Letter from the Founder

In June of this year we will be throwing the largest one night art show in the history of Western Canada; The Cheaper Show No. 9. We have been working on it for four months now and we have another four to go. Due to the public demand and the fact that our systems were pushed beyond our limits at our last event, we have had to reinvent this wheel in order to do what we do most effectively. We have reviewed and redesigned every aspect of this show in order to deliver a better service than ever. I spent a lot of time and consideration finding key individuals to become part of our team for this year. I approached Lisa Giroday of the LES Gallery to serve as the Lead Curator for The Cheaper Show late in 2009. For years I have been impressed with the program she has been running in her space in the far east of Vancouver and I felt confident that she had much to bring to this position. Lisa has already proved to be visionary in this role and has been amazing to work with, and without a doubt will strengthen and reinvigorate the scope of artists showing with The Cheaper Show.

Early this year I asked my good friend Steve Rio to come on board as the Executive Director. I’d been looking for someone I trusted completely to help me take this show to an international level and fortunately I didn’t need to look far as I have been tight with Steve for years, checking in on him as he was progressing as successful entrepreneur. Steve is incredibly inspiring to work with; as driven and focused on this show as I’ve ever been. His inclusion allows me to develop all the creative aspects of the show and will allow me some time to get back into the studio to focus on the demands of my own art career. Rounding out the rest of the crew I am proud to say we’ve got Zoe Peled as Associate Producer, Jessica Delorme as Associate Curator, Danny Vermette as Live Event Manager, Adam Fryatt as Environment Designer, Lindsay Elliott as Social Media Manager, Jesse Savath as our Video Producer, Zoe Pawlak as our Fundraiser, Chris Allen as our Lead Designer, and Julia Kozlov as our Photographer. A crew of eleven, all artists in their own right; all of us from hailing proudly from East Van.

We are working closely with Jeff Hamada’s www.Booooooom.com as well as Lifetime Collective amongst other creative groups in the city. Both of these companies have been showing incredible support to emerging artists in their own unique fashion for years, it made perfect sense to work with them collaboratively to bring you some great projects this year. Likewise we are proud to be working with our media partners Ion Magazine and Vancouverisawesome.com to help keep you informed about all things Cheaper.

Vancouver has long been awkward when it comes to art, culture and design. More accurately it is still struggling to find a sense of its own identity. Any conscious individual is well aware that change is upon us and that these years ahead there will be a changing of the guards and a changing of the diapers. Kinda sorta finally growing up… Vancouver, you’re big girl now and it’s about time. The youth always drive the cultural market and I’m always happy to see a new local venture beginning, whether it’s a barbershop or line of ceramics. There is no shortage of talented and motivated people here. It is time that we garner some international recognition beyond the majesty of our mountains or the potency of our weed. The unsung talent of this city is the genesis behind why I’ve been pushing this show for the last nine years of my life. It seems when you provide an intellectual opportunity for people, they will always make an extra effort to shine.

Rather than being caught up in the fascination of what Vancouver will become, it up to us to work every day to develop it.  I look inward to people like Jane Cox, Jason Sulyma, Bob Rennie, Josh Dunford, Ernesto Gomez, Dustin Fishbook, Victor Wang, Rob Rizk, Natasha Lands, Irwin Oostindie, Kathleen Bartels, Reid Stewart, Hajnalka Mandula, Office Supplies Inc., Gabor Mate, Anna Hilliar, Michelle Pezel, Garret Louie, Michael Audain, Heather Martin, Kris Krug, Malcolm Levy, and Tyler Lepore to name a few; people who continue to challenge our city’s standards and are physically altering our cultural landscape. We can look to Vancouver artists Rodney Graham, Ron Terada, Jeremy Shaw, Stan Douglas, Karin Bubas, Geoffrey Farmer, Steven Shearer, and Myfanwy Macleod as they place our city shoulder to shoulder with some of the most impacting international artists alive today. Their success inspires all of us in the Cheaper Crew to stand taller and work harder when we start taking The Cheaper Show to other cities next year and we bring our piece of Vancouver culture to them. It is through our collective actions that we will determine our inevitable sense of monumentality.

Bob Kronbauer is right. Vancouver is awesome.

Through this site and our live events we intend to show the world a city that is different than what its postcards dictate.
We aim to liberate talented emerging artists and support local independent culture.

The Cheaper Show No. 9 blows up in June of 2010.

A show built by artists for artists.

We have always appreciated your support.

Graeme