April 2020 at Place des Arts
Home to our arts community
Greetings!

It's almost impossible to capture the whirlwind that has been the month of March. Place des Arts and numerous organizations have had to adjust
from being fully functioning community hubs to staying at home and facing the unknown.

First and foremost, we hope you and your family are staying healthy and following recommendations from the Fraser Health Authority. It can be a very isolating time, but art has always been something that brings people together. And on that note, this month our newsletter will be a little different than before. Instead of listing the many exciting events and activities, we will be celebrating the many inspiring artists, teachers and volunteers we have in our organization. It's important to focus on the positives in times like these and without these people, we would not be the community we are today.

This is new ground for everyone, so please stick with us as we work hard to find new and creative approaches to being a home for the arts, even if it has to be from your home.

If you are not already doing so, please follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on burgeoning opportunities to learn and participate in the arts while practicing social distancing.

We will continue to create a space where art can be performed and celebrated to inspire the artist in everyone.

Also, if you were looking for an event, please view the bottom of the newsletter for cancellations.

Stay safe, stay tuned, and stay with us,
 
Aurora van Roon
Communications Coordinator
what's on?
Exhibitions: Digital edition!
Our opening reception on March 27 had to be cancelled, but we are very excited to announce  our exhibitions  are going digital!


Check out the "Behind the Artwork" section on each page, featuring exclusive content from the artists!
Get #motivated with some art prompts
To keep artists inspired during these difficult times, we are starting a new series on our social media to challenge you!

Are you an artist but lacking in inspiration during these tough times? Are you someone who wants to explore art but doesn't know where to start? Or are you just bored and looking for something to occupy your time and distract you?

Keep an eye out for our new series #inspiretheartistineveryone and show us what you can do! Don't forget to tag us @pdacoquitlam.

We will be posting challenges for all our disciplines: visual arts, theatre, dance, creative writing and music!
what's new?
Summer Teen Theatre Troupe show selection
Our Summer Teen Theatre Troupe is a by-audition, performance-based company for ages 15-18. Each summer, the cast works with a professional theatre director, stage manager and designers to produce a play and perform it for free to the public at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park Plaza at the end of July.

This year we are working with Jessica Anne Nelson to put on a performance of the whimsical Peter Pan!

Stay posted on developments of this program through future newsletters.
Celebrate Artists in the Community with PdA
We are also excited to announce our new social media series celebrating artists in the Place des Arts community.

Artists are the lifeblood of our organization. Our teachers are artists, we have dozens of exhibiting artists, some of our staff are artists. We want to show you their work and encourage you to check them out. You might find something new to pursue, find art for your home or fall in love with some music.

Follow us on social media, and keep an eye out for the hashtag #GTKpdaartists (GTK is Get to Know!) to find out about many local artists who can inspire you with your work.
get inspired
Celebrating National Volunteer Week with Anella
This April 17-25 is National Volunteer Week. As a not-for-profit, we depend upon volunteers to run our events, help with our programming and help contribute to our community.

Anella Schabler has volunteered with Place des Arts for the summer art camps, been a dance assistant in multiple dance classes, and has been a part of the Youth Arts council for three years.

She's attended classes at Place des Arts and has been a great supporter of our organization. We're so grateful for volunteers like her.

Currently, we are still preparing for our Summer Fun! camp, and are looking for volunteers. Please find out more here.
Making amazing colours with Rebecca Blair and Triskellion
Rebecca Blair is a harpist, visual artist and long-time teacher at Place des Arts. We sat down with her to find out more about her band, Triskellion, her style of teaching and her experiences as a musician. 

Artist Mini-Feature: Oliver McTavish-Wisden
Oliver McTavish-Wisden is a comic artist and Community Arts Programmer living in New Westminster and working throughout the greater Vancouver area. As an artist and programmer, Oliver's work is focused on engaging the public in the arts, either as consumers or as artists themselves. His major body of work, Comics in Transit, takes comics out of the constraints of the book format and reimagines them as public artwork, installed in bus shelters for the public to read. He is also a member of the band sleuth and an avid scuba diver!

Oliver is also the Treasurer of Cloudscape Comics, a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing BC graphic novels and fostering a community for comic creators to network, learn from each other and innovate! Check out their website and consider buying a comic or two.
During this isolation period, Oliver will be working on a short story for an upcoming Cloudscape anthology entitled Welcome to Mina's , a slice of life book about Vancouver life, and some personal dream journals.

His band also released an EP recently called 'Gold', which can be found here .
get informed
Summer Registration is April 5!
  • Registration for our Summer Fun! camp, summer dance classes and summer music lessons will still be open online at 7:00 am on April 5! At this time, we will not be offering in-person or by phone registration. 

COVID–19 has brought a lot of uncertainty to our lives, and that is why we want to give our families the opportunity to plan their summer with us, while removing the financial risk. Therefore, we have implemented the ability to defer payment on our registration site for our Summer Fun! Art Camp.

This feature allows you to register for Summer Fun!, secure your spot in the camp and defer payment until June 23, when fees will be collected in full.  Find out how it works here!


View the Summer Fun! Guide to help prepare for registration day! Feel free to use this worksheet to build your schedule. Find out key information for parents here.
Want to be a part of our Student Exhibition?
We are still accepting applications for our Student Exhibition . Any stu dent who took a visual arts class or workshop at Place des Arts since September 2019 is welcome to apply.

Application deadline: Wednesday, April 15, 2020.
 
Get more info and apply here! We are only accepting applications by email at this time.

See Frequently Asked Questions below!
Do the works submitted need to be made at Place des Arts?
No, the submitted artworks can be made  anywhere  – there are no geographical restrictions!
 
Do the works submitted have to be in the medium of the class that I am took?
No, you can submit artwork in a different medium than the class you took at Place des Arts. For example, if you are a ceramics student at Place des Arts, but you also like to paint and want to submit paintings, no problem! Your paintings are eligible!
 
I want to submit something, but my piece isn’t finished yet!
An application can still be submitted with a photo of the partially completed work with the intention of completing the artwork for by late May.
 
Do my paintings have to be humour-themed?
No, it is our year of humour and themed artworks are encouraged, but all content/subject matter is acceptable (given that it is appropriate and relevant for a public space and all audiences).
Current closures and cancellations
All in-person Sep-Jun group classes and private lessons will be suspended until April 30.  At that time, we will re-evaluate based on the information available to us.

We will be cancelling all our  Spring session classes and workshops which were set to begin March 28.  Please read the full statement here for more information. 
 
Currently, upcoming events that have been cancelled are:
·          March 27, Opening Reception of the March/April Exhibitions (online now!)
·          April 4, Humours of Love classic concert
·          April 5, Place des Arts Student Concert
·          April 24, Cartoons and Cocktails pARTy@pda
·          May 8, Palette... eat, paint, create! pARTy@pda
what's funny?


Art is either revolution or plagiarism.

Paul Gauguin (1848 - 1903)
French post-Impressionist Artist