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Willie Brisco, March 1, 2013. Image courtesy the Artist and 221A, Vancouver. Photograph by Dennis Ha
About
Office
100-221 E Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6A 1Z6
Canada
Unceded Territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam),
Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh
(Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
hello@221a.ca
+1 604 568 0812
221A works with artists and designers to research and develop social, cultural and ecological infrastructure.
Organizing Values
Self-determination
Artist-run
Responsible to community and neighbours
Experimental
Non-market autonomy
Question design
Artists paid fair wage
Contemporary art and design
Brief History
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Installation shot including Hold on, Untitled (smize) and Thanks!, Kalli Niedoba, 2014 – Photo by Dennis Ha
Beginning as a student-led initiative in 2005, the organization was initially animated by an opposition to the division between contemporary art and design. Leaving the university grounds in 2008 to establish its first public exhibition space, the organization would be shaped by the history and upheavals of its new home in Chinatown, the embattled neighbourhood itself a microcosm of a global economic recession and the transformation of Vancouver before and after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Fellows 2017–
Fellowships
221A works with artists and designers to conduct research over a period of 3 to 24 months. Each fellow receives a monthly stipend and open research office at Pollyanna where they are expected to lead new research on potential social, cultural or ecological ‘infrastructure’. Staff work alongside Fellows to resource and translate research into operational plans towards infrastructure.
Board of Directors
Laura Kozak
Sadira Rodrigues
Ross Gentleman
Miyo Takeda
Russell Baker
Alex Grünenfelder
cheyanne turions
Jenni Pace
Naomi Sawada
Staff
Sasha Bondartchouk Assistant
Michelle Fu Systems Designer
Nadya Isabella Assistant
Brian McBay Director
Jesse McKee Head of Strategy
Vincent Tao Librarian
Stephan Wright Technical Lead
Sungpil Yoon Site Manager
Significant Contractors
Jay Barker, Project Manager
Buckley Dodds Parker LLP, Auditor
Joji Fukushima, Craftsperson
Christy Nyiri, Designer/Developer
Quantum Accounting, Bookkeeping
Artists' Fees & Living Wages
221A’s policies require the payment of artists at rates above the CARFAC national average and the compensation of all staff, including summer students, at a minimum of $21/hr or equivalent total salary and benefits. 221A aims to improve the reciprocal health of the organization, its constituents, and our ecological context.