VOLUNTEER WITH US! Sign up at voaf.ca
Join our community of artists, arts professionals, organizations, and volunteers who help bring the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival to life! We are currently seeking volunteers to help with art sales, assisting with public workshops, performance assistance, and more!
Apply by September 22, 2023!
Dates of Festival: October 12-17, 2023
Festival Location: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC) Venue Information
About the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival
Community Arts Council of Vancouver presents the annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival (VOAF), offering visual and performing artists facing social exclusion and other barriers opportunities for exhibition and sales, performance and participation, connection and learning. VOAF is Canada’s first and only festival for Outsider Art, which is represented by significant fairs and museums globally. The artists may be self-taught or trained: they are all devoted to their creative practices, and come from a point of view that is outside the mainstream art world trends.
Disrupting Exclusion, Inviting Connection
Our primary values are inclusion and active participation towards strengthening a sense of creative citizenship among participants and the public. Eligible artists self-identified as outsiders and have strong creative practices with wildly diverse aesthetics. Artists and performers are paid CARFAC fees and benefit from the free workshops, networking, and promotion included in their participation: this can be a significant professional opportunity for outsider artists.
The festival aims to increase awareness about Outsider Artists and to challenge stereotypes about who and what counts in the art world. Outsider Art is different, this art shakes up what you think you know about art and sometimes delves headfirst into challenging social and political issues. The festival provides a much-needed platform for visual and performing artists to gather, learn, and share their creative scope with the wider community.
Four festivals have taken place at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre and included individual artists as well as organizational partners, workshops for artists and the public, and hundreds of artworks on display and for sale, alongside live art and other performance forms.
Our primary values are inclusion and active participation towards strengthening a sense of community and creative citizenship among participants and the public.
Events – 2023 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival
Celebrating 7 Years of Outsider Art in Vancouver
DATE: 2023-10-12
TIME: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
Join us to celebrate the opening of the 7th Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival – an event that’s free and open to the community, inviting everyone to come together and celebrate this year’s exceptional artists!
Attendees will be able to have a sneak-peek of over 400 artworks on display in the exhibition hall, before moving into the theatre for talks, and performances by Edzi’u and Bukola. Light snacks and beverages will be provided.
The grand opening event is not just a celebration; it’s an invitation to step outside the confines of convention and embrace the unfiltered beauty of artistic diversity. Join us for a night where art knows no limits, and imagination takes center stage. We can’t wait to gather with you and celebrate this year’s remarkable artists!
Find out more and RSVP to the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival’s Opening Event by clicking the link here!
Short Film Series Screening – Helsinki Outsider Art Festival
DATE: 2023-10-16
TIME: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre (Performance Theatre)181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
The film screening presents four film-makers from Finland: Mika Ruohola, Kati Kallio, Anne Kalliola and Miska Tuononen. OAF’s inclusive artistic team has curated a collection of short films featuring Finnish outsider arts from Helsinki City suburbs to Karelian rural areas. In addition, the films highlight various artistic approaches and storytelling techniques by performance arts, silent film, poetry and dance. The event includes online artists meet & greet after the films and the films are also accessible online on OAF Online Stage at https://outsiderart.fi/en/online-stage-en/
Find out more and RSVP to the Short Film Series Screening by clicking the link here!
Workshops – 2023 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival
Felted Tile Workshop
DATE: 2023-10-13
TIME: 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Centre (Workshop Room B)181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
Wool+Water+Agitation=Magic!
Join facilitator, Chantal Cardinal, to experience this MAGIC in the Felted Tile Workshop. This workshop is presented at the 7th annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, which showcases the work of visual artists and performers outside of mainstream art institutions.
In this introduction to wet felting workshop, you will learn how to make a piece of felt that can be turned into whatever you like, for example: coasters, bookmarks, a mat,… or wall art!
Felting tools and fibre supplies will be provided.
Accessibility: Please note that some hand mobility is required for this workshop and it is also not suggested for children under the age of 10 as felting needles will be used in this activity.
Find out more and RSVP to the Felted Tile Workshop by clicking the link here!
Kathak Movement Workshop
DATE: 2023-10-14
TIME: 1:45 PM – 3:15 PM
LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre (Workshop Room B)181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
All are warmly welcome to this movement workshop led by Fiana Kawane on Kathak, a beautiful South Asian classical dance form. This workshop is presented at the 7th annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, which showcases the work of visual artists and performers outside of mainstream art institutions.
A short dance demonstration will be followed by an introduction to foundational rhythm cycles, footwork, and movements core to Kathak. No prior preparation or experience in Kathak is expected. This workshop is open to all ages, abilities, and dance experience with curiosity about the form. The objective is to actively engage with the dance form, learn about its intimate relationship with music and the heartbeat, and experience techniques of somatic grounding integral to Kathak.
Items to bring: Water to drink and comfortable clothing to move in.
Find out more and RSVP to the Kathak Movement Workshop by clicking the link here!
Collaborative Character Design Workshop
DATE: 2023-10-14
TIME: 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM
LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre ( Arts & Crafts Room )181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
If you are interested in creative writing, illustration, roleplay, graphic novels, or other such endeavours, this Character Design workshop, facilitated by Bethany Pardoe will help you create your own character for the narrative purpose of your choosing. Character Design can be a highly rewarding, cathartic, and collaborative experience.
This workshop is presented at the 7th annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, which showcases the work of visual artists and performers outside of mainstream art institutions. The goal of this workshop is to inspire creativity, foster new ideas, and introduce some methods of developing a character from scratch. Through prompts and collaborative exercises, you will express the first iteration of your character in a written or visual format depending on your preference.
The main focus of this workshop is the creative process. It is ideal for those looking for a creative community to collaborate with, those at the beginning of their creative journey, those experiencing a creative block, or those with no prior knowledge or experience who may be interested in learning about Character Design.
All ages and identities are welcome! All materials will be provided for workshop participants.
Find out more and RSVP to the Collaborative Character Design Workshop by clicking the link here!
Ikebana Workshop
DATE: 2023-10-16
TIME: 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Centre (Arts & Crafts Room)181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2W3
Ikenobo Ikebana is an art of Japanese flower arranging. By using fresh floral materials, we not only express the beauty of nature, but also refine one’s spirit. This workshop is hosted by Ikenobo Senior Professor, Cecily Chang, President of Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Vancouver, Canada. She was born in 1955 in Taipei, Taiwan and began her first ikebana lesson in 1980. In 1995 she started teaching in the office to colleagues and after receiving her level 14 certificate (Professor of Ikebana, 1-Grade) in1999, she Immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. In 2000, she joined the Vancouver Ikebana Association and continues to participate in year-round activities and offer private lessons, both in person and online.
All materials will be provided by the facilitator. At the end of the workshop, all attendees will leave with their very own flower arrangement!
Accessibility: Please note that some hand mobility is required for this workshop. This is a wheelchair-accessible space, with a small workshop size (15 people maximum), and with some overhead and natural light.
Find out more and RSVP to the Ikebana Workshop by clicking the link here!