You can paint blindfolded while listening to music, take part in a community dance and sample cakes in Port Moody next month to celebrate the birthday of "ART."
PoMoArts (formerly the Port Moody Arts Centre) is hosting the all-ages party at Site B on Jan. 17, 2024, to mark the day when, in 1963, Fluxus artist Robert Filliou decreed that Jan. 17 was the day "ART" was born when a dry sponge was dropped into a bucket of water.
Tickets for the two-hour long festivities are now on sale via the arts centre's website.
Vocal instructor Jennifer Hayes, the events and volunteer co-ordinator for PoMoArts, told the Tri-City News that visitors will experience and take part in a wide range of arts with creators, as well as vote on their favourite ARTCake, in tribute of "ART."
Filliou was well-known French artist in the 1970s and his Fluxus practice of combining art with everyday life helped to shape the Western Front, an artist-run centre in Vancouver.
Other famous Fluxus followers include:
- Yoko Ono, the wife of Beatles’ frontman John Lennon
- co-founder Joseph Beuys, who used felt and animal fat as shamanic tools in performances
- Alison Knowles, who created the stage piece Make a Salad
Hayes said PoMoArts wants to pay tribute to the Fluxus movement on Jan. 17 by connecting the public with artistic partners from the Vancouver Improvised Arts Society and the Vela Movement Academy, as well as Lindy Sisson and DJ.24.
"This will be something new for the Tri-Cities," Hayes said.
"Often, you don’t see things quite so experimental outside of Vancouver, so this will be unique. We hope that people will be surprised and awakened by art and, perhaps, the event can spark some creativity and change your perception of what art should be."
The celebratory event, which starts at 6:30pm, will feature ARTCakes from local Tri-City bakeries including Cassandra Cake Co., Doceria Da Maria Cake Factory and Pely’s Gluten Free Bakery.
Site B is located at 3012 Murray St. in Port Moody.
For tickets for ART’sBirthday!by PoMoArts at $10/$20 (plus tax), visit the Eventbrite website.
