With the end of the year upon us, it seems only fitting that I take some time to look back at the year that was and highlight some of the amazing stories and people that came to my attention this year.
There's no denying it was a big year for the arts and entertainment scene in New West: With the opening of the incredible new Anvil Centre downtown, arts and culture has a more visible and prominent place in the city than ever before.
And, as always, there's talent busting out all over in this fair city of ours.
So, without further ado, I present my year-end "awards" for the movers and shakers on the arts scene in 2014.
BEST ARTS NEWS:
Hands down, I've got to give this one to the above-mentioned opening of the shiny new Anvil Centre. With the museum, gallery space, the New Media Gallery, the fantastic new theatre (pictured at top), studio spaces and so much more - not to mention a full schedule of incredible programs and classes for the community - this new facility stands to put New Westminster on the arts and culture map.
But it wasn't the only good newsy story on the arts scene: I give my runner-up nod in this category to city council's decision to accept three pieces of public art through the Vancouver Biennale program. The controversy over WOW New Westminster at Westminster Pier Park (artist's conception above) - and city council's resulting decision in favour of the piece - started an interesting discussion over the value of public art. Now, the only down side here is that the pieces haven't actually been installed in New West yet. Various issues have pushed the installations back to the spring of 2015. But keep your eyes open for Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopolous on Columbia Street, Public Furniture/Urban Trees by Hugo Franca at a to-be-determined location and WOW New Westminster by Jose Resende, at Pier Park.
BEST SOURCE OF ARTISTIC INSPIRATION:
This one's also a no-brainer: Wait For Me, Daddy. While Claude P. Dettloff's iconic Second World War photo became the inspiration for the new sculpture in Hyack Square, the sculpture itself became the inspiration for a number of related arts events - including a literary evening, a poetry walk around downtown New Westminster and a visual art exhibition at the Anvil Centre. It's clear that the photograph and the themes of family, war, love and loss still resonate with all of us. And the amount of artistic output around this one piece has been incredible - and inspiring - to see.
BEST LITTLE COMPANY THAT COULD:
They're a husband-and-wife team living right here in New Westminster - and together they're producing some of the finest musical theatre you'll find anywhere. Yes, I'm talking about Peter Jorgensen (above) and Katey Wright and Patrick Street Productions, which had its first-ever two-production season this past year. Not only did Jorgensen create his own Rodgers and Hammerstein revue, Out of a Dream (which ran to great success at Vancouver's York Theatre), the company also staged Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins - and even flew in the Broadway superstar composer for a workshop and public appearance. Floyd Collins even travelled all the way to Barrie, Ont. (my hometown, as coincidence has it) for a co-production with that city's Talk Is Free Theatre. And this coming year looks like another busy one for the company: Out of a Dream is finding new life at the Gateway Theatre in Richmond and the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, and Patrick Street is also working on a new partnership with Touchstone Theatre - an adaptation of Terry Fallis's novel The Best-Laid Plans. The theatre world is eagerly awaiting to see what this amazing professional company comes up with next - and so am I.
BEST CROWD PLEASER:
There's no doubt there's been a great deal of fine entertainment on offer over the past year, but this one's gotta go to Royal City Musical Theatre for its amazing production of Annie in April. Powered by the talents of Steve Maddock as Oliver Warbucks and young Julia MacLean as Annie, the musical hit all the right notes in its vocal talent, choreography, staging, costumes and overall heartwarming feel. I wanted to adopt all the orphans by the end of the night, and I know I wasn't alone. The production I saw got a standing ovation, and the musical generated a whole lotta buzz around the city and beyond. It'll be tough to top this smashing success in 2015 - but if anyone can do it, RCMT can. (And psst, have you bought your tickets for RCMT’s My Fair Lady yet?)
BEST VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN EFFORT:
That New Westminster has a theatre company that's been operating for more than 75 years says an awful lot about the host of people who make it all happen. The Vagabond Players group - which grew out of the Unity Club at St. Aidan's Church in the 1920s and has been operating in its current form since 1937 - is one of the rare community theatre companies anywhere that still produces a full season of theatre for local audiences. Operating out of the Bernie Legge Theatre at Queen's Park, the company stages a range of plays every year and each year makes it a mission to tackle at least one more artistically challenging effort - this past year, that was Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). This grande dame of the local theatre scene continues to draw in appreciative audiences from New Westminster and beyond, providing affordable and enjoyable theatre right here at home. You can't get better than that.
BEST RISING STARS:
Every year, I have the privilege of meeting young and emerging artists who may not yet be widely known but who are out there already displaying such talent and conviction that you just know they have to go places. It's tough to choose just one talent, but this year, I'm giving the nod to VanDeca. The self-directed choral ensemble from New Westminster builds on the individual strengths of each of its members and creates a flexible sound that can transition from current chart hits to early music with ease. The group is chock full of young talent - but, more to the point, they've also got the drive, the energy and the community spirit to take themselves places. They're becoming a ubiquitous presence at community events in New Westminster and beyond, and they just held a holiday benefit concert for L'Arche Greater Vancouver. I can't wait to see what they have in store in 2015 - the sky's the limit for this group, and I'm ready to say "I knew them when."
BEST ARTS FESTIVAL:
It hardly seems fair to narrow this down to one choice, given the amazing amount of events in the city, but this year, I'm going to give the nod to the Mushtari Begum Festival. The festival of classical Indian music and dance, produced by Queensborough's husband-and-wife team of Cassius Khan (aka the Tabla Tornado, above) and Amika Kushwaha, brings incredible international talent to the stage at Massey Theatre - and opens the doors of classical Indian music to a broader audience. This festival is destined to keep on growing as word spreads through Canada and India that New West is the place to be to hear world-class classical music.
Runner-up: New West Doc Fest. The film fest returned to the Landmark Cinemas for this year's fourth annual outing, and once again showed a mix of thought-provoking and crowd-pleasing offerings - including their first non-documentary screening, Boyhood. Next year they're looking to expand their offerings even further to encompass more non-documentary films and become more of a general film festival - but without losing their roots as a "festival with a cause."
BEST NEW ARTS PROGRAM:
I found out about this one when I was writing about an open house at the new 100 Braid Street Studios, and it deserves its own mention here. Studio owner Susan Greig (above) not only offers a place for professional artists to create and show their work, she provides a wide range of classes for people of all ages. The most special of those? Artism, and art program designed specially for children with autism and other special needs. It offers an inclusive and welcoming environment for people who might be challenged to fit in traditional art classes. Run by Greig and fellow artist Cliff Blank, along with volunteers and an occupational therapist, it's helping to open up new worlds for all kinds of people. That's what I call art at its best.
To all of the above-mentioned folks, and to everyone out there creating art of all kinds in our city: I salute you. You are all helping to make our city a better place to live, and your efforts are not going unnoticed.
A very Merry Christmas and the warmest wishes for the new year to all of you.
Who were your favourite movers and shakers on the arts scene in 2014? What was the best local production you saw? Who should we watch for in the coming year? Send your comments and ideas to Julie, [email protected], or find her on Twitter, @juliemaclellan. Your feedback could appear in an upcoming edition.
