Announcing NEW EYES: Bridge Songs 2012

This June 15-17, 2012, we are calling artists and musicians to create something beautiful in community on Alberta Ave. Again.

Our annual Bridge Songs event just keeps better, and today we’re taking the wraps off of the next instalment: NEW EYES.

What is NEW EYES? Well, there will be a live concert full of original songs written just for the event, around the theme “NEW EYES”. There will be two art shows with original artwork created for the event. There will be an arts workshop. There will be art and community on Alberta Avenue. Hopefully, you will join us.

Our Theme: NEW EYES

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

We invite artists to look at their world with NEW EYES. In a culture obsessed with the “new”, whether it’s a new iPhone, a New Release DVD or a newly sculpted nose, we forget to visit and value the old. It is often easier to start something new than complete something old, but perhaps the effort is worth it. We are seeking work that wrestles with the ideas of renewal, the tension between novel and traditional, past and future, youth and aging, and the displacement of the old by the new. Artists may also explore revision, both metaphorically and literally. Artists are invited to breathe new life into an old world, and even old work.

NEW EYES is all about the second chance. Revisit. Revise. Recycle. Redeem. Reimagine.

Submitting Your Work

We will have the official Call for Submissions ready in the next month of so, but we wanted to get you thinking now. What can you create around our NEW EYES theme? We’re open to any type of work; visual art, poetry, prose, dance, drama, short film, installations, performance art … you name it.

If you have any questions, send us an email. Help us make the NEW EYES open this coming June 15-17, 2012.

Tags: art show, Bridge Songs, bridge songs 2012, bridge songs theme, community art, concert, new eyes, the new eyes

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 7:31 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Bridge Songs Photos Online

Photo by Aaron Maxell Vanimere

You can now see almost 60 photos from Bridge Songs Progress all in one place. Here you go folks …

http://www.iloveartists.ca/resources/media/photo-gallery/photos-from-bridge-songs-progress/

Tags: aaron maxwell vanimere, Bridge Songs, bridge songs progress, Edward Van Vliet, photo gallery, Photography, photos, Susan Wilde

This entry was posted on Friday, July 8th, 2011 at 6:50 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Mark Pierson on The Art of Curating Worship (Audio Download)

A few weeks ago, Mark Pierson, author of The Art of Curating Worship, was with us for our annual We Are Artists Workshop (a part of Bridge Songs). Below you can download the audio from Mark’s first session.

I really enjoyed our time with Mark, and listening back to his talk I can easily see why. Mark shared a plethora of visual examples of “installation/station based worship experiences” that were really inspiring to those of us exploring the fusion of worship and art. Those obviously don’t translate well to audio, and for that reason, at least a large portion (if not all) of the second session from Mark will not make it onto this site. Visuals aside, Mark’s words were also powerful, practical and pulled us forward into new frontiers. I look forward to seeing and experience the fruit that grows from those words, and have enjoyed listening to them a few times this past week. Mark shares his encouragements and struggles about incorporating the arts in our churches and what that means for pastors and for artists. It’s my great pleasure to share them with you here, with Mark’s permission.

Enjoy, and hopefully we see you in person at next year’s We Are Artists workshop.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

File Download - Mark Pierson on The Art of Curating Worship

By the way, if you have any requests for presenters next year or in future years, drop us a line at info@iloveartists.ca.

Tags: audio, download, mark pierson, the art of curating worship, worship curating

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 8:02 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Creativity & Inspiration, Resources, Workshops. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Bridge Songs ?rogress Songbook!

For the first time in our events five year history, we are making all of the lyrics to Bridge Songs: ?rogress available. They are downloadable for free, just below, in a beautiful little booklet that includes original photos by Aaron Maxwell Vanimere and Dave Von Bieker. We hope you enjoy this companion to the album, “Bridge Songs: ?rogress”. If you have yet to get your copy, drop me an email at info@iloveartists.ca.

Bridge Songs ?rogress Lyrics Booklet (click do download the PDF)

PS >> This is the first of a few Bridge Songs: ?rogress goodies coming over the next few days. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more.

Tags: Bridge Songs, bridge songs progress, download, lyrics, Songwriters Group

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 6th, 2011 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Music, Poetry, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

We Made Progress: A Look Back

This past weekend, Bridge Songs: ?rogress took place on Alberta Avenue, and took over many of our lives. Mine included.

Wednesday and Thursday last week were given to our feature exhibition at the Stollery Gallery, as Edward Van Vliet and the artists installed work. Thursday was also a day for renting (a lot of) equipment for the performances, setting it all up in our venue, sound checking and trying to squeeze in some practice time. Our Event Space Gallery was set up that night, and it was absolutely chock-full of art.

Friday, Jennifer worked like a mad woman to complete the ambiance for the space, working right up to performance time while weaving in and out of practicing performers. When 7 o’clock rolled around and people trickled in through the doors, the space looked great, but we sure didn’t feel ready. It’s too soon! Too soon!

With not one full dress rehearsal to our credit, we had to begin. The show must go on. This is the kind of unpreparedness yielded by the fusion of a dozen busy lives creating an event like this in their “free” time. But begin we did, and that night, for about 50 guests, we performed Bridge Songs: ?rogress for the first time. It went alright, but I knew it could have gone better. We all knew. I went home wishing I’d had more time to prepare, wishing more people had come out (we’d hoped for 100 that night), wishing I hadn’t made so many mistakes, wishing myself into an uneasy sleep (or lack thereof).

Saturday was a different story entirely.

We were still tight for practice time, but had at least had a full “practice” the night before. The exhibition at the Stollery was together and people were enjoying it. We knew our stuff now. Joe Gurba was reading poetry. A burgeoning crowd grew outside the sanctuary doors, wanting in. More time, more time! Ok, open the doors!

As we waited backstage for the first film (John Osborne’s Genesis) to end, we could hear the energy of the crowd. We could feel the electricity that precedes a great show. We all knew this final performance would be our best. And in that confidence we began.

Song after song, we nailed it. Mistakes were smoothed over or made to sound intentional. Even my cracking voice mid-scream miraculously landed on a note that fit just right. Our final song was supposed to be sung by Jeanne Williams, but she lost her voice. Daniel Mantai took over and I doubt anyone but us knew. Joe’s poetry glued our narrative together, playing right off of Jordan Majeau’s “Soul City” story arc. It was a beautiful night, enjoyed by near 150 people, many from outside of the Urban Bridge and City Centre communities. As we closed with Jaimie Clements preview from The Avenue Movie, then the song Hope there was a tangible sense of that “hope” in the room. Many from the Alberta Ave community were there, with hopes of their own. I’m sure they’ve asked many times, “is this progress?” I hope they got a sense that, through the steps forwards and back, it is.

By the Numbers

Our hope was to have 200 people enjoy Bridge Songs. When you add it all up, we likely exceeded that by a bit. About 50 on Friday, about 150 on Saturday and over 20 for Sunday’s workshop takes us right about where we wanted to be. It’s nice to see the event growing little by little. It’s nice to know it’s being enjoyed far beyond the little group of us creating it.

Of course, the numbers will continue to grow as our “?rogress” exhibit at the Stollery Gallery continues through to the official closing reception on July 5th, as part of The Works Festival.

Those people not only supported the project with their presence, but financially. Everything we took in those two nights is to be donated to the Nina Haggerty Centre for The Arts and a home for abandoned seniors in Mexico. In total, just over $1500 was raised. I’m pretty proud of that, and offer up a big thank you to every who bought a CD, bought some food or just donated to our causes. Because of you, Nina Haggerty Centre will be able to buy a touchscreen drawing tablet that will enable some of their clients to create digital art works previously impossible because of their physical limitations. Because of you the project in Mexico will continue to grow into a reality. It’s nice to know we have reached beyond ourselves and our communities, both across the street and across the world.

Where Do We Grow From Here?

From here, we’ll be doing a lot of soul searching and evaluating. Were the two nights worth the sacrifice required? Was the album a rewarding undertaking? Was the workshop what we had hoped? Without stretching ourselves too far, how do we continue to challenge ourselves, and move beyond ourselves involving the local community to a greater extent. How many people would we like to see attending? And how many participating? What theme should we build Bridge Songs 2012 around? With prayer and discussion and discernment and the wisdom of many, we’re moving forward.

We’d love to hear your feedback about Bridge Songs: ?rogress. We’re more than open to your suggestions. Got a crazy idea you’d like to try next year? That’s how most of this event was born! Leave a comment below, or send us an email at info@iloveartists.ca.

Tags: Bridge Songs, bridge songs: progress, is this progress?

This entry was posted on Friday, June 24th, 2011 at 8:57 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Essays and Reflections, Event Reviews, Events, Is this progress?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

We Are Artists Workshop: Mark Pierson Comes to Town

We are pleased as punch to announce Mark Pierson, author of The Art of Curating Worship, as our presenter for this year’s We Are Artists workshop, closing off the Bridge Songs 2011 weekend.

You can get all the juicy details on this workshop on our Workshop Page here.

Tags: mark pierson, the art of curating worship, we are artists, workshop, worship

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at 8:52 pm and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Creativity & Inspiration, Events, Resources, Workshops, worship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

“Is This Progress?” Buttons Available

You may have seen this quizzical question adorning the lapel of a friend or neighbor over the past week; “IS THIS PROGRESS ?”. You may have spotted the tiny button and wondered, “what’s that all about” or equally importantly, “how do I get one?”

Well, your questions can be put to rest. These buttons have been created to help spread the word about Bridge Songs: ?rogress, and yes, you can have one. Or two. And you can give some to friends, too. Just please wear them around and when someone asks you those questions, tell them all about Bridge Songs on June 17-19.

Where to get your button

There are buttons available at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse at 9351 118th ave, as well as Urban Bridge Church and City Centre Church during their Sunday morning gatherings. The Carrot is a great place to stop for coffee anyways, so drop by, grab a free button from the table near the front, and carry the question with you wherever you go these next two weeks.

Remember, UR Progress.

Tags: Bridge Songs, bridge songs: progress, buttons, is this progress?, promotion

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at 10:26 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Thank You Thurdsday: Venue

Some spaces speak.

You can walk into a room and get a sense of its history, its purpose, its role in the life of a community. You can imagine what goes on in that room, like a revealing stroll by the sunlit windows of the Oil City Roadhouse on a morning after. You can picture a family get together in a cozy living room. You can imagine some holy ritual and communion with the Divine in an old church sanctuary.

Our venue, the beautiful sanctuary of St Stephen's/St Faith's

The Parish Church of St Stephen the Martyr (also known as St Faith’s Anglican) is a space that speaks. Walking into the room you feel a sense of awe and wonder. You experience beauty and the feeling of being small, somehow both humbling and uplifting at once. It is with just such humility and uplift that I appreciate this as the context of our upcoming Bridge Songs event. And with great thanks, too.

Our use of the church for this event came through a series of very fortunate events. Serendipity delivered some chance meetings that became intentional conversations that turned into this opportunity to work together with St Stephen’s and St Faith’s. Father John has graciously made the space available to us, and I was delighted to meet Wendy of St Faiths as well. With a warm welcome Wendy informed me that the church is one of only three accoustically perfect churches in the city. Now that is a venue.

I’m still not sure how this all worked out. I mean, I know how on paper, but I also know this. A few weeks ago I was praying, with many others, for a venue. We had lost our original space and I was just hoping for something servicable. But this is more than serviceable. This is a reminder that God is active and living and really cares about our pursuit of Him. He really takes care of us. He really listens. And boy does He provide. As our production team toured the venue yesterday morning we began to see this space come alive. Our imaginations got to work transforming this space for the weekend of June 17-19 with image and sound. It turns out, we won’t have to do much.

This space speaks, and I am grateful for it.

What are you thankful for today?

Tags: bridge songs progress, is this progress?, thank you thursdsay, thankfulness

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 26th, 2011 at 6:40 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Is this progress?, manMom, Thank You Thursday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Making Progress: May 21

Well, it’s been almost a whole month since the last Making Progress and there have been a TON of things going on. Some were good, some not so great. Some took up so much time and energy that even writing a simple update here was a bit tough. But we’re out of the woods now and it’s full steam ahead with exciting things coming together daily. Here’s what’s been up.

The Bad: Venue, Part 1

Around the end of last month, we lost our main venue. We’d hoped to do Bridge Songs: ?rogress in the Cycle Building, but apparently the space is SO cutting edge its not ready for us yet. The space has been put on hold for everyone wanting to use it, while some critical upgrades are completed. This doesn’t only affect us, and people were very kind in trying to fit us in along the Ave. At the time, this wrench in the gears of our planning delayed us a bit and was pretty stressful. It also brought people together to pray and dream and make things happen. In the long run, we hope to be able to use the space again, but we’re pretty happy with where we’ve ended up.

The Good: Venue, Part 2

The Parish Church of St Stephen the Martyr is housed in a beautiful old Anglican sanctuary that we are proud to call our new home for Bridge Songs: ?rogress. The church has graciously opened its doors to our event and with such a beautiful setting we are very, very grateful. This new venue allows us to house art AND music in one large space, making Bridge Songs a true arts explosion across mediums this year. This new venue truly was an answer to our prayers and the beginning a beautiful friendship with another Alberta Avenue organization.

The Music

All of our songs have now been tracked and we’re nearly done mixing, too. We have moved a new set of songs online to reflect the progress, called “Bridge Songs Final Countdown”.

You can hear the growing list of near-done songs online here …

http://soundcloud.com/bridge-songs-collective/sets/bridge-songs-final-countdown/

The List: U R Progress

We’re into our homestretch for marketing the event, and we need all the help we can get. U R Progress is a campaign that makes you the marketers, folks. Word of mouth is the best way to get someone out to an event like this so we are counting on a lot of words from a lot of mouths. Each week for the next four, leading up the event, we will have a “marketing mission” for you to help us out with. The best way to find out what that mission is, as well as generally stay in the loop about Bridge Songs, is to sign up for our brand new Bridge Songs email list. You’ll get one email a week for the next four weeks, chock full of goodies.

You can sign up right here …

Subscribe to our newsletter

The Art

The artists have been chosen for ?rogress, the longer exhibit running at The Stollery Gallery. The show, running from June 17 to July 5, will feature work by installation artists Pam Baergen and TJ McLachlan as well as photos from Ben Lemphers.

Submissions continue to roll in for the Event Space Gallery, and if you would like to submit your work there you have until May 31. Find out all the submission details here.

The (re)Design

With posters and advertisements coming out soon, a whole slew of new designs have been created, starting with the website, bridgesongs.ca, and moving right on into the album art. Have a look around at the website and get a feel for the fresh new paint based on a lovely photo by Aaron Vanimere.

The Twitter

We now have a twitter. Daily lyrics from the upcoming album and timely updates on the event are being posted regularly. Follow us @bridgesongsarts.

Phew … so much going on my head is almost spinning. Now that is progress.

Tags: bridge songs progress, is this progress?, making progress

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 21st, 2011 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Is this progress?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Animated “Hoo Ha”s from Bridge Songs Recording

photos by Aaron Vanimere

Well, this takes a lot of explaining, but perhaps I’ll just let you imagine what we were doing during the recording of the Bridge Songs ?rogress album, and you can find out if you were right on June 17.

Some things are posted just for fun.

Tags: animation, behind the scenes, bridge songs progress, recording

This entry was posted on Monday, April 25th, 2011 at 6:50 am and is filed under Bridge Songs: Progress, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.