Art + Land

Art + Land

Art + Land is an area of work that connects our environment to art practice. Through this program area, Comox Valley Arts supports existing projects and creates platforms for new art events and experiences that consider, collaborate, reflect and teach about the lands and waters we inhabit.

Art + Land invites artists representing different artistic disciplines and diverse cultural backgrounds to create site-specific installations and performing pieces informed by varying environments and locations across the Central Island bioregion of Vancouver Island.

We invite the public to be surprised by unexpected encounters with artistic experiences that emerge from a reciprocal exchange between artists interacting with the land as a collaborator in their creative process. This program supports artists to create pieces in a variety of mediums that invite reflection and dialog around the pressing environmental challenges of our time and invite audiences to have access to place-based art experiences that address the interconnected systems that life depends on.

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Fragment from the bi-coastal community-engaged project “Come Home, We Are Kin”. This project that invited artists in BC and New Brunswick during the pandemic to create letters in different geographic locations that addressed how restoring kinship with the natural world is at the heart of how humans respond to the climate emergency. Artist Juliana Bedoya.

Past Program: GO FISH

As a launch for the Arts + Land program, Comox Valley Arts presented the immersive video installation, GO FISH by artists Scott Smith and Nettie Wild in two locations on Hornby and Denman Islands (July 27-30, 2023 on Hornby Island, August 3-6, 2023 on Denman Island.  The 16 min short film documents the herring spawn from the seas to the skies, engulfing spectators as witnesses in an astounding moment of colour, texture, sound and story.

During the eight half-days of screenings over 2300 people saw GO FISH in two site-specific locations; the Jeffrey Rubinoff Sculpture Park and the Denman Island United Church and Gathering Place. Without our support, GO FISH wouldn’t have been shown on Denman or Hornby, the islands being the location of which the short film was shot over three years. This project connected Comox Valley Arts to our neighboring organizations on Hornby and Denman, drummed up a lot of excitement for partnerships and brought people of different mind-sets together.

Community Benefit

  • This program was a free high caliber art experience for the communities on Denman and Hornby Islands for residents and visitors.
  • This project brought a divisive issue to the table and encouraged people to discuss different views.
  •  Encouraged volunteerism in senior population. 
  • Added great value to the visitor experience.
  • 2300+ attendees, 4 Community Partners and 30 Volunteers