A new one-day festival will help put more art into the City of the Arts.
At least, that’s the hope of Port Moody’s arts and culture committee which will be pitching the idea to council at its meeting Tuesday (Nov. 23).
Tentatively called Breeze: Art is in the Air, the festival will be comprised of a variety of live performances at Kyle Centre, outdoor buskers, interactive sessions with artists demonstrating and selling their creations, a fast film contest and a “Battle of the Brushes” – a creative showdown between three teams with their final paintings to be auctioned off.
No specific date has yet been proposed for the event.
Jennifer Mills, coordinator of the arts and culture committee, said a special sub-committee has been working on the idea since last March.
In their presentation document, the group says the festival will help “put Port Moody on the map as a cultural and artistic hub for the Lower Mainland. We want this festival to be the first brick on a solid path towards that result.”
The fast film contest will challenge experienced and aspiring filmmakers from around Metro Vancouver to create a four- to seven-minute short film that’s to include three specified story elements in 72 hours.
The films will then be considered by two panels of judges with $1,100 in prize money being awarded to five winners in various categories.
All the finished films will be posted online for five days for an audience award and a gala screening at the Inlet Theatre.
As well, the competition will be supplemented with a fast-film workshop for young people set to be conducted by Vancouver-based director and screenwriter Jason Karman, who’s productions have won several awards from the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and at Reel Pride Winnipeg.
The Battle of the Brushes pits teams of local established and emerging artists to create an original painting before a live audience in just 90 minutes. Cash prizes will be awarded to the three most popular works.
Like the film competition, the artists won’t know what theme they’re supposed to paint until moments before they’re to begin.
The proposed event anticipates several performers from a variety of disciplines to put on 10-minute shows at Kyle Centre through the course of the day, and up to 15 other local artists demonstrating their craft and selling their wares at the market outside.
The festival's budget is estimated at $23,500 with projected revenues of about $4,200.
