aka gallery is proud to present Street Meet: Saskatoon’s 1st Annual Street, Public and Graffiti Art Festival, a three-day summer festival celebrating new, contemporary public art.
We’ve all driven, cycled or walked past Saskatoon’s wide array of public art, and it may have shaped our ideas of public art. Many of us expect it to be permanent, durable, heavy, big and sculptural. But are there other possibilities?
Between July 5-7, through a series of artworks, workshops and discussions, Street Meet will explore new and exciting ways to make and appreciate public art.
Feature artists include Shelley Miller (Montreal) who makes temporary murals from icing, Robyn Love (Corner Brook, NL) who works as a prolific “yarn bomber,” David LaRiviere (Saskatoon) who subverts public signage to artistic ends, and Corey Bulpitt (Vancouver), a Haida graffiti artist currently featured in the nationally touring “Beat Nation : Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture.” A yarn bombing workshop will be led by Regina’s Jen Keturakis (JenSK), and Saskatoon’s Ink Slab Printmakers will conduct a hand printed “public multiples” workshop.
To bring all these diverse strands of public art together, Dr. Anna Waclawek, art historian at Concordia University, will present a keynote lecture and lead a round table on public art in its sanctioned and unsanctioned forms.
Join us for the festivities, the conversation and the art!
Schedule of events for Street Meet:
FRIDAY
Keynote Speaker Address: 7pm, AKA Gallery
Presented by Dr. Anna Waclawek
Waclawek’s book, Graffiti and Street Art, analyses the various functions of graffiti and street art in the urban environment and their increasingly important role in visual culture. Her talk will discuss context, ephemerality, and liminality of street art practices
SATURDAY
Knit-In: 10:00-11:30am, Underground Café, FREE.
Pre-workshop knitting session for those who would like to brush up for their own ‘yarn bomb’ projects. Amateurs and professionals welcome. No registration required.
Yarn Bombing 101: 12:30-2:30pm, AKA Gallery, FREE.
Hosted by JenSK
Intro to yarn bombing’s origin and highlights, followed by ‘bombing’ AKA Gallery’s surrounding area. Pre-made materials will be used. No previous knitting experience required. Registration is required for this, as space is limited: please contact info(at)akagallery.org to register, no later than July 3, 2013.
Public Multiples Workshop: 3:00-5:00pm, AKA Gallery, FREE
Hosted by Ink Slab Printmakers
Intro to silkscreen and linocut using a baby printing press, followed by a chance to paste and stick your fresh skills in public! No previous printmaking experience required.
Registration is required for this, as space is limited: please contact info(at)akagallery.org to register, no later than July 3, 2013.
Roundtable Discussion: 7pm, SCYAP Gallery
Led by Dr. Anna Waclawek
With Robyn Love, Shelley Miller, David LaRiviere and Corey Bulpitt. Cupcakes generously provided by Cakes by Jen.
SUNDAY
The Museum of New Ideas: 2:30pm, the Hollows Parking Lot
Andrew Milne, presented by PAVED Arts
This ‘traveling-museum-van’ exhibits contemporary artworks and historical artifacts. Explore the connections between textiles and computational relics, and climb inside Milne’s large-scale interactive camera to investigate its uncanny projections.
Tour of 5 Feature Street Artworks: 7pm, AKA Gallery
Our feature artists will host a walking tour and discussion of their Street Meet artworks, which include icing tags, yarn bombs, subverted signage, Haida graffiti and site-specific treasure hunts.
Public Dance Party: 9pm at River Landing
DJ’d by Tod Emel
Graffiti mural boards by SCYAP and sound to get down to by DJ Tod Emel to end off this newborn festival just right – with some public hustling. BYOGS (bring your own glow sticks). All are welcome!
Click here for more detailed descriptions of the many exciting artist projects. And you can click here to go to Google Maps and see sites of note, both part of the Street Meet Festival but also other gems of public art around the city (many thanks to Finding City for helping with this).
Street Meet gratefully acknowledges the following sponsors, and would also like to thank PAVED, SCYAP and Finding City.
