Gallery Gachet and Oppenheimer Park (the Carnegie Community Centre Association) are expanding their creative partnership to build Art Cart! One cart will be built to serve both the Oppenheimer Park Community’s artists and Gallery Gachet artists, creating an all weather/year round, transformable mobile art gallery/vending cart.This mobile “Art Cart” will enable artists to transport their art packed into a cart towed from behind a bicycle, or pushed, to various city locations to sell their works.

The Art Cart concept expands this idea of facilitating the production, ideation and expansion of opportunity for artists who have been negatively affected by their economic and mental health situations. The Art Cart is free to roam into different neighbourhoods, allowing the DTES artists of Oppenheimer and Gachet to reach a wider and more diverse audience. We can publicise our exhibits/issues/ideas, get our voice out beyond our own back yard and really show the Vancouver public at large that the art being created in our local community is vital, worthy and warrants broad appreciation!

In tandem with community members through a series of brainstorming sessions, final designs were created for Art Cart by ECUAD’s industrial design graduate, Dean Bennett during Phase I of this incredible project.

This further strengthens the relationship between Gallery Gachet and Oppenheimer Park that took root four years ago when the first Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show took place at Gachet, which is now a yearly, celebrated Gachet exhibition. We believe that Oppenheimer  Park and Gallery Gachet share common goals, interests and ideas; our mutual visions can help us work together to build a stronger Downtown Eastside arts community – one where artists have the opportunity to create work that is shown in a professional gallery environment and yet retains the heart and vibrancy of the local community.

Dean and the artists from Oppenheimer/Gachet have further developed Art Cart from original designs and concepts by Ali Lohan and Quin Martins.

Art Cart Designer: Dean Bennett, BFA, ECU

This project is made possible through the City of  Vancouver and the Community Arts Council of Vancouver’s continued support.

Here are descriptions of two of the projects scheduled for completion in spring, 2012.

Strathcona/SPOTA Mosaic Project

This project is intended to help make sure that significant points in the history of the Strathcona community are not forgotten. Work on a historically significant marker began last year to recognize the home of Mary Chan (658 Keefer Street). This was where the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association was founded and where was launched the successful campaign to stop plans to demolish large swaths of the area for a freeway and for “urban renewal” and to initiate resident-led planning that would preserve and improve the housing stock.

This will be designed as a public art piece mosaic marker and installed in public space.

Local Project Partner: Cultural Creative Collaborations.

Black Community Strathcona/East End Marker

This project recognizes and honours the former Hogan’s Alley which was home to the area’s predominately Black community. It will be a two part art installation; an art monument called “Soul Sanctum” installed in public space and a small “echo” song bird piece to be located on the African Methodist Episcopal Fountain Chapel at Jackson and Prior (and whose owner has agreed to this arrangement).

Local Project Partner: Cultural Creative Collaborations.

These projects are supported by the City of Vancouver Great Beginnings program.