Street poetry reading on the Art Cart

The Art Cart, Gachet’s mobile art sales and gallery shop, has been visiting the Downtown Eastside street market in Pigeon Park every Sunday this Spring.

So far we’ve hosted a public sewing workshop with Karenza Wall (check out her project Chindi Nation) and showcased work by DTES photographers, painters and printmakers. The street market happens every Sunday from 11-4 in the park and on Carrall between Hastings and Cordova.

A couple weeks ago we hosted a street poetry reading on the Art Cart and it was a huge success! A large crowd gathered for an hour to listen to our three poets — Karen Ward, Cherise Clarke and Peter Bracking — who each delivered a powerful reading of their poetry. The reading was part of the Rent Assembly Conference  presented by the Kootenay School of Writing, The Mainlander and the Vancouver Renters’ Union. Each of our readers performed work that spoke to neighbourhood issues of gentrification, housing struggles and survival.

This was also the launch of Peter Bracking’s chapbook ‘Rent In Four: keep ass out of acid rain,’ commissioned by the Art Cart for the event. Peter delivered a captivating reading from the chapbook and copies were sold on the Art Cart following the performance. The chapbook draws from Peter’s experience of navigating SRO’s in downtown Vancouver…some titles of poems are ‘Song for the Slumlords’ and ‘The SRO Blues.’

This Sunday we’ll be at Commercial Drive Car Free Day — look for our blue awning near Graveley.

Here’s Peter upon receiving his copies of his chapbook, commissioned for the event.

The display of Peter’s chapbooks on the Cart. The Cart is a great space for displaying art and also folds into a table for workshops!

Cherise Clarke delivers a powerful reading of her poetry to the growing audience…

Karen Ward reads.

Peter takes the stage…

Peter speaking to the crowd.

Photos by Sharon Burns and Alex Leslie

The Art Cart is available for YOUR community project! Our mandate is to provide a beautiful and accessible space for DTES community members to exhibit and sell their work. DTES community members are also invited to be trained as Cart Operators. You can contact the coordinator Alex Leslie at artcart@gachet.org for more information about getting involved. In the meantime look for the Art Cart at the Chinese Night Market in June and July.

The Art Cart acknowledges the support of the Great Beginnings Project and Metro Vancouver arts grants.