Thanks to the hard work of Lauren Isaacson, videos from the 2010 edition of Interesting Vancouver are starting to make their way onto Vimeo. To get you started, here’s one of my favourite talks:
Interesting Vancouver is a multi-disciplinary conference with no theme. There will be a degree of spontaneity, unexpected moments, and learnings. This is what makes it exciting.
Speaker: Kuba Oms
Kuba Oms is one of those rare artists whose voice touches you deep in your soul. His solo acoustic performances are a brilliant setting to hear his award winning songs in a stripped down, intimate fashion. His live performances with the full band are that of legend in BC. Kuba commands the stage with the same ease and compelling aura that mark the global superstars of today and yesterday. His band, Velvet are legendary the west coast having played with everyone from Nelly Furtado to The Chemical Brothers. His debut solo album, “How Much Time“, could be likened to a cross between David Gray, Ben Harper and Al Green.
Music is what Kuba does for a living, but it is not what defines him as a human being.
IV10 Benefits the Stanley Park Ecology Society
Interesting Vancouver is a non-profit event. We keep the tickets affordable and the venue small in hopes of bringing something special, finite, and inspiring to the Vancouver community.
When we do have money left over, it is usually a paltry sum of about $100. (This year we got hit with an unexpected galley fee from the Rowing Club, so we’re going to be asking for donations at the event to help keep us in the black) We always give the money to a charity that we feel is relevant to the spirit of the event, and this year any extra money that we have will be going to the Stanley Park Ecology Society because we really believe that Stanley Park is an essential part of the spirit and beauty of Vancouver and we want to see it flourish for years to come.
The Stanley Park Ecology Society promotes awareness of and respect for the natural world by playing a leadership role in the stewardship of Stanley Park through collaborative initiatives in education, research and conservation.
SPES has been actively promoting urban ecological conservation and stewardship since 1988 and we hope our small donation will help it to continue its good work.
Speaker: JJ Lee
JJ Lee is a fashion columnist for CBC Radio’s afternoon show, On The Coast. He also writes a menswear column for the Vancouver Sun. Currently, he is writing a social history of the suit for McClelland and Stewart for publication in 2011.
For his talk, JJ Lee will be looking at the world of tailoring suits and the art, or lack thereof, of wearing them. If you have ever wondered why the heck men have to wear suits or how best to wear one, then his talk will offer you an irreverent perspective on the sine qua non of male attire. It may change your view of them forever.
Speaker: Amanda Gibbs
Amanda Gibbs, a communications & cultural strategist, is Museum of Vancouver’s Director of Audience Engagement. Gibbs has assisted hundreds of organizations in mapping and creating brands, planning for organizational change, crafting winning campaigns, and addressing complex, conflict-driven issues with diverse stakeholders. She is also a former arts and culture reporter, and loves prodding the spaces between people, ideas and action.
Amanda is going to be talking to us about resuscitating the city museum for a new cultural economy.
Who comes to Interesting Vancouver?
As organizers, we often get asked, “Who comes to Interesting Vancouver?”
Which is another way of saying, “Will *I* like Interesting Vancouver?”
And you may. But you also may not.
Because there is no theme, no organizing principal save “Things that are Interesting,” Interesting Vancouver requires an open mind.
It is a splendid collage of interesting ideas and passionate people.
It provides an extraordinary lack of career advancement opportunities.
It only promises to be “Interesting.”
So if that openness to discovery appeals you, then Interesting Vancouver is for you.
If you need to see the full schedule beforehand, then perhaps Interesting Vancouver is not for you.
But we hope it is.
Good News/Bad News
It’s a good news/bad news sort of thing this year.
The good news is that over half of the tickets for this year’s event are already sold.
The bad news is that this means you will be disappointed for not having purchased your tickets well in advance if you don’t act now.
Hope to see all your smiling faces on October 8th!
Speaker/Sponsor: Anthony Nicalo
We try to avoid having sponsors at Interesting Vancouver, but we like food and our attendees like eating on a Friday between 6 and 8pm, so sometimes we make exceptions. Anthony Nicalo is one of those exceptions.
Anthony has spent his career as a chef and entrepreneur dedicated to the notion that stories accompany everything we consume: the story of what, the story of where, the story of when, the story of how, and the story of why. Every business he turns his hand to celebrates provenance – from provenir (Fr.) “the origin or source of something” – as the heart of what makes things good.
His journey began with Farmstead Wines, and an effort to share the dedication and passion of winemaking vinaroons with eaters. His work continued on to Farmfed, a non-profit organization dedicated to authentic food and farming, and into his line of chemical-free chef’s apparel at Dajoji.
Now Anthony is pouring that same passion for ethical sourcing into Foodtree, a new model for transparency in food production, distribution and marketing.
In cooperation with Foodtree, Inevitable Table will be catering the event. Don’t expect anything substantial, just some delicious local and seasonal appetizers to get you through the evening. We hope you enjoy it.
Speaker: Lisa Salazar
Lisa was born in Colombia, grew up in California and moved to Vancouver in the early 1970s to started a successful career as a graphic designer and photographer. After living the first forty eight years of life as Santiago, a married, heterosexual man and father of three children, he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria. It would take almost ten more years before he decided to transition to womanhood.
Having recently completed her transformation by enduring sexual reassignment surgery, Lisa is ready share her interesting journey with us.
Speaker: Dustin Rivers
Dustin Rivers is a young leader of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) people. His people, and his peoples language, is one of British Columbia’s dying languages. In his community, there is less then 8 fluent speakers alive today.
“In every language, intellectual achievement, wealth of culture, and paradigm of thought, is stored; like a oldgrowth forrest of the mind.” says Dustin.
Every two-weeks an indigenous language becomes extinct as the last elder speaker dies. To combat the threat of culture loss, total assimilation, and complete annihilation of his culture, Dustin has spent the past 2 years dedicating himself to learning, and teaching, his ancestral language.
In a special-talk, Dustin will tell you why the worlds language should be saved, and how it can be done.