FUSE meets MashUp in Vancouver’s art party of the year!

(left) Milton Lim, okay.odd, photo: Tim Matheson
(right) RARUFU, courtesy of the artist.

MashUp: The Birth of Modern Culture is the most ambitious exhibit in the history of the Vancouver Art Gallery. All four floors of the gallery are taken up with the show, which includes mindblowing examples of mash-up culture since the 1800s.

Put this audacious exhibit together with the VAG’s art party FUSE and you have FUSE: This is Now, surely the art party event of the year, at the Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St.) April 15.

For This is Now, guest curator Joyce Rosario (Associate Curator, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival) looks at “mashup” as expressed by the body, through movement, dance and live performance. Dancers and dance companies include Justine A. Chambers, Natalie Tin Yin Gan, Project Soul and RARUFU.

Justine A. Chambers.

Immersive installations by Milton Lim and Remy Siu, a dance-and-music mashup lounge hosted by Kareem Abdul Jabaastard and Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject, and a feature-length dance music video by Jacob Krupnick with music by Girl Talk promise, according to the VAG’s media release for the event, to “bring your art-viewing experience to another level.”

Highlights of the evening include:

Chinese Vaginies by Natalie Gan  – Described as “soft and fluffy”, this campy and playful dance performance aims to address the interconnected issues of food, consumption, exotification and violence on the female body.

SQUIN by RARUFU–  In this collaboration with sound designer Stefan Seslija, RARUFU (aka Ralph Escamillan) explores what it means to be grande, iconic and alluring with sequins, sound and the body.

okay.odd by Milton Lim – Okay.odd is described as “a multimedia meditation session that guides participants through a stream of consciousness.”

Girl Walk // All Day (2011) by Jacob Krupnick – This feature-length dance music video is set to tracks of an entire Girl Talk album and follows three dancers across New York City.

As well, throughout the evening on the Gallery’s 4th floor pavilion, FUSE-goers can enjoy a mashup-inspired playlist ranging from Missy Elliott to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, designed by Kareem Abdul Jabaastard, with dance by Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject and guests.

FUSE-goers can also see MashUp: The Birth of Modern Culture, which features 371 artworks by 156 artists from around the world.

Tickets: $24 at the door | Free for Gallery Members
Website: vangallery.bc.ca