2024 THEME
LIGHT AND LANGUAGE
The Winter Arts Festival 2024 is an interactive festival transforming downtown Victoria and Vancouver into an open-air gallery and celebration of art, lights, and entertainment. Free to attend except for 19+ events, everyone is invited downtown to enjoy new works of temporary public art popping up in unexpected places.
The Winter Arts Festival spotlights the fusion of light, language and technology in captivating light-based public art. In the darkest season, light serves as a vital form of communication, conveying warnings and radiating warmth while creating spaces for reflection and storytelling.
Amidst the daily urban backdrop of neon signs, street names, and plaques, the 2024 Winter Arts Festival sharpens its focus on the intersection of communication, technology, and illumination, unveiling the stories woven in Victoria and Vancouver’s historic alleyways and streets.
The artworks will utilise technology and light and will include 3D art, interactive displays, projections, digital and augmented reality, laser animations, and many other kinds of installations that will bring light and warmth during one of the darkest times of year.
2024 Installations
BLANKETING THE CITY : Lighting The Way
Blanketing The City: Lighting The Way is an evolution of the ongoing public art series designed by acclaimed xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Weaver and Designer, Debra Sparrow in collaboration with VMF.
Debra Sparrow
Lights, AR
When: Feb 22–27 // Sundown - 11:00 PM
Where: Canada Place // Cathedral Square Park // Telus Garden // Bc Place // Science World // Granville Island // The Biltmore
AFROQUATICS
Afroquatics is an interactive installation that transports visitors into an underwater landscape.
Kemi Craig
Immersive projection, AR
When: Feb 16–19 // 5:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: 708 Douglas Street
GO FISH
GO FISH is a moving painting, a kaleidoscopic and immersive sound and video installation splashed across three adjacent screens.
Nettie Wild and Scott Smith
A video triptych | 14 minutes | 3 channel output
When: Feb 16–19 // 5:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: The Fairmont Empress Hotel - 721 Government Street
SPARK INDIGENOUS / SLOW STUDIES CREATIVE
Spark Indigenous is an augmented reality (AR) creator accelerator program created and led by Slow Studies Creative and in partnership with Meta. Through this program we merge the richness of our traditions with the limitless potential of XR technology.
Charlene Johnny, Ovila Mailhot, Mel Beaulieu &
Emma Hassencahl-Perley
AR, vinyl on glass windows
When: Feb 16–19 // 5:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: 650 View Street
green gazing
Green Gazing is a participatory movement exchange led by instructor Ashley Bowa with projection visuals and audio manipulated by both artists Ashley Bowa and Lesley Marshall.
Lesley Marshall & Ashley Bowa
Plants, video projection, interactive experience
When: Feb 16–19 // 5:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: Market Square
PAST Installations
PRESENT
PRESENT is an exhibition featuring audio, visual and spoken word artists exploring the ways in which language and music can be used to create and communicate meaning.