Workshops + Skill-sharing
Water Workshop
Saturday November 1, 1pm – 4pm
Left of Main, 2nd floor, 211 Keefer Free
Come and spend a Saturday afternoon with dance artists Jennifer Mascall and Kelly McInnes at Left of Main, exploring the body’s fluid system. This workshop is an opportunity for anyone who’d like to honour, explore and celebrate water, and our interconnections with it. No dance experience required!
Dia De Los Muertos Ofrenda Workshop
Saturday November 1, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Carnegie Learning Centre, 3rd floor, 410 Main Free
Cultural Facilitator CJ Santana and the good people at the Learning Centre call up your loving light to help build a Dia de Los Muertos Ofrenda. Join the collective community creation in elevating the spirits of those we’ve lost, share some deadly treats and meet new friends!
Space is Place
Saturday November 1, 4pm – 5:30pm
SFU Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre, 149 W. Hastings
$0 or by donation.
Tickets space-is-place.eventbrite.ca
Space is Place is an improvised participatory performance cultivating stillness within the body through sound, vibration, and presence. Using crystal bowls, intuitive composition and abstract projections, it invites participants to breathe and reconnect with a sense of inner stability. Artist and facilitator Lorri Clark shares a moment of restoration and reminds us that sanctuary exists both within us and in community. Please bring a yoga mat, water, and a blanket if you’d like to get cozy! Some yoga mats will be available to use.
Catrina & Catrin Mask Workshop
Sunday November 2, 11:30am – 1pm
Russian Hall, 600 Campbell
Free. Limited capacity
Register: mask-workshop.eventbrite.ca
Join artist extraordinaire Gerardo Avila and make a Catrin or a Catrina mask for the Day of the Dead Celebration (Día de los Muertos). Learn the tradition and history of the Catrinas/Catrinos with a warm invitation to join a community procession to visit different altars (ofrendas) in the Downtown Eastside following the workshop. All materials provided.
Taller de máscaras de Catrín y Catrina
El 2 de noviembre a las 11:30 am, los invitamos al Russian Hall (600 Campbell Street), a crear una máscara de Catrín o de Catrina para el Día de los Muertos. Después de platicar sobre la tradición de las Catrinas/Catrinos, los invitaremos a participar en la Procesión que visitará varios altares de ofrendas en el centro de Vancouver Eastside. La procesión empezará después del taller. Todos los materiales serán proporcionados.
12 participantes como máximo, se requiere registrar de antemano.
Lo Wah Kiu (Theatre of the Oppressed) Workshop
Tuesday November 4, 3:30pm – 6:30pm
Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main
Free. Registration lo-wah-kiu.eventbrite.ca
Also Saturday November 8, 4pm
Join us for a participatory theatre workshop inspired by the work of Downtown Eastside documentarian and organizer Sid Chow Tan! From organizing with the Head Tax and Exclusion Redress movement to documenting countless actions against gentrification and displacement, Sid’s art of activism captured a spirit of class-consciousness, humour, and solidarity. His vast archive depicts four decades of the struggles, victories, celebrations, and everyday lives of DTES and Chinatown communities and organizers. In the two introductory workshops, participants will learn theatre techniques that will connect themes from the Sid Tan video archives to our lives and neighbourhood issues today.
Free admission and no theatre experience necessary! Pre-registration required. Refreshments will be served. Cantonese and Mandarin interpretation will be provided. These workshops are presented with gratitude and in solidarity with the many friends, organizers, community television volunteers and staff who made possible the production, broadcast, and archive of Sid’s videos.
老華僑劇場（系列工作坊）
日期：11月4日(週二) 下午 3時半 至 6時半 和 11月8日(週六) 下午 4時至7時
加麗基社區中心
誠邀您參加本次「參與式劇場系列工作坊」！本次工作坊的靈感來自活躍於溫哥華市中心東端的紀錄片導演兼社區組織者 周明輝（Sid Chow Tan）。他的行動經歷相當廣泛——從組織華人人頭稅和排華政策平反運動，到紀錄無數反對社區貴族化與逼遷的行動。周明輝以社會行動的藝術，展現了深厚的階級意識、幽默感與團結精神。他龐大的影像檔案，完整呈現了四十年來東端與華埠社群及行動者的奮鬥、勝利、慶祝時刻與日常生活。在本次的系列入門工作坊中，參與者將學習劇場技巧，探索周明輝的影像檔案中所紀錄的話題，並連結到我們當下的生活，以及社區面臨的議題。
本次活動免費，無需任何劇場經驗！須事先報名。現場將提供茶點，並備有廣東話與普通話翻譯。本次系列工作坊特別鳴謝並致敬眾多好友、組織者、社區電視義工與工作人員——正因為有他們的努力，周明輝的影像作品才能被製作、播出並得以保存。
Hybrid Memoir Writing Workshop, with Angela Gray
Thursday November 6, 3pm – 4:30pm
Carnegie Learning Centre, 3rd Floor, 401 Main
Free. Women’s Only Event
Are you interested in writing your life story as a means to inquire about broader societal issues? Join Angela Gray, an emerging Black writer and visual artist in a writing workshop, where participants will gain insights on how to tell a story within a story and explore applying a hybrid, mixed genre approach to their writing, using archival documents, research, photos, and poetry. Supplies provided.
In Loving Memory Workshop
Thursday November 6, 5pm – 7pm
Carnegie Seniors Lounge, basement, 401 Main
Free. Registration info below.
Join us for a hands-on session to honour our collective ancestors and beloved dead through shrine making and community ritual. Facilitated by Marina Szijarto, a lifelong professional artist who started the Loving: Memory Shrines, a community project of remembrance and reverence. Marina is also the co-creator of “Night For All Souls,” held in the last two decades at Mountain View Cemetery. Register in-person at the Carnegie Library or call 604-665-3010 ext. 0
The EWMA Experience
Friday November 7, 12pm – 4pm
EWMA Studio, 800 E. Hastings
Free. All genders welcome
Join EWMA for a fun-filled afternoon of art workshops and socializing. The workshops are beginner-friendly, no prior experience is required. Tools and supplies are provided, as well as light refreshments. Participants are encouraged to take home their creations.
12pm – 2pm Intuitive Collage for Self-Discovery, with Rosina Santillana
Join Rosina for a guided, hands-on workshop where you’ll tap into intuition and uncover deep layers of your authentic self. Using images, textures, and spontaneous selection, intuitive collage helps bypass the thinking mind and gives voice to the subconscious. You’ll create a visual map of your inner world – revealing insights beyond the surface and beyond social conditioning.
2pm – 4pm FIMO-Clay Jewelry Making, with Iris Seltzer
Iris will lead a hands-on workshop focused on polymer clay, an oven-bake modelling clay used to create jewelry, figurines, and other decorative items. You’ll learn how to condition, shape, bake, and finish polymer clay creations. This class is fun and fabulous!
Dignity in Community Photo Walk + Workshop
Saturday November 8, 12pm – 2:30pm
Russian Hall, 600 Campbell
$0 – $25. Tickets photo-walk-workshop.eventbrite.ca
Join photographer and filmmaker Tallulah for a photo walk that explores composition, history, and storytelling through black-and-white film. After an introduction and slideshow, participants will walk through the neighbourhood with disposable film cameras, capturing their own perspectives. Photos will be shared with the participants, and featured on the DTES Heart of the City Festival website! With support from Rocket Repro and Treck Hall.
