Video projections add another dimension to live music, theatre, opera and dance, but Vancouver's emerging video artists don't always get the exposure they deserve.

That's why a new Chinatown-based non-profit called Drop Out Video Arts formed and is co-producing Vancouver's first large-scale video projection show, Drop In/Drop Out: Video Arts Expo, at W2 Storyeum, March 18.

"I see that this is a really underutilized art form," said Drop Out's director Mairin Cooley. "But it's out there, but it's usually in the background, but at the same time, it has such a tremendous influence as to how people experience a show."

Drop In/Drop Out is the Vancouver edition of the BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer) video projection show that started in Berlin last year.

Organizers invite all artists and community members to participate as long as they bring their own projectors.

Drop In/Drop Out will feature more than 40 projections.

With 15-foot ceilings, 20-foot in some areas at the massive venue, Cooley's excited about the presentation possibilities.

"We toured the entire floor plan and decided that we are giving artists the opportunity to project within a range of four to 10 feet, so the end result will be that the projections will be much larger than we've seen in the past BYOBs, which we think is very awesome," she said.

The videos will be presented in a more dynamic way than in a typical gallery, Cooley adds.

"We really like the way it looks to have things not be totally rigid or structured," she said. "It's much more like a creative explosion and a creative jam in terms of the videos working together, and they'll be playing together, literally and figuratively."

Organizers are building a 30-foot-long tent where techniques will be demonstrated on the "screen" of the structure and visitors can chill out inside. Along with installations there are also workshops, demonstrations and interactive displays including one where visitors can manipulate single slides like puzzle pieces to build their own whole.

The expo starts at 5 p.m. and entry is by donation until 10 p.m. to encourage Vancouverites of all ages and walks of life to drop in.

Emilio Rojas, a video artist from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, has videotaped himself shaving half his body. His performance will last a month, which means he'll be projecting and walking around with half a moustache.

Marie Horstead, a fibre artist, will project self-reflective images of her body onto a quilt she made.

Other artists include Barry Doupe, whose work has been viewed at the Tate Modern in London, England; the Vancouver Design Nerds Society, which recently showed elaborate projections at Illuminate Yaletown; and Liz Van Allen Cairns and Jessica Parsons who create site-specific video jams with artists and live bands.

Cooley says the experience of the videos will change as the evenings progress with sound artists chiming in at 7 p.m. and bands including Channels 3x4 and Animal Bodies starting at 10 p.m., with a dance party to follow.

Drop In/Drop Out happens at 151 West Cordova.

crossi@vancourier.com