It’s time to launch your artistic project! Why? There is a multidisciplinary festival for young professional artists.
According to festival coordinator Mallory Gallant, the festival “was created as an opportunity to give artists in the Lower Mainland the chance to get to showcase their work as well as make those much-needed connections with other artists as well as industry professionals.” This is the second annual Launch Festival and it will focus on presenting innovative multidisciplinary arts.
The festival is a space for young professionals to have the opportunity to showcase their own works. “When we say young professional we mean someone that has made a personal commitment to a career in the arts. Professional, in our opinion, is someone that has a history of creation and presentation but is not yet recognized by professional associations. We are looking for the up and comers. The ones that are right on the edge and need that extra push,” Gallant said.
One great aspect of the festival is its accessibility for local artists. Gallant says, “The event is only open to artists in the Lower Mainland and there is no fee to apply and there is no age limit.”
In addition to the opportunity to present personal works with no cash concerns or age restrictions, the event will provide mentorship opportunities, workshops, and the chance to connect with professional associations.
Gallant said, “By including mentorship and workshops we are not just giving [the artists] the stage to perform on, we are also giving them the chance to connect with professionals that have been in the industry for years.”
Some such mentors include Gary Cristall (music and career mentor) the co-founder of the Vancouver International Folk Festival, Murray Gibson (film and theatre mentor) a talent agent for over 25 years who works for RED Management, Vanessa Goodman (career mentor) a company member for Dancers Dancing, Emma Lancaster (career mentor) a communications professional with over 20 years of experience and faculty member at Capilano University, and Jim Smith (dance mentor) the Producer for DanceHouse and former president of the Canadian Dance Assembly.
The festival is presented by the 149 Arts Society in partnership with SFU Woodwards. Gallant describes the society as dedicating “itself to arts programming that is provocative in nature, and programming that serves to engage, challenge and inform.”
Looking beyond the second year of Launch, Gallant says, “We have high hopes to see the festival grow into a really strong legacy program. There is nothing quite like witnessing a budding artist at the beginning stage of their career.”
“The connection that can form between an emerging artist and a mentor is priceless and will be valuable for the rest of their careers. To be able to say that we had a hand in launching a long lasting artistic career is something we are proud of and we will continue to value our emerging artists,” she concluded.
Applications for Launch will be accepted until May 22. The festival will run June 19 to 21 at SFU Woodwards.
