PRESS
FAIRCHILD TV
Stages of Bloom mural Feature
Written by Nono Chen (Sept 2021)
RICHMOND NEWS
Richmond’s Gateway Theatre’s Gilbert Road-facing wall has been transformed into a work of art by a mural artist hoping to tell stories of the Gateway family and connect with the local community.
This 24 feet high by 135 feet long mural, titled “stages of the bloom,” depicts different kinds of flowers blossoming during the springtime.
According to visual artist Carmen Chan, this concept is very similar to students and artists at the Gateway Theatre, who are also growing in different ways.
Written by Noa Nichol (Aug 2021)
VITA DAILY
A partnership between CF Pacific Centre and local visual artist Carmen Chan has resulted in the creation of an Only Love mural in support of the Asian community. The aim: to demonstrate intolerance toward Asian-hate crimes and racist behaviours that are currently prominent in Vancouver. We chatted with Carmen about her piece, and how she hopes to help Vancouverites and passersby uncover meaning in its purpose. —Noa Nichol
Written by Gail Johnson (July 2021)
STIR MAGAZINE
LOVE CONQUERS ALL, the saying goes. It’s also the theme of a new mural by a Vancouver-based visual artist in hopes of spreading peace amid so much anti-Asian sentiment.
Carmen Chan’s artwork, called Only Love, is on display above CF Pacific Centre’s shopping centre entrance on the corner of Granville and Robson Streets.
The colourful mural embodies the optimism, hope, and unity that Chan wants to bring to the Stop Asian Hate conversation in Vancouver.
Written by Catherine Hodgson, Communications & Media Manager (June 2020)
BC WOMEN’s HEALTH FOUNDATION
We’re going from “how’re you holding up” to “who are you holding up”.
Welcome to the Changemaker’s Market, a digital community of movers and makers who have generously donated their goods and services to benefit the BC Women’s Health Foundation.
Each and every item or service has been generously donated by a BC business owned by self-identified women. You can bid on items or buy them outright, with all proceeds benefiting the BC Women’s Health Foundation and our mission of healthy women everywhere, capable of anything.
We asked our Changemakers a few questions, including artist, Carmen Chan @carmenchanart.
Written by Charlie Smith (June 2021)
THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT
This summer, there's another project that includes community engagement of a different sort.
Visual artist Carmen Chan was commissioned to paint a giant mural on the theatre's western wall facing Gilbert Road, which is a fairly busy thoroughfare.
But rather than having Chan simply proceed, Gateway created a video encouraging community input in advance. The video was published as part of Doors Open Richmond, which aimed to connect the public with organizations across the city.
Written by Nicola Wasson,
Communications Manager, School
UBC Sauder School of Business (Oct 2020)
UBC SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Growing up in Vancouver, Chan took art classes every Saturday and learned Chinese brush painting, one of the oldest art forms in the world. Through years of practice applying watercolour pigments to delicate rice paper, she developed an appreciation for the thoughtful and slow painting process.
“Chinese brush painting is a bit of a lost art,” says Chan. “There are not very many people my age doing it. Everybody knows about Chinese food but they don’t know about Chinese art.”
Written by Winki Tam, Public Spaces & Placemaking Lead, Downtown Vancouver BIA (May 2020)
DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER BIA
Over 20 temporary murals were painted throughout downtown Vancouver to help cheer up the downtown retail front and support local artists amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through a partnership with the City of Vancouver, Goodbye Graffiti, Vancouver Mural Festival, and Vancity Bank, the DVBIA supported the artist honorarium and organization of locations with permission from businesses to paint on their storefronts. Select murals will be stored and considered for temporary re-installation in other Downtown public spaces.
Written by Taehoon Kim (May 2020)
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Artists fight back against coronavirus with hope, heart and public murals. Boarded-up storefronts in Vancouver became an open-air gallery celebrating the heroes and spirit of Canada’s pandemic efforts.
Organizers of the Vancouver Mural Festival, noting Gastown’s grassroots effort, mobilized to send artists to more than 40 other boarded-up locations downtown and beyond for what they’re calling #MakeArtWhileApart. “We knew we had to take action,” says VMF executive director David Vertesi.
Written by Samantha Peng (June 2019)
DAILY HIVE
Vancouver’s biggest free public art celebration is back for its fourth year with an exciting lineup of artists and programming that you just can’t miss.
The Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) has the vision to change the way the city sees art, by inviting diverse artists to transform large public areas with their passion, creativity, and imaginations.
Written by Ashley Bokyo (July 2019)
THE/LA Source
Le papier de riz et un mur de béton ont-ils quelque chose en commun ? Monsieur ou Madame tout le monde ne serait peut-être pas capable de faire un rapport entre les deux. Mais, pour l’artiste Carmen Chan, c’est la façon dans laquelle elle envisage de présenter son art.
Written by Alexander Varty (July 2019)
THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT
There’s more to assembling a giant public-art festival than simply picking one’s favourite artists, as Drew Young knows well. The founding artistic director of the annual Vancouver Mural Festival, who returns this year as lead curator, explains that his job is not only to choose the works that will be emblazoned on walls throughout the city, but to assemble the other curators who will also pick those works, give technical advice to artists who most likely have never worked on such a grand scale, and serve as both coach and cheerleader for the team as a whole.
Written by Carmen Ang (Aug 2019)
DAILY HIVE
Earlier this month, Vancouver Mural Fest (VMF) hosted its fourth annual public art celebration, and we’re still buzzing from the excitement. VMF is Western Canada’s largest celebration of public art, which probably doesn’t come as a shock to anyone who had the chance to check out some of the festival’s activities.
Over the course of 10 days, the streets of Mount Pleasant were bustling with free activations — attendees enjoyed everything from galleries and live paintings, to speaker series, mural runs, Pride parties, and open-air movies.
And to top it all off, VMF threw a massive street party that drew a crowd of over 150,000 people!