The Foreshore
The Foreshore: Session 1
Stephen Collis, Genevieve Robertson and Jay White
Image Credit: Josephine Lee
Partners: Access Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery and Other Sights
2016-2018, Multiple Locations around Vancouver.
The Foreshore would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
The Foreshore is a multi-year collaboration between Access Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery, and Other Sights’ for Artist Projects. Inspired by the deep influence of the waterways on our cities and societies on the West Coast, multiple locations in and around Vancouver were activated by a series of open sessions, screenings, work-ins, mini-artist residencies, and open studios. The Foreshore project coordinators are motivated by our organizations’ intersecting concerns, and by the increased potential for artists and audiences in joining forces.
The “foreshore” describes the land along the edge of the water that is both submerged and revealed by the tide. Very simply, it is the wet part of the beach. The foreshore is a place of unclear jurisdiction, and thus of contestation, friction, and constant movement. Those who dwell in this zone must continually adapt to a changing environment. The foreshore also conjures histories specific to this region: narratives of trade and exchange, habitation and nourishment, resistance and violent erasure. It might similarly evoke our contemporary lived situation in this place. Considering the potential of this zone as both concept and site, The Foreshore initiative asks the following: how do we generate conditions of emergence? How can we take up space differently? How do we support unruly practices and futures?
The Foreshore project is comprised of three phases.
PHASE I, 2016-2017, featured nineteen collaborative discussion sessions, two field trips, and four residencies.
Presenters, Sessions 1 – 19: Stephen Collis, Genevieve Robertson, Jay White, Justin Langlois, Holly Schmidt, Glen Alteen, Barbara Cole, Esther Rausenberg, Chris Williams, Kunlé Adeyeme, Khan Lee, Lindsay Brown, Shiloh Sukkau, Germain Koh, Cecily Nicholson, Bracken Hanuse Corlett, Buster Simpson, Coll Thrush, Vanessa Richards, Marcus Youssef, Arianne Gelardin, Lisa Prentice, Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn, Dan Pon, Zoe Kreye, Eric Fredericksen, Dr. Cissie Fu, Holly Ward, Justine A. Chambers, Denise Ferreira Da Silva, Laiwan, Will Plowright, Cynthia Brooke, Lee Podesva, Carmen Paplia, Michelle Tung, John Oliver, Lindsay Dobbin, Harmony Wagner, Marie Burge, Journée sans culture.
Artist Residencies and Workshops: Three artist residencies were hosted in the space (Guadelupe Martinez, Kara Uzelman, Carol Sawyer) with a fourth resident-at-large (Justin Langlois) who responded to each of their practices. Events and workshops were presented by the resident artists, including Julianna Chapel, Caroline Bergonzoni, Elisa Ferrari, Carol Sawyer and Stacey Ho.
Field Trips: Trip 1, Buster Simpson lecture at Emily Carr University Visual Art Forums, co-presented with the City of Vancouver Public Art Program in partnerships with Access Gallery and Other Sights for Artists’ Projects. Trip 2, Kahn Lee in Conversation with Barbara Cole at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
PHASE II, 2017-2018, featured four collaborative discussion sessions with a previously participating session artist inviting a new participant to continue on discussing ideas from previous sessions as well as current research. Presenters for Phase II, sessions 1-4 include: Carmen Papalia, Joulene Tse, Coll Thrush, Kamala Todd, Dana Claxton and Jaleh Mansoor thus far.
PHASE III, 2018, The Foreshore Listens, an audio zine series commissioned by Other Sights.
Audio Zine Creators: Vanessa Campbell, Stacey Ho, Sarah Moore, Dan Pon
Sound Mixing & Design: Pietro Sammarco
Project Lead: Jen Weih
The Foreshore is produced by Other Sights, Contemporary Art Gallery and Access Gallery. This program was curated by Other Sights and Kimberly Phillips and coordinated by Jen Weih. The Foreshore is supported by the British Columbia Arts Council, The City of Vancouver Public Art Program, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Additional project partners, co-presenters and/or support in kind from the Western Front, Massy Books, Vancouver Public Library. Other Sights would also like to thank all contributing project participants, artists, and community members.