Flavourcel’s I Spy a City in Surrey
byThere’s a new outdoor animation exhibition coming to Surrey’s city centre. Flavourcel animation collective presents “I Spy A City” which will be featured at UrbanScreen at the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre September 25, 2021−January 2, 2022. Ahead of the exhibition launch, Flavourcel artists will give a free talk at the Surrey Art Gallery on September 18th.
Flavourcel’s I Spy a City in Surrey
When: September 25, 2021−January 2, 2022
Where: Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre (13458 107A Ave, Surrey)
Admission: No registration is required for the talk. No admission required for the outdoor exhibition.
For the talk at the gallery, masks are required for those over 12 years old. There will be a vaccination screening prior to entry. Space is limited to ensure physical distancing.
UrbanScreen is Surrey Art Gallery’s outdoor art projection venue located on the west wall of Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre. Riffing on the classic children’s game “I spy,” Flavourcel’s project captures different sights from across Whalley and the broader Surrey region in animated form. Each member of the collective specializes in a different form of animation, including hand-drawn, digital, and even clay. The result is an eclectic mix of moving artworks with a mesmerizing effect, starring flying cars, swimming salmon, and dancing street furniture.
During the talk on September 18th, Alia Hijaab, Lana Connors, and Josh Neu will speak about how the project came together, as well as their unique approach to animation. Visitors will learn more about how each member interpreted their own experience of Surrey to inform their artistic process and how the collective has come to forge their own distinctive identity in the local contemporary art community.
In conjunction with the exhibition and the talk, Surrey Art Gallery has released a new video in its Art Together series of online programming. Flavourcel member Alia Hijaab instructs viewers on how to make their own pencil and paper animations at home. This video joins two other tutorials from Flavourcel members available on the Gallery’s’ YouTube channel, including Introductions to 1-Page Animation Loops with Joshua Neu and Wire-Frame Animation with Julia Song. A new essay by writer and cultural worker Madison Mayhew in the Surrey Art Gallery Presents publication will complement the exhibition. It will be available for free on Surrey Art Gallery’s website in October.
Visitors are encouraged to remain after the artist talk to attend the drop-in launch of the Gallery’s fall exhibitions: q̓ʷɑti̓cɑ: k̓ʷam̓k̓ʷəm̓ tə šxʷhəliʔ / Phyllis Atkins: Divine Connection, paintings and sculptures drawn from Coast Salish tradition that celebrate the artist’s connection to life and spirit and Sandeep Johal: What If?, multimedia artworks that uplift resilient South Asian women.
About the Artists
Flavourcel is an animation collective based in the unceded Coast Salish territories. Born out of a desire to break down the institutional barriers that limit animators and introduce play into their work, Flavourcel produces experimental animations in a variety of styles. From hand-drawn cell-shading to digital doodles, music videos, and gifs, each artist pushes the boundaries of the medium and challenges the preconceptions of how animated art should be made. Flavourcel includes Harlo Martens, Kat Morris, Josh Neu, Julia Song, Alia Hijaab, Chhaya Naran, Gil Goletski, Laurel Pucker, Lana Connors, and Chris Strickler.
