Garvin is a social justice advocate who lives in the DTES. He’s two-time winner of the ‘Hope in Shadows’ calendar photography contest, a unique project that gives a glimpse of the hope, spirit and courage of people living in the margins of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Typical of his generous nature, Garvin now gives training workshops to other residents wanting to participate and learn about photography. In addition to selling the calendar, he is also closely involved with Megaphone, Vancouver’s street newspaper, and other important grassroots initiatives.
Irwin is the Executive Director of W2, a Dutch/Canadian artist and administrator doing cultural planning, cultural infrastructure development, and support for a media arts cluster in Vancouver’s inner-city. A long time DTES resident he has led such diverse ventures as the Under the Volcano Festival and Gallery Gachet.
So the question is, what can we do as artists and residents? What can we do to impact this situation? How can we use creative technology solutions to create meaningful change in this neighbourhood? I work with different residents and artists with this strategy in mind, to break the digital divide and really advance the idea that communication is a human right to participate meaningfully in society.
From a presentation given August 10, 2009 in Banff, AB
Irwin has more recently focused his attention on bringing a leading edge, media arts center to the community he calls home. Irwin is a passionate activist who believes that art saves lives, and that poverty shouldn’t deprive people of their rights.
This vivacious and energetic 23 year old originally hails from Chicago, but after coming to Canada to attend UBC, she decided to stay and make Vancouver, specifically the DTES her home. Creating media and inspiring her neighbors is not only April’s way of healing her community but of healing herself as well. Using her favorite Social Media tool, Twitter @aprilfilms, she can reach out to her followers and give them information or encourage them to rise up.
If I can turn out more empowered, more knowledgeable, happy, positive people in this area, I’d like to be able to say that it’s a showcase, on my résumé, that I helped the community grow. Working with W2 and Fearless, if we can help bring together all communities to work and learn and grow from each other, that would be a wonderful, beautiful thing….
from Georgia Straight interview, April 10, 2009
One of three members of ahamedia.ca, a website birthed from a Fearless City workshop. She calls herself “a hyperlocal citizen journalist”, reporting from the DTES capturing events and profiling her neighbors, she shares the heart of her city with the world, cell phone in one hand and rallying her community with the other.
Kris, (@KK) is a fashion and editorial photographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and founder of photography studio Static Photography. He is also a tech artist who speaks internationally on the topics of Creative Commons culture, photography and the Web.
Dubbed Vancouver social media “rock star” by Social Signal’s Rob Cottingham, Krug’s online life is pretty much an open book – but it’s a book he gets to edit as he sees fit.
From Gillian Shaw’s Digital Life – Vancouver Sun
Well known in the social media and blogging community, Kris regularly speaks at conferences and media programs around the world about Internet tools, new media, and evolving copyright standards. He is an organizer of the Vancouver tech conference Northern Voice as well as a catalyst for workshops and “un”conferences – most recently in Beijing and Shanghai where Kris participated in international economic leadership events in advance of the 2008 and 2010 Olympics.
This vivacious and energetic 23 year old originally hails from Chicago, but after coming to Canada to attend UBC, she decided to stay and make Vancouver, specifically the DTES her home…
