News - Page 4 of 16

Introducing x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ New Growth《新生林》Community Liaisons

February 23, 2021

A wide shot of the x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ New Growth《新生林》garden seen from the street, with its gates open and a light covering of snow spread over its grounds.

221A is pleased and humbled to introduce its Community Liaisons for x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ New Growth《新生林》: jaz whitford, Oliver Barnes, Soloman Chiniquay and Valeen Jules.

Since December 2020, jaz, Oliver, Soloman and Valeen have been working with 221A as Community Liaisons and groundskeepers of the x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ New Growth《新生林》, the permaculture garden conceived by T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss and located at 221a’s Semi-Public 半公開 outdoor site. In addition to operating the garden around limited public hours each week for access by residents of the immediate neighbourhood, the youthful cohort has been engaged in a program of radical learning and futuring with mentors such as T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss, Aislinn Thomas and Ramya Amuthan, Erik Benjamins, Christina Battle, as well as 221A staff Nicole Kelly Westman and Tao Fei. It is a special privilege to welcome back several members of the original youth cohort who first planted the garden alongside Wyss, and who now continue their work as pollinators of the site’s rhizomatic potential.

Funding for this program is provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement.

Offline for the Holidays

December 16, 2020

221A will be offline and slower than usual to respond during the holidays from December 19, 2020 until Jan 3, 2021. For 221A’s facility subtenants, you may contact Sungpil Yoon, Tenancy Relations Coordinator at spyoon@221a.ca for urgent matters. 221A wishes you and yours prosperity and health for this very different kind of holiday season, and an auspicious beginning to the new year.

221A Welcomes UBC Sustainability Scholar, Charles Pan

October 28, 2020

221A welcomes University of British Columbia Sustainability Scholar, Charles Pan, from October 2020 through to March 2021, who will work as part of the DOMA Fellowship team, collecting data, arranging consultations, and synthesizing research materials relating to Vancouver’s housing crisis. The Sustainability Scholars Program is managed by the UBC Sustainability Initiative, providing qualified graduate students the opportunity to work on a range of sustainability topics such as climate adaptation, local food, green procurement, sustainable transportation, zero waste, GHG emissions reduction, housing, green buildings, biodiversity, and wellbeing. Participation in the program provides UBC graduate students with a unique educational experience working on real-world sustainability problems. Students benefit from the opportunity to work with a mentor and apply their academic program knowledge and research skills in ways that contribute to advancing the partner organization’s sustainability goals.

221A is Collaborative Fund Partner of New BC Anti-Racism Initiative, SEARA

October 13, 2020

221A is proud to contribute as a Collaborative Fund Partner to the recently-announced Sector Equity Alliance for Anti-Racism in the Arts (SEARA), an interdisciplinary anti-racism initiative in BC. 221A Executive Director Brian McBay sits on SEARA’s Steering Committee.

Responding to the impacts of COVID-19 and the urgent movements for racial justice and Indigenous rights, SEARA has launched #POWERSHARE, a relief fund for Black, Indigenous and Racialized Artists. The fundraiser aims to raise up to $1M to offset the loss of income experienced by BC-based BIPOC artists due to COVID-19, and simultaneously address historical inequities in the sector.