ARTS CORNER: More than you’d expect at Shadbolt Centre

DJ Leanne has been DJing since the early ‘90s, and created Western Canada’s very first DJ School, The Rhythm Institute which ran from 2001-2008.

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An arts centre, unlike a traditional museum or art gallery, is trying to be multiple things to multiple people—it’s a gallery, it’s a performance space, and a place for meetings and large assemblies. This makes the experience at the arts centre quite different than a visit to the Burnaby Art Gallery, for instance, where visitors interact with a work of art or have an exchange with an artist or curator. This interaction with culture is different again than an hour or two spent at the Burnaby Village Museum where history comes to life, and where you can ride a 100-year-old carousel or engage in a much more tactile way with objects and artefacts.

Your reason to visit the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts will be quite varied—you may be taking a class, attending a live performance, meeting a friend for coffee, waiting for your child, participating in a special meeting or event, or you just enjoy being in the space, looking at the Jack Shadbolt paintings on display and the beautiful scenery of Deer Lake Park.

But the facility is much more, especially at this time of year as the regular program and theatre seasons are wrapping up. Colourful student exhibitions appear throughout the building. We gear up for Live at the ’Bolt, the event that marks both the launch and close of our main season and which sees the transformation of the atrium into a wonderful performance space. Last September, Dances for a Small Stage performed, and on June 22, DJ Leanne & Co will create the ultimate music environment with an expansive playlist sure to appeal to the music and dance lover in us all.

As we set our sights forward we are also pleased to announce that Inner Ring Circus will be our featured performers for the launch of our 2012-2013 season on Sept. 21. Orchestrated by a distinguished Ring Master, this eclectic troupe of performers will entice you into a mad world of aerials, acrobatics, and brain-teasing visuals. This performance, one that you won’t want to miss, is part of the extended program of cultural activities planned for the arts precinct at Deer Lake Park during Culture Days this September.

• Geraldine Parent is the arts services manager at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.