Façade Festival 2019: Drew Young + Sandeep Johal

Façade Festival is a week-long, monumental public art project and cultural event that takes place from sunset to midnight every evening from September 8 to 14 on the Georgia Street façade of the Vancouver Art Gallery, above the šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square.

A selection of BC contemporary artists have been commissioned to create 10 stunning, site-specific works of art. Using the technology known as ‘projection mapping,’ the works have been tailored specifically for the Vancouver Art Gallery’s iconic architecture and will be projected over its Georgia Street façade, covering the building with moving, dynamic artwork. Façade Festival is an immersive, large-scale artistic experience that will be shared by tens of thousands of attendees.

The project speaks to the pervasiveness of digital forms in modern life and contemplates the role that new technologies play in contemporary art, while engaging the public in a grand architectural intervention free of charge.

Façade Festival is presented in partnership between Burrard Arts Foundation, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and technical partner Go2 Productions, with support from the City of Vancouver, the Department of Canadian Heritage, QuadReal Property Group, Tourism Vancouver, Viva Vancouver, Can Design, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, and Savoury City Catering & Events.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9
DREW YOUNG + SANDEEP JOHAL

DREW YOUNG

ABOUT THE PROJECT: Co-written by Colleen Christison and Drew Young, the projection “Duet” takes audiences on an adventure into the lives of two seemingly lonely hearts through and around both iconic and secretive settings in the city of Vancouver. The work intentionally skews the chronology of events to force viewers to rethink what they see, take a closer look, and observe the same piece of art from a new perspective on each loop. Throughout the film, the plot is stippled with floral animations as intersections to the live-action work. The animations act as a symbol for the evolving dynamic between the characters. Dark introspective narratives and flowers might initially seem disparate in subject matter, but they are two subjects that both experience change and evolution. “Duet” represents discord and reconciliation; it is a narrative that explores the love and the turbulence of relationships through a world lush with colour and emotion. Created to entertain but more importantly to evoke thought, Young hopes that “Duet” will provoke viewers to question their own understanding of change, evolution and the passage of time. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Drew Young currently lives in Vancouver. He studied at The Victoria College of Art and received his diploma in Illustration and Applied Arts (IDEA) at Capilano University. Young is an internationally exhibited painter with shows and projects in LA (Thinkspace Gallery), HI (POW!WOW!), SF (Gauntlet Gallery), Denver (Abend Gallery), Tokyo (Amp), London (Rook and Raven), NYC (Re:Form Projects), Bogota (Come Together) and featured by Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, Booooooom.com, Supersonic Electronic and BlueCanvas. His painting accolades have brought him many curatorial and creative director opportunities in recent years. He has acted as the Visual Arts curator for TedX Vancouver (2014/15), as well as Curator/Coordinator for Snag — a weekly live-painting exhibition focused on illuminating Vancouver’s alternative arts culture. He currently acts as Lead Curator and Artistic Director for the Vancouver Mural Festival, as well as Visual Arts Director for Skookum Festival 2018.

SANDEEP JOHAL

ABOUT THE PROJECT: Sandeep Johal’s festival project, “For Jyoti,” tells the story of Jyoti Singh, a young woman whose attack and subsequent death in 2012 became a lightning rod that united India in heated protests and debate around womens’ rights and gender equality. Singh was dubbed Nirbhaya (Fearless) by the media and became the subject of the 2015 film “India’s Daughter.” Johal renders this sensitive subject matter suitable for a large public audience through her vibrant illustrations. Making expert use of colour and symbolism, Johal uses protest signs and marigolds, for example, to denote both celebration and mourning. The work communicates an empowering, uplifting message that honours not only Jyoti Singh but survivors of gendered violence everywhere. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Sandeep Johal is a Canadian visual artist whose colourful geometric forms and intricate black and white line work is aesthetically and conceptually inspired by her South Asian heritage. Sandeep believes in the power of art to create awareness around issues related to cultural identity, gender equality, and human rights. Her art practice is an expression of her social and cultural concerns, particularly gender justice. Her most recent series, Rest In Power (2O17), is a body of work dedicated to twelve women from various cultural backgrounds whose murders have impacted her deeply. Sandeep has completed a number of public projects, most recently, a mural for Wall to Wall Festival 2O18 in Winnipeg. Her work has been featured in Vancouver’s CTV Morning Live, CBC Arts, The Vancouver Sun, The Georgia Straight, This Magazine, Gray Magazine and numerous other print and online publications.