For generations, art has been viewed on the walls of galleries, museums and institutions. But, “can art be something more?” asks experimental photographic artist Grant Withers. This question has guided him and his fellow creative colleague and documentary filmmaker, Yunuen Perez Vertti, through a process of curiosity and creativity to challenge the status quo when it comes to displaying and experiencing art.

The duo bonded through their shared passion for innovation and belief in the power of creativity to foster community. These values have driven many of their projects, including chairing the Stride Burnaby Arts Festival through the Burnaby Neighbourhood House. Through events like Stride, they encourage other artists to engage with and share their art with the Burnaby community. Now, their collaboration seeks to redefine how the public experiences art by moving art from walls to a dynamic stage.

Grant describes Art After Dark (In The Park edition) as “a free, all-ages pop-up projected art installation presented as a dynamic outdoor light sculpture set amongst trees and rolling parkland.” Participants have the opportunity to experience Art Cubed which is “an immersive music-filled video montage featuring Grant’s innovative work in video feedback art.” For Grant, this film event is “all about creating a unique, shared, community arts experience while promoting curiosity and artful living.” The hope is that Art After Dark will “bring people together, spark curiosity and invite participants to rethink their relationship with art.”

What’s next from this dynamic duo? They anticipate practicing and sharing multidisciplinary creative pieces while redefining art and its boundaries. As Grant perfectly sums up in his original poem (below):

“Art is in constant flux.”
Art is alive because art is us.
Art is not sentient but it is conscious of everything.
It knows more than any individual can learn in a lifetime and is wiser than an entire generation.
It is older than any of us but exactly as old as humanity.
Art is in constant flux, pulsing and growing.
Its face is unique to each of us and we don’t always recognize it when we see it.
Art is simultaneously our histories, our presents and our imagined .
Art is more questions than answers.
Art is not facts but may offer truths.
We might not grasp art but we are touched by it.
Art is by us.
Art is about us.
Art is us.