The Vancouver Biennale invites Vancouver’s Instagram community to join their first Biennale InstaMeet on Saturday, April 11th and I’m pleased to co-host this event with @missyjena.
Where Meet at F Grass by Ai Weiwei, at the North End of Bute off Cordova
When Saturday, April 11, 2015 from 11:00 to 2:00pm
What An InstaMeet is a group of Instagramers meeting up to take photos and videos together. There is no cost for this event.
You can’t stop people from expressing themselves, no matter how oppressive the government control. “F Grass” is a clear demonstration of that, with Ai Weiwei getting his message out to the world despite his continued physical detainment in a country that seems so eager to shut him up.
Come celebrate art in public space and join in using the power of Instagram to express your passion for photography and storytelling, connect with new people and embrace freedom of expression.
The photos taken at the InstaMeet and tagged with #VanBiennale will be shared on Vancouver Biennale’s social media channels, and the Instagramer with the most popular photo will win free tickets to the Ai Weiwei’s film retrospective plus a special Biennale package.
Find this event and more on Vancouver Biennale’s Facebook event page, follow @Van_Biennale on Instagram, and follow on Twitter.
The third Vancouver Biennale of Public Art launched last spring with 20 prominent pieces, from artists all over the world, installed in parks and open spaces around Metro Vancouver including 10 in New Westminster, North Vancouver, and Squamish.
Brentwood‘s Feel Good Fridays have returned this season, spreading some cheer and retail happiness.
Every Friday from 12:00pm to 2:00pm, Brentwood is offering a first class guest services experience, including complimentary blow-outs from Regis Salon, express manicures from Brava Salon & Spa and relaxing massages by Life Enhancements, plus a full roster of fun for the whole family.
The expanded offering will also feature Brentwood’s popular “It’s On Us” campaign, through which 10 lucky guests will be surprised with a free lunch every Friday, along with fresh baked cookies and themed giveaways from the Brentwood Treat Cart. Additional can’t-miss Feel Good Friday entertainment and services include:
- Flash Friday Giveaways
- DJ Juice spinning Top 40 and old school hits at centre court twice a month
- Live musical entertainment twice a month starting Friday, March 27
- Complimentary caricature drawings
- Warm towel service at the food court
Feel Good Fridays at Brentwood Giveaway
To spread even more cheer Brentwood is offering up a $50 gift card to one lucky Miss604 reader to enjoy a relaxing shopping experience at any of the shopping centre’s retail stores.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
I will draw one contest winner at random from all entries at 9:00pm on Wednesday, April 8, 2015.
Brentwood, on the corner of Willingdon and Lougheed (and at Brentwood SkyTrain station) is home to 80 shops and services including Sears and London Drugs. Brentwood is currently undergoing a major transformation with an amazing master plan: 28 acres and over 1 million sq. ft. of new shops, services and restaurants. Follow Brentwood on Twitter and Facebook for updates.
Update The winner is Raihan!
Fan Expo Vancouver is coming up this weekend as Sci-Fi celebrities, comic book artists, gamers, and cosplayers get together with fans for one mega pop culture convention in Downtown Vancouver. I had the opportunity to interview talented local comic book and storyboard artist Steve Skroce, who’s done work with Marvel and DC Comics, along with the Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending and more.
“I haven’t been to a convention like this in probably a decade,” Steve told me over the phone earlier this week. “I transitioned out of comics and I got into movies doing storyboards and concept art for films. That kind of took up most of my time — not most, a lot of it — for 10 years. It was always on my list to get back into it.”
Steve got his first job in the industry when he was just out of high school and he says the momentum just built from there.
“I’ve been a long time nerd and ever since I was a little kid, all I wanted to do was draw comics.” He said he used to send Xeroxed copies of his work to Marvel and DC Comics, along with any other publisher who would accept them, for years until there was an opening in the industry.
Steve ended up at Marvel for 10 years where he did work on Spiderman, Wolverine, and other X-Men until he transitioned to movies thanks to what he says it just pure dumb luck. The first comic book he was hired to do for Marvel was in 1993 on the Clive Barker series Ectokid. He explained that editors will pair artists up with writers and he just happened to get paired up with the Wachowskis, who eventually went on to become the creators of The Matrix.
“[The Wachowskis] asked me if I wanted to do storyboards for this pitch — for this movie they were trying to get made called The Matrix — and I was like, ‘I don’t know I don’t want to leave the rock solid world of comic books for this flash in the pan movie business thing’… and then The Matrix became what it was and I would up working on the sequels, which led to other opportunities.”
I asked Steve about the transition from comic books to storyboarding live action movies and he said it is a very different process.
“You don’t have as much real estate to work with with a comic book. With a movie, you’re doing drawings that will supposedly play out in real time, with real actors or visual effects, so you can have sequences that run hundreds of pages long, hundreds of drawings long. With a comic book, which is generally around 20-25 pages long, basically the writer or artist is sort of figuring out the essential story beats for each page beforehand and figuring out exactly how much information needs to go on each page.”
He added that it’s about being a little bit more aware of how much room you have to work with, and how much drawing is necessary to tell the amount of story you want to tell.
Coming back to the comic book realm from film, he is excited about what that means for him and his lifestyle. “I got the opportunity to work on a movie and kind of let that take me away for a while. It was very exciting to travel and see the world, and do all of that stuff. Now that I’m older I just want to stay in one place and do something that I want rather than being a helping hand on something else — which is a great life experience — but it’s exciting to have the authorship and control of your own projects.”
Speaking of his own projects, he’s currently working on a comic book called We Stand On Guard alongside author Brian K. Vaughn (Lost, Under the Dome).
“[We Stand on Guard] takes place in Canada 100 years in the future. It follows a band of Canadian civilian freedom fighters who are battling this vastly superior force, the United States military, that have basically invaded us for our water and they are equipped with giant robots and futuristic drones and things like that. It’s kind of a Sci-Fi David and Goliath story about Canadians defending ourselves against Americans.” We Stand on Guard is set for release in July, 2015.
“There’s definitely a community here and that’s part of the reason why I’m going to Fan Expo, I want to get back into it and meet some people.”
~ Steve Skroce
On the Fan Expo website, Steve is listed under his recent work for DC Comics’ Suicide Squad and says that at conventions like these, he’ll get all kinds of fan engagement, from those looking to get their books signed to aspiring talent looking for feedback or tips on how to break into the industry. For the most part, he says it’s a friendly day of shooting the breeze.
“[Fans] talk about what you like, what they’re reading, what you’re reading, what you’re watching, that kind of thing. It’s a well-read community, with a lot of fans of the genre, which is fun.”
For those aspiring artists who do visit Steve’s booth at Fan Expo, he’ll have some words of wisdom to share, which I believe are also great life lessons. “I would say listen, be open to criticism, and be polite, and just make sure you are good at relationships. You have got to keep your relationships going, be professional, make sure you’re not a pain to work with. Be on time!”
Steve will be at Fan Expo Vancouver on Saturday, April 4th only so be sure you stop by, bring your books for singing, and soak up some of his experienced wisdom.
Fan Expo Vancouver Dates, Times, Tickets
Friday, April 3, 2015 from 2:00pm to 8:00pm
Saturday, April 4, 2015 from 10:00am to 7:00pm
Sunday, April 5, 2015 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Passes for single day, full weekend, and VIP experiences are available online now. Same day tickets can only be purchased at the box office.
Check the guest list online for the latest announcements and follow Fan Expo Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
You can now enjoy perks and prizes when you participate in the #S6Lineup while you’re waiting for the latest and greatest Samsung smartphone technology. Samsung Canada is celebrating the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with the launch of the #S6Lineup, a social media challenge to put Canadians first in line for this most coveted smartphone.
Get in the Samsung Galaxy #S6Lineup
Fueled by social media participation, the lineup rewards participants with points for sharing content inspired by the Galaxy S6 on their personal Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels with the hashtag #S6Lineup.
Based on points earned from these daily shares, consumers will move up the line with the top six broadcast throughout the contest on Samsung Canada’s Yonge-Dundas LED billboard in Toronto, a digital billboard at Metropolis at Metrotown in Vancouver, and another at Eaton Centre in Montreal. The top six will also receive some of the first Galaxy S6 devices in Canada on launch day, April 10th.
To bring the excitement to life, consumers in spots 7 through 50 in the #S6Lineup will also be featured on a huge 80 foot installation at Yonge-Dundas Square. In addition to bragging rights of being amongst the first consumers in Canada to experience the new Galaxy S6, there are daily Samsung prizes and a grand prize all-expenses-paid 2015 Stanley Cup Final experience.
Each post = 1 point, and each point gets you closer to the front of the line. The contest runs from March 27th until April 8th. At the end of the contest the top 6 in line win 1 of 6 of the first Galaxy S6 devices in Canada. The grand prize for first in line is an all-expenses-paid trip for 2 to a 2015 Stanley Cup Final game. Additionally, there will be awesome daily prizes.
Why You Should Get in the #S6Lineup
I just received the Galaxy S6 to use over the next two weeks and the first thing I noticed was its new design with a very comfortable feel in hand. The Galaxy S6 Edge has a 5.1″ Quad HD Super AMOLED® dual edge screen offers wider viewing angles for an entirely new viewing experience with fluid access to information and notifications.
The Samsung Galaxy S6
Some of the feature I’m looking forward to trying out on my Galaxy S6 include:
Convenience and Power
Exclusive to the Galaxy S6, you have three ways to keep your phone charged up. Tap Ultra Power Saving Mode at 10 per cent charge and still get up to 24 hours of time. Use Fast Charging to power up to 50 per cent in about 30 minutes, or cut the cord and recharge wirelessly with a charging base, ensuring that you never miss a moment.
Camera Technology
The Galaxy S6 has a 16MP rear facing and 5MP front facing camera, and Auto HDR to make sure the light is right at any moment.
Exclusive Content
Canadians using the Galaxy S6 will be able to experience an enhanced NHL mobile app, which gives fans the ability to personalize their Samsung smartphone experience through NHL team-branded wallpapers and covers, keeping them in the loop with a countdown to puck drop, game scores, and updates of their favourite team, all delivered directly to their mobile devices in real-time. Just in time to get pumped for the playoffs!
Preorder the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge online and receive a complimentary gift with purchase. Both devices will be available starting April 10th. Consumers looking for a preview of the new devices can head to any of Samsung Canada’s preview locations, including 23 locations in BC. Follow Samsung Canada on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
