Date: Project commencing October, 2011 – Exhibition runs November 1st, 2011 – February 25, 2012
Location: The Audain Gallery, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and the Downtown Eastside community
Website: www.dewc.ca and sfuwoodwards.ca/index.php/audain

This process-oriented exhibition is a collaborative project between the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC), visiting artist Elke Krasny, the art collective desmedia, the collaboration red diva projects, the art collective Coupe, Out of Bounds Festival of Site-Specific Interventions, students from the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, members of the community, and the Audain Gallery.

Presented as a text-based “horizon line” spanning the walls of the gallery, the exhibition offers a visual map of the demands and aspirations of the DEWC community. These demands, both current and historical, address issues of poverty, violence and insecurity, social exclusion, the deferral of rights, and the legacy of colonialism. Although describing specific challenges, these claims are also expressions of conviviality and solidarity. These expressions exist between women, between women and their neighbourhoods, and between the women of the Centre and their global context.

During the exhibition, the gallery will function as a platform and meeting ground for the production and exchange of different forms of knowledge. The “horizon line” will be a framing device and backdrop for a series of events, workshops, performances, and projects that aim to build neighbourhood constellations that go beyond familiar exchanges. They also provide opportunities for direct community participation and the fostering of critical dialogue, while also challenging the conventional expectation of what constitutes a gallery exhibition. As part of this series, women from the DEWC will teach a series of hands-on workshops, including instruction on cedar weaving and Japanese brush painting, to share their knowledge of traditional artistic practices.

Working closely with the women of the DEWC, Elke Krasny, and our other collaborators, Mapping the Everyday examines the possibilities for and consequences of community-based political activity as articulated in relationship with contemporary artistic and institutional practices.

Mapping the Everyday: Schedule of Events and workshops

Nov. 19, 2pm
How can we collaborate?
Talk with Elke Krasny, Cecily Nicholson, and Sabine Bitter

Nov. 22, 1pm
Workshop on Cedar Weaving
Lead by Stella August

Nov. 24, 1pm
Workshop on Japanese Brush Painting
Lead by Ari Tomita

Nov. 26, 2pm
Collective Futures in the Downtown Eastside
Panel discussion by the desmedia collective

Nov. 27, 7pm
Wednesday Night School: Introduction
Reading group developed by the art collective Coupe

Nov. 30, 7-9pm
Dalannah Gail Bowen
To compliment Mapping the Everyday, the Audain Gallery is pleased to host a live musical performance by jazz and blues singer Dalannah Gail Bowen. Bowen is an experienced, versatile, and dynamic performer with strong ties to the local community and has significant national recognition.

Dec. 18, 7pm
Wednesday Night School: Class Restoration
Reading group developed by the art collective Coupe

Jan. 19, 7pm
Discussing Out of Bounds
Student-lead panel discussion on the Out of Bounds: Festival of Site-Specific Interventions held in the DTES

Jan. 22, 7pm
Wednesday Night School: Marxism & Factography
Reading group developed by the art collective Coupe

Feb. 7, 7pm
Jesus Indian
Screening and discussion of a short film produced by red diva projects and Frog Girl Films

Feb. 10, 7pm
Jennifer Kreisberg
Performance and discussion

Feb. 14, 1pm
Annual February 14th Women’s Memorial March
Starts at Main and Hastings Street, all welcome

Feb. 24, 7pm
Wednesday Night School: How to Trace the Destruction of the Old World on Our Hands
Presentation and discussion by the art collective Coupe

Feb. 25, 7pm
red diva projects
Performance of workshops by Marie Clements, Michelle St. John, and women from the DEWC

Note: The workshops and the Wednesday Night School have limited availability only. Please contact the Audain Gallery for more information at info@audaingallery.ca

With support from the City of Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary Grants Program and the participation of the Government of Canada.