VAL EPK 2017 (1) (PDF)

Vancouver Art and Leisure (VAL) is a radical,
artist-run organization committed to developing
alternative cultural events in Vancouver. VAL has
been disrupting the nightlife status-quo
through innovative approaches to
community-building, artistic praxis and
advocacy. VAL has received international
attention for its programming and has been
featured in publications such as Vice, The
Guardian, National Post, and the CBC. It has
been dubbed “The most inclusive space in the
city” and been said to “push boundaries and
create innovative art spaces at night”.

Turning the party into an art form is part of the vision behind
VAL, but just as important is the creation of safe spaces for free
expression, wherein all identities, bodies and sexualities are
celebrated. Whether situated in VAL’s flagship multi-room
event studio or at one of its unorthodox satellite venues, VAL
events are characterized by inclusion, diversity and the
breaking down of barriers. Inspired by the resistance to alcohol
prohibition in North America, VAL is continuing the fight against
contemporary prohibition by working to legitimize all bodies, art
forms and types of expression.
VAL offers subsidized admission for individuals with financial
barriers and ensures holistic accessibility at their events. Their
embracing free expression is not at the expense of safety: VAL
implements numerous innovative health and safety measures
for partygoers.

VAL is reshaping art and leisure in the
city in collaboration with many diverse
artist and community groups. They
directly empower artists, with whom
they collaborate on every aspect of
their programming. VAL believes art
should be an economically viable career
and pays industry-leading artist fees. In
their storefront art gallery, Gallery 1965,
exhibitors are given artistic autonomy and
exposed to minimal financial liability for
their use of the space, allowing them to
succeed and grow in their practice.
VAL envisions Vancouver as a world
class city with an innovative approach to
art and leisure: one that breaks down
barriers of access, provides space for
meaningful connections and celebrates
all people.

“VAL Advocates for
knowledge sharing about
art and leisure, alternative
events, and cultural
agency among artist-run
groups, the city, and the
public”

Ashlee Luk | Board Member,

Paul Wong | President
Paul Wong is an acclaimed artist,
curator and arts activist. He is the
co-founder of the VIVO Media Arts
Centre, Director of the On Main Gallery
and Chair of the VAL Board. Included
among his accolades are winning the
Bell Canada Award in Video Art (1992),
the Governor General’s Award in Visual
and Media Arts (2005) and the Audain
Prize for Lifetime Achievements in the
Visual Arts (2016). As an arts organizer,
Wong has influenced public art policy in
Vancouver, founded and supported
numerous artist-run groups and
organized a laundry list of events,
festivals, conferences and public
interventions reaching back to the
1970s. He is acting as senior advisor of
VAL’s mission and programming goals.

Curator

Nancy Lee | Vice President
Nancy Lee is a curator, filmmaker,
VJ and new media interdisciplinary
artist. She is an event director with
the critically acclaimed art collective
Chapel Sound. She has received
numerous art grants from all levels
of government. Her films have been
screened at international film
festivals and her projects have been
featured in The Georgia Straight,
Huffington Post, Beatroute and
more. Last spring, Nancy organized
the Chapel Sound Festival with over
50 artists performing and leading
events, workshops and panels. The
festival has been credited with
"offering a new spin on the
traditional festival model...to address
the issues surrounding gender parity
in the industry." In late 2016 she
joined the VAL Board of Directors as
Vice President.

Ashlee is a Vancouver based Event
curator, DJ and Musician and media artist.
She is part of the live hardware electronic
duo, Minimal Violence. Additionally, she
has toured North America and Europe with
her post-punk band Lié, signed to
Monofonus Press. As well, she is an active
member of electronic music community as
a DJ. In tandem with her musical practice,
Ashlee has exhibited and curated
numerous local and international galleries.
She is responsible for various exhibitions,
pop-ups, and site-specific interventions in
Vancouver and elsewhere. She is one of
the cofounders of VAL and joined the
board of directors in late 2016.
She is currently co-organizing Vancouver’s
first female Electronic Arts Festival to be
held in mid 2017.

Matt is a graduate of Emily Carr
University. In 2012, he received
a Canadian Heritage Grant for a
Curatorial Internship with On
Main Gallery. In 2013 he
launched Vancouver Art and
Leisure. In 2016, Matt launched
Alternative Pride Festival to
provide new opportunities for
LGBTQ artists and events.

Matt Troy
Artistic Director
Matt Troy is the founding Artistic
Director of VAL. Alongside fellow
cultural pioneers, Matt is leading
the charge to radically reshape
the arts in Vancouver. Matt has
worked with Vancouver City
Council to introduce regulation
that supports the expansion of
alternative culture and events in a
way that is safe, sustainable and
inclusive. He has been called
“Vancouver’s Red Tape
Ambassador”, and has been
credited with “having made
Vancouver’s “no-fun city” label a
thing of the past” while “heralding
a new era in Vancouver’s
underground scene“.

Bradley Galbraith
Administrative Director
Bradley Galbraith is an arts
administrator, studio manager and
curator who lives and works in
Vancouver, BC. After studying
business administration at
Camosun College, Bradley moved
to the city in 2014 to pursue a life
and career in the arts. In the three
years since he arrived in
Vancouver, Bradley has
established himself as a festival
manager, artist mentor and
champion of local artist-run
movements, events and spaces.
He managed 2016’s Alternative
Pride Festival and currently
serves as a public liaison for
Vancouver Art & Leisure.

VAL also hosts unique and recurring
events with an array of local collectives
and communities: these range from
pop-up shops to fetish nights to
bass-soaked dance parties and
everything in between. Many alternative
events have found a home at VAL, as
have several mainstays of the
underground techno, bass, trance, and
house music communities. Multimedia
and experimental art events, gallery
shows, conferences, talks and workshops
commonly inhabit the VAL space
throughout the year.

Alternative Pride
VAL presented Vancouver’s first annual
Alternative Pride Festival in July of 2016.
Staged over multiple days at different
locations during Vancouver Pride Week,
Alternative Pride is a grass roots
showcase of alternative art, music, venues
and vibes. Presented in collaboration with
dozens of local artists, Alternative Pride
celebrates everyone’s right to feel proud of
who they are and to freely express
themselves: be it artistically, sexually,
politically or otherwise. The inaugural
festival drew over 2500 attendees across
five events and paid industry leading fees
to upwards of 100 artists.