A partnership between the Downtown Victoria Business Association ( DVBA ) and the Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA) is bringing art to the public in Downtown Victoria in a special way.
"We are calling the program 'Pop-Up Art'," says Ken Kelly, General Manager of the DVBA. "And we are using vacant windows in the downtown core to display the works of talented, local artists."
Pop-Up Art features 39 works by 15 artists from VISA. The art will pop-up in carefully selected spaces in the downtown core from August through to the end of September.
"Our students competed for a chance to be on display in these highly visible locations, at a time of year when the locals and visitors are enjoying the downtown core," says Wendy Welch, Executive Director of VISA. "Pop-Up Art is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our artists and brighten up vacant spaces at the same time!"
The DVBA hopes that the Pop-Up Art program will be a first step into revitalizing vacant spaces, eventually bringing more animation and businesses back to them.
"We have been working closely with VISA, property owners/managers, and realtors to organize the Pop-Up Art Program," says Kelly. “We have been inspired by what Downtown Portland has been doing to animate vacant spaces and we are now looking at creating the logical successor: the Pop-Up Retail Program, which will be unveiled this fall.
Once all of the art is installed, the DVBA will be providing a map of the Pop-Up Art locations at www.downtownvictoria.ca. The map will include the address of each installation, the artist's name and contact information. Watch for Pop-Up Art appearing soon in Downtown Victoria!
The mission of the Downtown Victoria Business Association is to help make Downtown Victoria the destination of choice for Greater Victoria residents and visitors - for shopping, dining, entertainment, and other services; and to act as a catalyst for vibrancy and prosperity in the downtown core through advocacy, marketing, events, improvements, and co-operative measures.
Pop-up retail sounds interesting, why is that not happening organically?