Vancouver Art Gallery, Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Some of the members of our inquiry group visited the Vancouver Art Gallery in the past week, and experienced the Yoko Ono exhibit together. I couldnāt think of a better experience than modern art to ponder one of this weekās guiding questions: What shared experiences will support our thinking and learning?
Exploring this very interactive exhibit together, I couldnāt help but think that perhaps we should consider expanding the traditional definition of ālandā to encompass the buildings that rest on that land, the community that inhabits that land, and the people that experience that land together. This exhibit definitely had many stories to share with us, and I loved that due to the interactive pieces, the art reflected the community of people that experienced it. We had the opportunity not just to reflect on the art pieces and be inspired or provoked by them, but actually to contribute to them! The public was invited to use stones to build balancing piles of personal happiness and sadness (āCleaning Pieceā), to āmendā broken ceramic pieces with twine and glue (āMend Pieceā), to add to a wall of sticky notes with a note about your mother (āMy Mommy is Beautifulā), and to write a wish and add it to a small forest of potted tropical plants (āWish Treeā).
I really enjoyed this exhibit, especially because some of us were able to experience it together. It made me think about how stories canāt exist in isolation ā they need to be developed and shared together to gain greater meaning and power. People create stories, and stories can shape and strengthen communities.
Posted: January 25, 2022
Author: Myrie