With decades of incredible art embedded into the history of British Columbia, our province has always been a powerful force in art, culture, and entertainment.
Punk legend and city councilor Joey Keithley. Darran Chaisson Photography
From international superhits to groundbreaking Indigenous literature, B.C. has always been home to some of the most stunning art and artists in the world. To celebrate our province’s creative past, we’ve partnered with CBC Vancouver, digging through their deep cultural archives to highlight some of the most iconic moments from B.C.’s most powerful, artists, musicians and writers.
1989: Bryan Adams opens The Warehouse Recording Studio
Bryan Adams Facebook (Official)
Fresh off a series of international megahits, Bryan Adams purchased the property at 100-102 Powell St. as the future home for the Warehouse Recording Studio. The building was originally Vancouver's first wholesale grocery business for Oppenheimer Brothers before serving as Vancouver's City Hall following the Great Fire. The studio has earned a reputation around the world and has been recorded in by artists like AC/DC, Metallica, Michael Buble, The Tragically Hip and hundreds of bands from Vancouver, making this nondescript building just outside of a Gastown ground zero for incredible music coming from B.C.
1991: Bill Reid’s “Spirit of the Haida Gwaii” reaches Washington, D.C.
Photo courtesy Vancouver Airport
In 1985, Bill Reid was commissioned by the Canadian Government on behalf of world-renowned Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson to create a sculpture for the new Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.. Six years later and significantly over budget, it was delivered to America’s capital. The artwork, entitled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Black Canoe, represents the heritage of Haida Gwaii with a traditional canoe carrying several figures from Haida mythology. Arguably one of Reid’s most iconic works, the sculpture makes a powerful statement about Indigenous and Canadian identity, especially as defining landmark outside a Canadian Embassy.
A second version of the sculpture, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Jade Canoe, is on display at the Vancouver International Airport, and an image of the sculpture featured prominently on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill from 2004 to 2012.
2000: Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach shortlisted for Governor General's Literary Award
Haisla/Heiltsuk author, Eden Robinson’s debut novel Monkey Beach offers a rich celebration of life in Kitamaat territory on the coast of British Columbia, weaving together contemporary realism with Haisla mysticism. The book went on to receive praise from the New York Times and was shortlisted for both the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award, winning the 2001 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
2011: Destroyer releases “Kaputt” to international acclaim
Destroyer Facebook. Photo by Ted Bois.
While Destroyer (AKA Dan Bejar) may not have household name status even in his hometown of Vancouver, his incredible 2011 album Kaputt received worldwide acclaim for its swirling brass section and acerbic wit. Kaputt positioned the Vancouver-based artist as one of the most influential artists of 2011, earning a spot on Pitchfork’s Top 50 Albums of 2011 and Top 100 albums of the decade lists. The album’s kitsch-heavy production serves as a foil against its dark lyrical underbelly and, in this way, is the quintessential Vancouver album; a musical embodiment of the tension between its “city of glass” moniker and urban grit. The album took Destroyer, who has released 10+ LPs to date, to some of the influential stages around the world, including Coachella and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
2018: Joey "S***head" Keithley becomes a city councillor
Joey Keithley is a Canadian punk musician who has fronted the Vancouver based band D.O.A. for over 40 years. While much of D.O.A.’s music was informed by their politics, Keithley took his commitment to civic action to the next level and in 1996 and 2001, running in the British Columbia provincial elections for the Green Party of British Columbia. On October 20, 2018, he was elected a city councillor in Burnaby, B.C. in the 2018 municipal elections as a member of the Burnaby Green Party.
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