BUILT INSTRUMENTS

BUILT INSTRUMENT at 8EAST
Installation, Performances and Artist Talk

Sunday May 24 5 – 8 pm

By Donation $10/$20/Free

Join us as the NOW Society hosts the BUILT INSTRUMENT installation at the 8EAST Social Space for New Culture with creators Heather Thompson, Anju Singh, Noah Jordan, Vern Clare, Rob Middleton-Hope and Mick Bryant. The event will feature performances, an artist talk, instruments and creators and exploration. Come back on Sunday 4 – 7 to explore the instruments some more!

Featuring:
Heather Thomson – The Sound of What’s Missing: Sonified Tidal Data Womb
Anju Singh- Dynamic Interactions between Metal and Textile
Noah Jordan – Modified Clavichord
Vern Clare – DELECTO-CORD and Percussion Instruments
Rob Middleton-Hope – Berim-Bowl
Mick Bryant – Sing As One Steel Pipe Sculpture, Cymbal Bow
+ invited performers

5:00 – 7:00 Installation
7:00 – 7:30 Performance
7:30 – 8:00 Artist Talk

The Instruments

Heather Thompson: The Sound of What’s Missing is a tactile audio improvisation between the user/experiencer and a sonified data soundscape of our local coastal tidal rhythms. A sound womb made of wood and stone plaster that cradles the body into sonic resonance with the planet.

Anju Singh: Dynamic interactions between metal and textile
INDUCING STEEL RESONANCE
Sound sculpture, steel sheet, steel bars, steel box, bolts, piano string, transducer, pickup.
UNSOUND RESILIENCE I, II, III, IV
4 hanging textile sound sculptures.

Noah Jordan; Modified Clavichord installation / performance environment using organic materials as interventions.. Using tuning and plant materials as a symbiotic process to affect the sonic, tactile, and visual nature of the instrument, the work reflects on ecology and migration through plants. The first stage of this project was developed at a residency in border town of Tecate, México. The performance at 8EAST will use plants gathered on kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Coquitlam) territory, each of which carries a different actual and symbolic relationship to the place – materials that suggest different relationships to what is native, introduced, cultivated, displaced, or carried across territories.

Rob Middleton-Hope; Berim-bowl, derivative of a Brazilian Berimbau and a ceramic bowl.

Vern Clare; One of the main instruments in this installation is the DELECTO-CORD, a hand-made musical instrument created using recycled materials – obtanium.

Mick Bryant; Sing As One, made of steel piping and Cymbal Bow, made of stainless steel

ARTIST BIOS

Heather Thompson

As an Inter-Arts practitioner, my sensory experience of the world guides my work. Capturing in material how the senses both clarify and confuse allows me to bridge my inner world to the outer world. Having been awarded multiple Canada Council for the Arts grants I have had the luxury of developing an installation practice that works to engage as broad a sensory spectrum as possible. My installations have been hosted by the A4 Arts Foundation, Red Bull Studios, Spier Arts Festival and on the side of the road just off 97th street in Edmonton. I’ve performed at the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival and last year I had the privilege of making a short film in collaboration with the NFB that was scored with my own field recordings. www.heatherthompson.ca

Anju Singh

Anju experiments is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, instrument builder and media artist. Her interests include extreme dynamics, noise, electronic and acoustic sound interplay, and sonic sculpture. Anju’s main focus is experimentation and process in her practice. She works in the areas of music, media arts, performance, theatre, film and opera and has toured, presented and performed her work across Canada, in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and the United States. In addition to her composing, free improv and sound art work, Anju plays drums for heavy metal bands and has a noise/experimental violin project called The Nausea. Anju curates and organizes events and shows independently and is the Director of Vancouver Noise Fest (12 years now).

Noah Jordan

Noah Dean Jordan is a composer, performer, improvisor and multidisciplinary artist working with microtonality, just intonation, retuned instruments, sound sculpture, sampling, and acoustic resonance. His work brings together modified instruments, field recordings, video art, natural materials, and improvisation to explore tuning as a living relationship between sound, space, object, and perception. Through beating patterns, decay, tension, resonance, and environmental sound, Jordan creates encounters between instruments, resonant spaces, images, natural processes, and improvised performance. Noah lives and performs in Vancouver and South Central Mexico, and has also performed his work in Europe, Japan, and the United States.

Vern Clare

Originally from Windsor Ontario, Vern arrived in Vancouver in the late 1970’s and has evolved with music and art in that city since . As a multidisciplinary creator, he has co-created and produced a multitude of performance art events. He has been lucky enough to have received international instruction and inspiration from master teachers, band leaders and choir directors. He loves the harmonica and gardening. Working as a professional artist since 1986, Vern is mainly known for Giant Puppet Lantern making festival, workshops, community activism, parades and parade bands. He has toured and presented internationally, received numbers grants, awards commissions and residencies. He is presently learning about improvisation at 8EAST with the NOW Society and is involved in creating a series of hand-made musical instruments using recycled materials – obtanium.

Rob Middleton-Hope

Rob is an accomplished house builder/project manager and woodworker, with over 50 years in the trade. He has always played drums & percussion and loves improvisation while he continues to explore new sonic landscapes. He has been building experimental instruments for many years. His series of “Acoustic Furniture “ pieces were exhibited at gallery Lohan and MIA gallery in 1998 & 2002 and currently on display at The I e Box Gallery in Vancouver. He has been a woodworker for decades and strives to create furnishings in his unique style bringing out the inherent beauty of natural materials.

Mick Bryant

As a long-time servant of public and environmental health I’m inspired by modern day relevance to myth, nature and music. Working with metals that have been salvaged from scrap yards and workplaces I repurpose them as visual and aural art.

~ 8EAST ACCESS STATEMENT ~

The 8EAST social space for new culture is a project of the NOW Society, located on the Territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and səlil̓wətaʔɬ Peoples, in Chinatown, in the DTES, in Vancouver.

We are committed to making 8EAST a safe(r), welcoming and more accessible space. We do not tolerate discrimination based on age, gender, neuro a-typicality, disability, place of origin, cultural background, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We do not tolerate racism, sexual aggression, assault, or harassment which can include unwanted touch or comments that objectify or sexualize. We adopt and follow the We Have Voice Collective Code of Conduct.

We can accommodate a variety of needs, including assistance dogs, walkers, wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers. To arrange for American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, please contact now@nowsociety.org.

We recognize that access is an ongoing and evolving discussion, and acknowledge that this statement may be insufficient. Concernts or suggestions can be addressed, discussed or expressed anonymously by emailing safety@nowsociety.org. 8EAST ventilation: Open windows and door, 3 HEPA air purifiers and UV lights on return air in the HVAC system. Mask wearing is recommend and masks will be available. Seating, wooden stackable chairs without armrests, is movable.

Seating is generally arranged in groups of two or threes with space between groups for easy mobility. Wheelchair seating is easily accommodated. The 34 inch wide main entrance to 8EAST has a threshold of approximately 0.5 inches high. There is no door automation. During events, the door is open or can be opened by the Front of House person. There are no ramps or stairs to navigate. Internal floors are smooth concrete. Outdoor plaza events are held on concrete pavers, some are uneven. Paths and hallways are kept free of impediments.

8EAST has a wheelchair accessible, non-gendered toilet on site with a door width of 35 inches. Additional public toilets, not wheel chair accessible, are located in the adjacent hallway. The NOW Society emergency evacuation procedures are in place for all individuals. The Front of House person or a staff member onsite is trained in naloxone administration and will be the contact person in case of emergencies.

GETTING THERE AND PARKING:

8EAST is located within 50 meters of buses 004, 007, 019, 022, 209, and N19 on Pender Street. Stops for buses 003, 008, 014, 016, 020, N8, N20, and N35 are located within 250 metres on Hastings Street. Stadium–Chinatown SkyTrain Station is approximately 400 metres away. General metered street parking is available on surrounding streets. A passenger drop-off zone without a curb is located within 50 metres at 531 Carrall Street. To arrange for HandyDART transportation and accompanying assistants, please contact now@nowsociety.org.

There is a bike rack on the SW corner of Pender and Carrall Street, viewable while inside 8EAST and on the Plaza. Covered bike parking is available at the Main Street – Science World Skytrain Station. From there, one can take the #3 bus, then walk West down Pender to 8EAST (c. 5 mins), walk to 8EAST (c. 15 mins) or ride one skytrain stop to Stadium – Chinatown and walk Northwest to 8EAST (c. 5 mins). The closest Bike Locker to 8EAST is located at VCC Clark. From there, one can take trains to Stadium – Chinatown Skytrain Station and walk NorthWest to 8EAST.