THEVOICE | 2 THURSDAY, FEB 22, 2018 | EDITOR DANICA WALKER A portrait of Takashi Murakami at his The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Feb. 1 was declared Takashi Murakami Day in Vancou- ver. LISA TANH PHOTO Local arts want space Artists criticize Murakami day amid workshop space dispute = By LISA TANH ocal artists are call- ing out the city on its move to declare a day in Vancouver for a fa- mous Japanese artist while failing to provide affordable spaces for artists to create and exhibit art. ‘The city declared Feb. 1 as Takashi Murakami Day, prompting art- ists to criticize a civic government they say is making a bid for inter- national recognition while ignoring needs of its local arts community. Marietta Kozak, the general man- ager of The Arts Factory on Indus- trial Avenue, said the city should focus on saving buildings being used for studios and workshops in- stead of promoting famous artists. “(Murakami day] doesn’t cut it,” Kozak said. “The area of the Arts Factory has been rezoned and the building will be torn down. ‘They swore it never would be.” Kozak said The Arts Fac- tory, which has studio and workshop space, plays a sig- nificant role in supporting es- tablished and emerging art- ists by offering low rental rates. Murakami is a contemporary artist who has worked with pop- ular brand Louis Vuitton and musician Kanye West. His ex- hibition The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs until March at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Nancy Lee, an interdisciplin- | “Every other week, I | have a friend that is moving away.” — NANCY LEE, ARTIST, FILMMAKER AND EVENT PRODUCER ary media artist, filmmaker and event producer, said many art- ist friends are leaving the city due to a lack of affordable spaces. “Every other week, I have a friend that is moving away," Lee said. "People are moving to To- ronto, Montreal, Los Angeles [and] Asia, where it's cheaper to live and have space to create art," Coun. Heather Deal, who has brought forward initiatives to support local artists and expand creative spaces, said she un- derstands it remains challeng- ing to be an artist in Vancouver. “There’s no doubt that artists, not-for profits and small busi- ness are finding the lack of af- fordable space in the city a chal- lenge,” said Deal in an email to The Voice, adding that the city provides a number of residency programs to provide practising artists with sub- sidized space and gives out more than $11 million in cultural grants programs each year. surrey Development could be too much strain on local schools m= By NICK VALKA Ts vice-president of the Sur- rey Teachers’ Association is concerned that a new 325- home development to be built on a portion of a golf course in Fleet- wood will add more students to an already overcrowded school district. Matt Westphal said the devel- opment on the Coyote Creek golf course means more students will flood into nearby schools and trig- ger the need for additional porta- bles. Fleetwood Park Secondary, the nearest high school to the course, already has three portables on site. schools squeezed “There are further ripple ef- fects in the learning system when you put too many students into a school,” said Westphal of a dis- trict that has 273 portables at 59 of 120 schools. “Bathrooms, gyms and libraries cant be ex- panded, some schools have lost Density of 0.50 FAR* - > me bem pie ( orp Sequoia Ridge |<. - * FAR = Floor Area Ratio Ze FF |) op ok S pprbeetinpe™ Wer ree ce > | apeecettan’<4ur ot |_ Gale amrauntty “iia ©” lia | j= wae Zo ea yg es | ld | Zp t 3 a o j q Fo ierer® 44 i “Zs, yy . Us. ‘ 40 Me Redesigned Eagleque hy = “aa 7 > c Golf Course + Clubhouse hi 4 f@ 80"remains closed \ “e ae Vp ( e me 3 c 1 Ie ae ® ee 2 Ry lg £ ee iy © ie Sa |e ee te ce ye a © i al ht ee 5 ~ Of CO AME | “Shae eS cao CES AAA a SUE | OT ENS Miles aa een aed ¢—2 eee cuntententenaaemaammnmenGuntlinats ee eee Sos oS Bye Proposed Development eoomergpere Proposed 77th ‘ M2 ect Avenue Extension NORTH ee Density of 0.59 FAR* > y on oe s Optad age Be = = y = SG Sa A Rendering of new 325-home development at Coyote Creek Golf Course. ANTHEM PROPERTIES ILLUSTRATION their music room because it was needed for another classroom.” Surrey city council approved the new housing development two weeks ago following two days of public hearings. The de- velopment, which will be built by Anthem Properties over the next three years, will turn one third of the course into a com- bination of 325 townhouses, du- plexes and rental apartments. ‘The Coyote Creek Action com- mittee has fought the develop- ment since 2016 and_present- ed council with a petition that amassed over 3,100 signatures. Coun. Bruce Hayne, who voted in favor of the development, said it will be at least three years before new residents move in, giving the pro- vincial government time to address overcrowding in Surrey schools. “It’s up to the provincial govern- ment to build new schools. We can manage growth but we can't build schools,” Hayne said. Atlarge Not in our Ssmall- town Port Moody's character at risk from develop- ment, say residents = By PERRIN GRAUER ort Moody Mayor Mike Pe» is defending his de- cision to support the re- zoning of a paired parcel of city lands to accommodate buildings up to 34 storeys despite op- position from some _ residents and city councillors who fear such development risks ruin- ing the city’s small-town feel. Clay was among four of seven members on council who endorsed sending the rezoning application for the “fire hall and works yard” sites to public | hearing. The sites sit in the heart of Port Moody, at Murray and Toco streets. “T want to hear every option as a responsible custo- Mike Clay dian of taxpayer MAYOR, PORT d MOODY assets and money and budgets and land,” said Clay, noting the rezon- ing will help determine the true market value of the land and better inform decisions on its future use. ‘The sites are seen as a poten- tial home for an expansion of facilities such as the library, rec- reation centre, seniors’ housing, a new city hall, park space, or a mixed-use development that in- cludes some of those amenities. Nearly two dozen residents, including Kevin Eldred, spoke in opposition to the proposed rezoning at a Feb. 6 meet- ing of the city’s community planning advisory committee. Eldred underscored the city’s “unique relationship with nature” in his comments. “The very act of changing this land from its current use...flies in the face of that relationship,” he said, echoing the concerns shared by many speakers that night. Jeff McLellan, a member of the city’s planning advisory com- mittee, believes the city can both “We can always make such decisions later.” — HUNTER MADSEN, CITY COUNCILLOR, PORT MOODY grow and retain its unique charac- ter, even with such development. Coun. Hunter Madsen vot- ed against sending the ap- plication to public hearing. “If we keep it zoned for pub- lic institutional, as it is today, we can always make such decisions later, down the road, especially when the property is even more valuable...," said Madsen, who would rather see the land used to expand its over-capacity civic facilities.