46 » OpenRoad Driver
EXTRAS
Audacious
Art
VANCOUVER BIENNALE CREATES
ARTISTIC LEGACY
Words by Roslyne Buchanan
Photos by Matt Kwok Photography
»
Car enthusiasts appreciate what
makes something great is often
not immediately tangible. Rather,
it’s the cumulative effect of its
parts. Take an Audi, for example.
That is such a sexy and luxurious
package. Without its innovative
engineering it wouldn’t offer that
remarkable ride.
Vancouver Biennale Founder and President
Barrie Mowatt recognizes something similar
about the intangibles in a city. “Back in the late
eighties as Vancouver came onto the world stage
with Expo 86, it became clear that we couldn’t
position ourselves as a world-class city with
virtually no great art in public spaces,” he explains.
“Vancouver had the perfect waterfront location,
lush setting and magnificent mountains backdrop.
What it didn’t offer was that cosmopolitan feeling
you get in cities like Paris or New York.”
To Mowatt, who had opened the Buschlen
Mowatt Fine Art Gallery in 1979, it was a
natural step to launch the vision of the Vancouver
Biennale Open Air Museum. He is the founder
of the Celebration of Hope Foundation, cofounder of Taste the Nation, and the Buschlen
Mowatt Scholarship Program at Arts Umbrella.
Biennale’s genesis was a collaboration in 1998
with the Vancouver Parks Board to bring leaders
in international sculpture for a four-month
exhibition along English Bay.
From that original success, a non-profit charitable
organization evolved to exhibit great art in
public space, creating a catalyst for learning and
community engagement. Biennale has a mission
to make public art accessible and motivating to
help create vibrant and inspired communities.