Vancouver Mural Fest donor faces backlash from artists

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Vancouver Mural Festival comes to an end this weekend, but now, some local artists are taking aim at one of the festival’s donors.

An open letter addressed to Low Tide Properties that has popped up on social media accuses and condemns the developer and its founder, Chip Wilson, of shutting down arts spaces around the city.

The letter claims Low Tide is “artwashing,” which has been described as the practice of donating to arts events to cover up a track record of renovicting artist-run venues and galleries.

Musician and activist Tascha Speck penned the letter.

“I was really inspired in June when we lost Index and Merge to Chip Wilson and Low Tide Properties,” she said. “That’s what really spurred my research in seeing how many venues they were responsible of taking away.”

Index and Merge were two artist-run spaces located at 1305 Powell Street. They were forced to close their doors in June after apparently being priced out by Low Tide Properties.

Other organizations also impacted by Low Tide include the Red Gate Arts Society, the Network of Inner City Community Services Society (NICCSS) and the eatART Foundation.

A statement posted by Low Tide Properties in 2016 suggests the group aims to own $1.5 billion worth of property by 2026. The developer is also a known donor to the Strathcona Street Party.

The letter now has over 100 signatories, including some local artist-run spaces.

Gil Goletsky of the Flavourcel Animation collective says it felt “natural” to sign the letter.

“It’s very telling to put a lot of money into something that makes a neighbourhood look good instead of addressing some of the problems in those neighbourhoods,” Goletsky said of Low Tide Properties’ hand in Mural Fest. “Every artist that we know in this city suffers from the same problem of not being able to hold down a space because of renovictions.”

However, some artists see Low Tide’s partnership with the Vancouver Mural Festival as a good sign.

“I’m glad [the festival] is garnering support from Lowtide because that is a starting point […] to make continual commitments to support Vancouver, not just buying it up,” Zandi Dandizette of the James Black Gallery said.

NEWS 1130 has reached out to organizers of the Vancouver Mural Festival for comment.

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