On Saturday, the area that once stood as a dingy plot of no man’s land will put out the welcome mat to revel in art, beer, music and friendship at The Flats fourth annual block party. From noon to 5 p.m. part of the gallery district, running east of Main Street on East First Avenue and Great Northern Way, will host art enthusiasts, collectors and the curious as the community celebrates itself.
This year for the nine-block long extravaganza, Chernoff Fine Art, Macaulay and Co. Fine Art, Monte Clark Gallery, Gallery 295, Gallery Jones, SOMA and Winsor Gallery will host free exhibits with works by local and internationally renowned artists. The day will come to a close with a concert at Red Truck Brewery.
Jennifer Winsor, of Winsor Gallery, spearheaded the area’s first block party. “First and foremost, it’s a celebration,” she said in her chic, stark white, high-ceilinged office. “The sharing element is crucial to how we exist here, it’s like you’re holding a party for all your friends.”
While the block party is about letting loose and having fun with your neighbours, for Winsor it’s also about raising awareness, something the founder of the gallery knows a little bit about. Coming into art with a business background, Winsor knew that owning an art gallery in an untried district wasn’t just about the art.
As rent prices on South Granville continued to swell, the grass over by the Flats was starting to look greener. “We wanted to find a place we could exist collectively,” Winsor said. Since 2012, several galleries, including Monte Clark Gallery, Gallery Jones, Equinox Gallery and Winsor Gallery, packed up shop and migrated to the East Side.
“Over a short period of time, we realized we had to market ourselves to be recognized as a district, so we branded ourselves” Winsor said. “It’s good to have a name.”
The Flats, named after the marshland and creeks that once overran the area, has become home to more than 15 galleries. “We aspire to the notion that we’re stronger as a group,” Winsor said of her extended team, evoking a mental image of the galleries forming a good-natured gang and designating the Flats as their territory.
Since moving into that squalid, abandoned fishery at 258 East First Ave., four years ago, Winsor said the gallery has flourished and that relocating was a smart business move, too. With cheaper rent and the city’s cooperation to rezone more artist live-work spaces, coupled with concrete floors, more storage space and loading bays, Winsor has become part of a thriving art district and one of the city’s burgeoning neighbourhoods. The free parking is just a bonus.
The galleries have since been joined by five nearby breweries, trendy restaurants, with Earnest Ice Cream and Tractor a few blocks away, and Emily Carr University of Art and Design moving in next year.
More information about the Flats Block Party on July 9 can be found at theflatsvancouver.tumblr.com.
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