The Art of Neighbourhoods
Introduction

When communities come together with artists to address issues of shared interest and concern, the results are often wonderful compilations of ideas and skills. In community-based art projects, artists are challenged to work collaboratively, incorporating their experience, creativity and theoretical background in ways that respect all of the knowledge and creativity brought to the projects by community members. Community members are called on to contribute personal experiences or create artworks which are gathered together as components of a larger composition conceptualized by the project's artist. They are asked to stretch their imaginations and to think in new ways about issues significant to their lives. Together artists and community members are responsible for implementing the project in a manner which has a lasting impact on those involved in the artwork's creation, as well as those who encounter the artwork after its completion.

Some of the projects profiled on this site reveal the marks made by many hands while others incorporate the stories of many voices; some are large and colourful while others involve the dispersal of many small creations which gain in significance each time they are seen or as each additional piece is encountered. Whatever form these artworks have taken, they have all come out of artist/community collaborations and the descriptions included here give just a glimpse of the complex processes which were involved in their creation.

Go to:

Listing of Projects by Neighbourhood
Examples of Neighbourhood Art
Contact Information

Champlain Heights	Marpole
Douglas Park	Mount Pleasant/Riley Park
Downtown Eastside	Strathcona & Hastings/Sunrise
Dunbar	Sunset
Grandview-Woodlands	West End
Kensington/Cedar Cottage	West Point Grey & Kitsilano

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