initiative encouraging residents to take part in neighbourhood cleanups and other activities to help keep their city clean and beautiful.

“Party for the Planet is Surrey’s premier event celebrating nature and raising awareness of how to better care for our environment,” said Mayor Doug McCallum.

“Not only is there plenty of fun and entertainment, but Party for the Planet also helps shine a light on the climate change emergency. This annual event aligns with Council’s commitment to keep Surrey as a leader of green initiatives and programs in Canada.”

"As we look toward recovery during a year unlike any other, TD continues to advance environmental sustainability as an integral part of our business," said Andrew Cribb, Senior Vice President and Pacific Region Head, Branch Banking at TD.

"We are proud to be a long-time supporter of Party for the Planet and look forward to joining the City of Surrey for the virtual festivities to honour Earth Day this April."

Party for the Planet will also offer limited free craft and gardening kits to viewers, encouraging residents to share photos for a chance to win prizes. Residents can pick up free Downtown Surrey BIA environmental kid’s craft kits from Central City Shopping Centre, and native pollinator gardening kits from 99 Nursery and Florist on March 31, 2021.

Party for Planet will also mark the launch of another major tree sale event, one of six public tree sale events planned by the city in 2021 to be held from April 23rd to May 8th enabling payment and pickup of discounted $20 trees paid for online through the City’s MYSURREY account and later picked up at the Surrey Operations Centre.

For more information visit surrey.ca/partyfortheplanet, facebook.com/partyfortheplanet  instagram.com/surreybcevents.

Celebrate Earth Day with a Party for the Planet, virtually! Join us for the tenth annual Party for the Planet celebration on Thursday, April 22 at 5pm broadcasted on Facebook and YouTube Live. Presented by TD Bank, this year’s free, family-friendly livestream will feature a series of segments from Surrey’s Sustainability, Parks, Transportation, Waste Management and other departments to educate viewers on environmental initiatives and ways to live sustainably and contribute to a healthier planet. The livestream will include environmental education for all ages, musical entertainment, Indigenous performances, interactive workshops, quizzes, kids crafts and more. Plus, viewers can be entered to win over $700 of prizes. The virtual event will feature local performances by: The Zolas Andrea Menard Bobs & Lolo Candace Curr Celso Machado EnviroMOTION Glass Forest IAMTHELIVING and Teon Gibbs Indian Standard Time Trio Jordan Klassen Kutapira Luca Fogale Ndidi O PRAISETeam Robin Reddy Show Shan E Punjab Stars of the North Drum Group Wayne Lavallee We Are Wild Moccasin Dancers

Canuck Country Rocks is an annual concert event that works with community partners to raise funds towards mental health awareness and resources for our community. For 2021, The City of Surrey is proudly co-hosting a virtual version of the show alongside the Vancouver Canucks Alumni Association, which will be broadcasted and live streamed across Canada. We will be hosting the performers at City landmarks, including the Cloverdale Rodeo Fairgrounds, Holland Park and Crescent Beach. Throughout the show we will highlight the City as a destination for visitors and be incorporating City stakeholders and organizations promoting tourism. We plan on hosting this event in recurring years within the City and moving the event to in-person in 2022.