Part Two: Notable Vancouver Street Art & Graffiti 2024
In the last newsletter, I covered five notable works from around the city. Today, a few more and some honourable mentions, of galleries, people, and blunders. 2024 felt like a tough year. If you’re reading this I hope you’re doing ok. Make sure you drink lots of water, go for a walk, and check on your friends. 2025 is coming at us fast and it will be full of more interesting street art.
Who knows… you might just be working on an idea that makes this list next December.
Pulp Fiction - Erhen Salazar
Broken windows are an epidemic for small businesses in Vancouver. Costing money most owners can’t afford. Early this year Pulpfiction Books made the best of a bad situation by teaming up with long-time resident and artist Erhen Salazar to paint the boarded-up window on their shop.
Angry dogs - Anonymous
Photos of angry dogs started popping up around the city one day. What do they mean, who put them there, these are unanswered questions that my internet sleuthing still hasn’t been able to solve. Either way, they’re funny and charming.
People of Downtown- Chairman Ting
Carson Ting is a local artist whose distinct graphic style can be seen in murals, installations, and digital art. From working with the Canadian Blood Sevices, Vancouver Whitecaps, to Adidas, Carson’s work is all over. Recently, in partnership with the Downtown Vancouver Business Association, he painted people who’ve shaped Vancouver’s identity like Pamela Anderson, Nardwuar, and even Canuck the Crow.
East Van Cross - Ken Lum/City of Vancouver
Currently situated at East 6th and Clark, Ken Lum’s iconic “Monument For East Vancouver,” is soon to be obscured by a building. This iconic fixture is based on graffiti and tattoos highlighting the historic tougher, working-class nature of East Vancouver. Campaigns have begun to relocate the cross to somewhere more visible. This raises an interesting point about public art. Location and context can be as important to the message as the work itself. Let’s hope they make the right choice and keep the cross East Vancouver and not somewhere like Olympic Village, or Main Street.
Taylor Swift - Various
From large signs spelling out lyrics, and custom transit maps, to a giant friendship bracelet on BC Place, Taylor Swift and her fans left a big mark on the city. Even the steam clock got in on it, spouting “Shake it Off.” I enjoyed local legend/menace @tapewormcorp’s take on Taylor Swift with interviews and art based on the. er… intense loyalty of some of her fans (please don’t come after me Swifties).
Special mentions…
Fingerprint Gallery
Fingerprint is a cool gallery with great programming. Case Mackeen’s Painting For The After-Culture, How to Appreciate Graffiti, Carly Hughes Horvath’s Fear of Crowds were all incredible local shows. Fingerprint’s owner Jack Topolewski is doing some great work.
The empty lot that was supposed to be the new art gallery
A month ago, the Vancouver Art Gallery halted construction of the new gallery due to costs doubling from inflation. The $600 Million gallery also recently announced that it will be redesigned. This delay means that the future of the new space is now uncertain and the lot formally known as Larwill Park is now empty. Worse, construction had also caused the dismantling of 98 units of temporary housing. In hindsight this served no purpose. By the time a new architect and design are selected; costs may well have doubled again. This is a terrible situation and one that will hopefully dealt with quickly. In the meantime, stop by the current Vancouver Art Gallery for programming by Firelei Báez, Shelley Niro, and of course, the incredible Emily Carr. The VAG is a great institution, despite the challenges in pursuing a new space.
Thanks for reading. Happy New Year!
Cool stuff! I'll add Vancouver to my bucket list 😉