This weekend, THIS Gallery in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) will host a free exhibition featuring artwork from selected recipients of the 2023 DTES Small Arts Grants.
The DTES Small Arts Grants Program supports artists in the Downtown Eastside to take their work to the next level. It is created for artists with limited or no access to support, such as sponsorship, funding, or regular arts and culture programs.
The grant was created by Vancouver Foundation in partnership with the Carnegie Community Centre.
“There are many talented artists in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside,” said Esther Tung, director of communications for the Vancouver Foundation.
“The Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grants opens doors to artistic growth and for emerging artists in the neighbourhood, and can mean a chance to have their creations shown in the community,” she shared with V.I.A.
The exhibition will be hosted at THIS Gallery, a workshop and art gallery in Downtown Eastside.
“The DTES has always attracted artists, gallerists, curators, and creators of all kinds,” said Shannon Pawliw, gallery director of THIS gallery.
“The grants recognize that artists at various phases of their career are in need of financial assistance to realize their goals,” she told V.I.A., adding the grants also "provide artists with the financial means to realize their vision, which is often all an artist needs to further their career."
The juried exhibition will display the best of the works submitted by the artists.
“I am very excited about this exhibition because it covers most of my disciplines including painting, sculpture, ceramic and stop motion,” Rojina Farrokhnejad, one of the grant-winning artists told V.I.A.
“Without the grant, I would not have had the access to the resources and galleries that I now have," said Farrokhnejad.
This sentiment is shared by other artists who won the grant as well.
“This grant allows an artist to focus on a project and bring it to completion. The resources and assistance that are attached to the grant are really helpful,” Tallulah, another grant-winning photographer who stays in the Downtown Eastside, told V.I.A.
Featured artists:
- Tallulah
- Taylor Neal
- Christy Frisken
- James Diamond
- Michael Honeyman
- Victoria Marie
- Natalia Elena Medellin Rabell
- Rojina Farrokhnejad
- Jin Wang
DTES Small Arts Grants Recipients Exhibition
When: August 5-6, 2023 from noon to 4 p.m.
Where: THIS Gallery, 485 Main St, Vancouver
Cost of admission: Free
