Traces: Projecting stories of Strathcona

Traces: the slide being projected has text which says,

Living History through Artistic Mediums

In 2009, the Traces project created a living history project through various artistic mediums that connected, engaged, and built the capacity of local youth, seniors, and artists in celebrating and documenting East Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood.

Community-Engaged Public Art

Outdoor projections inspired by stories of the neighbourhood illuminated the 400 block of East Hastings St. The pieces fused video, animation, shadow puppetry, and sound. These works were installed and screened at various neighbourhood venues as part of a free, month-long series — at schools, libraries, community centres, vacant retail storefronts, and public spaces.

Traces Results

Through a process of collective creation and resident connection, the project resulted in a community-engaged public art project that involved youth, seniors, and artists from both the Strathcona and Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods. Specifically, Traces:
  • Strengthened artist community engagement skills
  • Fostered youth intern community involvement
  • Instilled a sense of neighbourhood pride
  • Connected and created relationships between residents from varying social, cultural, and economic groups in a creative community-building process
  • Received a large amount of media publicity, further adding to neighbourhood story-sharing