For anyone who's wondered about the bronze statues howling with laughter near English Bay, the white figure fashioned from fused letters at the foot of Thurlow Street or the curvy red sphere in Steveston, there's help. Thanks to an informative website launched mid July, the curious and confused can get the skinny on the more than 30 international, contemporary Vancouver Biennale works sprucing up the city and Richmond.

Vancouver's young biennale draws inspiration from the Venice Biennale, which will hold its 54th exhibition next year, says Katherine Tong, education program manager for the local biennale, but Vancouver's version differs in that it focuses mainly on sculpture, presented outside, for free, now with a comprehensive educational program.

The Vancouver Biennale launched an interactive game called the K-Crew Detectives: Case of the English Bay Bandits! in time for the Celebration of Light fireworks event. Virtual detectives amass clues concerning five stolen biennale sculptures and match what they've learned with a thief. After they catch all five, players can embark on a bonus mission that requires them to study the sculptures in person, and those who crack the bonus questions can pick up a K-Crew poster at the children's desk of the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library.

"It's combining virtual play with physical outdoor activity," Tong said. "It's very Vancouver, very Canadian, and there're not too many games around like this."

Tong, an IT retiree, says the humour included in the game also makes it fun for adults.

Curricula for Grades 10 to 12 students were developed with the help of teachers to complement the inaugural Vancouver Biennale that ran from 2005 to 2007, but it wasn't widely used. This time around, curricula suitable for elementary and secondary students have been developed in collaboration with King George secondary, led by the institution's former principal, Terry Howe, and tested with students from King George and elementary school students from Elsie Roy and Lord Roberts.

Students who study We, 2008, the linguistic sculpture in English Bay by Barcelona artist Jaume Plensa, will reflect on the immigrant experience. Plensa welded together letters from eight major alphabets, including Greek, Hindi and Chinese, to create a human form. In test runs, blindfolded students were led into the sculpture, their blindfolds were removed and they faced a confusing mix of language to boost their empathy for immigrants to Canada who face unscrambling a new language and culture.

King George students tried to identify words. They called the school's office as a lifeline, like on the TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and had someone perform an Internet search for them, Tong said.

Students who focus on 217.5 Arc x 13, the steel sculpture near Sunset Beach created by French artist Bernar Venet, will act as stakeholders, including developers, adventure tourism officials and environmentalists, to debate development in English Bay and Stanley Park.

The Artificial Rock, which looks like a giant, shiny, scrunched up piece of aluminum foil at Georgia and Granville streets, is Beijing-based artist Zhan Wang's play on stones, sometimes representative of mountains, traditionally placed in urban gardens and courtyards in China to promote a connection to nature and a calming, meditative space. Students who study this work will consider ways of de-stressing.

Grade 6 to 12 teachers can sign up for workshops about the curricula called Taking It to the Street.

The Vancouver Biennale has also developed five half- to full-day self-guided tours complete with maps and directions of public art and pieces installed as part of private developments in Yaletown, Coal Harbour, English Bay, VanDusen Botanical Gardens, Queen Elizabeth Park and Richmond.

Tong says the Vancouver Biennale, a non-profit corporation and registered charity that funds most of its activity through the sale of art after each exhibition by Christie's

Fine Art Auctions and also receives money from the province, wants the public to understand who's behind the biennale.

Controversy over The STOP signs in Charleson Park, the Miss Mao is Trying to Poise Herself on Top of Lenin's Head sculpture in Richmond and news of vandalism and theft of segments of some of the sculptures has increased local awareness of the biennale, which primarily captured international attention in its inaugural years, Tong said.

For more information, see vblearn.ca.

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Susan Gransby and Rosamond Norbury have a new exhibition of linocuts, photo etchings, lithographs, chine colle, photographs and photographs with text called Under the Shadow of Cranes at the Leighdon Studio Gallery, 190 West Third Ave., running now until Aug. 28. The artists reception happens tonight, Aug. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m., with an artists chat Aug. 21 from noon to 2 p.m.

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Artful Sundays, the annual outdoor visual media arts market at Napier Street and Commercial Drive, starts this weekend and runs until Sept. 5 from noon to 5 p.m. Artful Sundays kicks off with artists from the Jem Gallery, a corsage making workshop by Helena Beslic, accordion music by Glen Watts and Vancouver Co-op Radio's books and record sale fundraiser. Donations for the sale are welcome from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 8.

crossi@vancourier.com