Participating in Swarm 13, ACME Studios (112 e hastings) will open its doors to the public on September 7, 2012 at 7 pm with multiple exhibitions, open studios and an after party where you can dance you art out all night long. ACME Studios houses over forty artists and four galleries: Labyrinth Gallery, Gam Gallery, The Minotaur’s Lair, and Remington Gallery.
Labyrinth Gallery (http://labyrinthgallery.org/)
The Labyrinth Artist Society was registered as a Non-Profit Society in 2011 and includes the Labyrinth Gallery, a back-alley entrance exhibition space between Columbia and Main streets that creatively utilizes the building’s stairwells and foyers over three floors. An exhibition featuring many of the ACME Studio artists is being collectively curated for Swarm 13 by members of the society to showcase the talent located in Vancouver’s largest organized studio building. Artists include: Melchor Abubo, Cailin Banks, Alex Bell, Brent Clowater, Jeff Hallbauer, Michael Haller, Zoe Hodgson, Duncan MacCallum, Amanda McMorran, Colin Moore, Neal E. Nolan, Planet Claire Pop-Up Shop, Ryan Quast, Steffen Quong, Scott Sueme, Francis Tiffany, Alex Waber, Bre Wendel, Andrew Young and others.
Gam Gallery (www.gamgallery.com)
Alison Shields’ second solo exhibition with the Gam Gallery focuses on the process of painting. Stemming from her MFA thesis work at the University of Waterloo, Shields’ canvases are the result of layers upon layers of tracings that are used to generate subsequent paintings. For the current exhibition, Shields has returned to her previous works in order to continue the painting process, suggesting that the finished product on view is not the final definition of these works and negating the possibility for an end result even in their display. http://www.alisonshields.com
Remington Gallery
Remington Gallery (108 e hastings) will showcase photographic works from their collective studio, including Ross C Kelly, Alex Waber and others. Works will range from photomontages that explore notions of location and its continual interpretation to award winning fashion and portrait photography. Also included in the exhibition are the abstract landscape paintings of Mark Versfeld along with local fashion designers.
The Minotaur’s Lair
A multidisciplinary art gallery and performance space located in studio 240 on the top floor of ACME Studios, The Minotaur’s Lair will feature artworks by Mikey and Duncan MacCallum, a cash bar from 7 pm on, and will transform into Swarm’s wildest after party from 10 pm to 2 am. Featuring DJs Dubconscious, Hxdb, DJ Cure, Chadio and Willisist along with performances by Sweet Soul Burlesque and Quanah Style. $10 cover after 11 pm at the back alley entrance.
SWARM13
Swarm began in 1999 as an event to mark the launch of Vancouver’s artist-run centre programming season, bringing together some of the city’s most vital and innovative contemporary art spaces to open their doors on a single frenetic evening. Swarm soon grew to a multi-night event, incorporating more and more of the city’s ephemeral artist-run initiatives: small DIY spaces, studios-turned-galleries, roaming public projects, artist collectives, hybrid projects, and more. These initiatives join PAARC member centres to present a diverse spectrum of artistrun culture.
