An event to brighten up the way we look at things - Spring is out there somewhere - maybe an art event will hasten its arrival.

By Staff

April 9, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON

Spring is that time of year when we are filled with hope for warmer days and sunshine. It’s also that time of year when many of us are looking at our walls thinking “yep. it’s time for a change”.

Now that the weather is sort of starting to resemble spring Lana Kamarić has invited everyone she knows to the Spring Pop Up Art Market hosted by No Vacancy.

The market will be popping up at 408 John Street in downtown Burlington, dates are as follows:

Friday April 17th 6 – 9pm
Saturday April 18th 10am – 6pm
Sunday April 19th 12 – 5pm

The SPRINGPOP supports the work of contemporary artists and makers from within a 50km radius. Pick up an original piece of art from an emerging local artist or buy some funky handmade one-of-a-kind things.

Expect more than a couple of tables with work you may have seen before. Here’s the list of those artists who will be displaying:

Giveable Greetings
F As In Frank Paper Goods Co.
Love, Ash X
On a Branch Soaps
Bill Davidson
Polar Stones
Sprouts Press
Jason Gray
Hatchet Made
The Shoppery
Debbie Borthwick (Dewdrop Gables)
Courtney Lee
Lana Kamaric
Wood Be Cute
Kyle Tonkens
Sanjay Patel
Richard Veeneman
Candice Bradley
Jennifer Burns
Nikkole Lebrun
Donna Grandin
Joelle McNeil
Kirby Booker
Embroiderwee

There may be additional artists added to the list.

The spring Pop Up is one of the events put on by No Vacancy – the group that held an event at the Waterfront Hotel in 2013 that seemed to crack open the interest in local artists that many felt was not being given the time, attention and resources they needed.

The No Vacancy organization will be holding their 2015 event on Old Lakeshore Road in September – the deadline for entries in the SuperNova event is April 30th

Since that event the city took a staff member who was serving as a recreational planner in the Parks and Recreation department and made her a manger of cultural events and had her reporting directly to a city general manager

With a heightened interest in the arts a Collective was created that now has 500 people – they wanted the Parks and Recreation people out of the culture business. They want people with training on something other than a trampoline, preferably with degrees in the arts and practical experience as well.

Last September the city put on a very successful Culture Days event supported by government funding.

The Art Gallery of Burlington has recruited a new president who comes from a city a third the size of Burlington where he ran a Culture and Heritage department for the city of Grand Prairie.  Some of his bigger picture thinking might rub off on Burlington.

The Performing Arts Centre now has an Executive Director in place who has stabilized that organization and is growing an audience and expanding the performance offerings.

Burlington just might be getting to the point where it will have a cultural profile that makes it unique and different –  meaning more people can come to the city and walk out onto one of the most expensive piers in North America which just happens to be in the BEST city of its size in Canada