VMF Artist Talk and Tunes

The first beer is free with your ticket!

Get ready for an exciting twist on the usual VMF Artist Talk! We’ve teamed up with the incredibly creative yet laid-back crew at Container Brewing to kick off our festival in style. Join us on Wednesday, August 7th for a relaxed, vibe-filled evening. Enjoy stunning mural art, delicious craft brews, and tunes from a select list of DJs. Plus, kicking off the night is an engaging dialogue about public art starting at 6:30 PM followed by a Q&A. This is the perfect warm-up for the epic 4-day VMF Street Party starting the next day in Mount Pleasant. Music and vibes till 10pm.

FEATURING:

Moderator:

Adrian Sinclair, Co-Founder of VMF, Director of Engagement & Partnerships

PANELISTS! (6:00 -8:00 pm)

Randall Bear Barnetson is a multidisciplinary Indigenous artist from the village of Nadleh Whut’en, the Dakelh nation, and of the Duntem’yoo Bear clan. Bear’s artistic practice interprets matters of modernity such as mental health and wellbeing, identity, culture, and spirituality, through the framework of Northwest Coast Indigenous art forms. Bear’s art and traditional storytelling has aided in reconciliation and decolonization efforts with settler organizations in discussing Indigenous culture and heritage.

Bear was born and raised in the urban Indigenous community of Commercial Drive in Vancouver BC. Bear spent years serving alongside his parents who founded a thriving mission on the 100 block of Hastings that provided essential services to over two million members of the Downtown Eastside Community. Bear’s practice is currently based on the Unceded Territories of the Tsawwassen First Nation community, as a guest. Bear is enrolled in his Bachelor of Arts in Critical + Cultural Theory at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Rashmi Tyagi is a multidisciplinary creative artist specializing in visual identities, graphic design, and illustration. She is informed by the astounding beauty of nature and the cultural touchpoints of her South-Asian heritage, both of which are pivotal to her practice.

Driven by a love of color, she strives for a sense of tactility, playfulness, and a healing atmosphere in her work. Her whimsical and colorful illustrative style is inspired by ordinary everyday moments. Rashmi combines a sense of nostalgia with texture, colors, and patterns within her work to make warm and stylish scenes, most often celebrating women.

Tierra Noble (Tee Noble): Tierra is a DJ, Arc'Teryx BC ambassador and Bside Radio host born and raised on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She hosts a monthly Open Decks series, making CDJs accessible to DJs of all levels and fostering a strong sense of community. For her curation with VMF, Tierra chose two DJs from Open Decks, Munro and Jefferson to showcase their talent; catch them on Friday August 9th at the VMF Main Stage.

Will Hannan (dj_2button / Weirdos Inc): Will (dj_2button) a multi disciplinary artist, dj and co-founder of Weirdos inc. Weirdos Inc is a record label, a radio show, a party and a collective of oddball artists and dreamers focusing on experimental video and installations who aim to spice up your time on earth. Our sounds focus on the primitive, experimental, downtempo, ambient, psychedelic, leftfield techno, to new wave and house & disco with a huge focus on balearic sounds. Weirdos inc. will be hosting a diversity of programming from animal flow movement classes to downtempo DJ sets from the crew on Saturday August 10th at the VMF Oasis Stage.

DEEJAY

Apollo (8:00 pm - 10:00 pm)

Joel Jasper - The Vancouver based DJ and producer aka APOLLO (A Place Of Love Lives On). Genre-bending electronic that touches the soulful, celestial and ethereal. His life affirming selections are guaranteed to leave a smile on your face. Releasing on Vancouver imprint Club Designs, Berlin House music and clipp.art out of Australia. One quarter of the much-loved local collective Wax When You Want. His sounds cover heartwarming house, searing techno, uplifting UKG and flashes of bass, two step and electro that will put the sound system to work.

PARTY PROTOCOL

Everyone is welcome here, regardless of who you are, whom you love, or how you identify. We do not tolerate oppression, judgment, or harassment of any kind. Please be aware of the vibes you bring to this event. While enjoying yourself, please drink responsibly, ensure consent, and respect personal boundaries.

We acknowledge that this event takes place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples – the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations. We ask that you take a moment to consider the history of the land that we gather on, your relations with local Indigenous people and what each of us can do to foster meaningful reconciliation now and into the future.

For more information about VMF, please visit our website at https://vanmuralfest.ca/