12th Annual Integrate Arts Festival in Victoria

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From Friday, August 24  to Sunday, August 26 a free, family- friendly festival that celebrates the diverse arts and culture community in Victoria, BC.

Integrate is an annual festival in downtown Victoria that is an opportunity for emerging artists in the city. As former Integrate artist and now current Integrate Festival Art Director Anna Shkuratoff states, “For the first time, I was able to share my years of creative work with the public and speak with visitors who were actively interested in looking at my work.”

To kick off the festivities, an opening reception will be held on Friday, August 24  at 7:00-10:30pm at 1800 Store Street (the festival’s headquarters). This space will also play host to a pop-up gallery featuring 15 independent, local artists from the greater Victoria region. This year, Integrate focuses on representing a diverse range of emerging artists, including Indigenous artists, artists of colour, artists with disabilities, and queer artists. There will be a Modo service shuttle from 7:00-9:00pm to help connect people to various openings and events on the Friday evening.

Also on Friday from 7:00-10:00pm is Fuse, an initiative in its second year that provides an opportunity for an independent curator or organization to exhibit an installation or performance. This year,  Garden City Electronic Music has curated a performance titled ‘Decay, Renewal, Reconciliation’ featuring sound and video performances by dub gnostic, Cascadia Sound, the Memory Palace, and Emma Tomic. The performance will take place in the courtyard of 833 Fort Street, a brand new pop-up venue donated by PARC Living.

On Saturday August 25, stroll downtown among participating venues throughout the day and into the evening. Use Modo service shuttle from 1:00-3:00 pm to connect to the Rockland, Rock Bay, and Vic West gallery destinations or try out a free bike rental from U-Bikes. Throughout 20+ locations, visitors can participate in activities including a performance by Open Actions at Legacy Art Gallery celebrating 30 years of the Camosun College Fine Furniture Program, artist-led workshops at arc.hive, and a sound art workshop with Estraven Lupino-Smith that includes creation of a bat-detector to record bat noises in Beacon Hill Park.  The workshop is produced in partnership with Habitat Acquisition Trust and CFUV. In the evening, celebrate with music at the launch party of the Concrete Canvas mural project in Rock Bay or head down to Open Space for a dance party with the ColorQoded Arts Collective.

To close the festival on Sunday, August 26,  Integrate will present more free workshops for all ages, including an artmaking workshop with Oona McClure exploring themes of pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood.

By participating in the festival, visitors will learn new creative skills, support and network with the local artistic community, and have fun! For more information contact Selina Pieczonka at spieczonka@integratearts.ca.