Quest University is stepping into the role of the community's artistic and creative incubator.
Next year, the university is set to launch an arts residency program, in addition to hosting artists involved in the Vancouver Biennale outdoor art exhibit. The idea is simple, university President David Helfand said. Artists stay at the university for six to 12 weeks and continue their studio work while also teaching a block and possibly hosting community workshops.
When I first came here nine years ago, it occurred to me that this place has a lot of the same attributes as Aspen, Colo., Helfand said.
The small U.S. mountain community is an artistic hub, hosting a slew of exhibits and housing a multitude of galleries. When the snow melts, and the skiers disappear, the town of approximately 7,000 is the stomping ground of several arts festivals. Over the years, its creative culture has attracted stars, including gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
It strikes me that this is the ideal place to do this as well, Helfand said.
Quest University is making a push to integrate into the community, he noted. Hosting international art residencies is just another step toward that, Helfand said, adding the public is always welcome to attended the university's various presentations.
Next summer, the university will host artists involved in Vancouver Biennale, the two-year public art show that spreads international artists' work throughout the Lower Mainland, and now Squamish. For four to eight weeks, between May to June, three artists will call Quest University home.
Brazilian artist Vik Muniz is assigned to complete an art project for the outdoor exhibit in Squamish. The show is responsible for many of the Lower Mainland's treasured public art works, including the bronze, smiling men in English Bay known as A-maze-ing Laughter.
The idea is they would give a couple of lectures and run open studios, Helfand said of the imitative.
