THEVOICE | 4 The more the merrier for artists Creators in Vancouver are finding more opportunities when they collaborate = By LAUREN ACCILI inding work within creative industries is tough, so aspir- ing artists are banding together to help each other move up in their careers. Travis Turner, a 2008 film arts graduate of Langara and now an actor, rapper and songwriter, co-created an online artist collective on March 1 of this year with musi- cian Mathew Vetten called the Local Creative Collective. Its purpose is to help connect artists and generate more potential employment. Turner said that it’s important to support artists and help their careers through the collective. “Tt's tough when you're a full-time artist and you're working for yourself.” — MEGAN MAJEWSKI, PAINTER “In this day and age, where it’s very much a gig economy and living in somewhere like Vancouver, you know, the idea is to just help artists get gigs,” Turner said. The organization says on their Instagram account that they are a “collective of artists helping artists” with new venues and features often posted on the website for creatives who are looking for work opportuni- ties and people to collaborate with. The importance of working collaboratively is seen in other groups such as the Arts Factory Society in Vancouver. They support local artists by providing affordable rental spaces. Morgan Brayton, a former admin- istrator with the Arts Factory Soci- ety, said artists need an accessible Russian As the war drags on, the debate over sports sanctions placed on Russian athletes endures = ByJORDAN COPP ore than a month after the Feb. 24 Russian inva- sion of Ukraine, Russian athletes find themselves being held accountable for actions they had no part in. Christopher Yorke, philosopher of sport and instructor at Langara, says that athletes growing up in Russia will have their careers affected by this war. “It’s tragic because the people coming up in the sports world now had no causal influence on the course of international events. They didn't plan or participate in any offensive THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022 | Ceramics students working diligently on place to work. “We provide space and support for artists to have shows,” Brayton said. “Some of them, it's their first exhibit ever because it's simply not afford- able to do it otherwise, so we support the artists in that way.” Brayton said that the Arts Factory EDITOR HOLLIE MCGOWAN-WICKHAM Prine pees — ave . i unit, Cae Ae their assignments in the A building at Langara College. / UREN accit PHOTO Society also collaborates with other collectives in the city to put on events in support of artists. Megan Majewski, a painter and member of the Arts Factory Society, said that they have helped her prog- ress in her work, especially since the increase in Vancouver's cost of living. athletes viewed manoeuvres, and so in a way they are the victims of this situation.” Yorke says that athletes are in essence a casualty of the war as their careers are influenced by forces outside of their control. Their personal opinions can affect their career. Various international sports organizations such as the 2022 Winter Para- ylympics in Bejing have placed sanc- tions on Russian and Belaru- sian athletes and officials, FS banning them Aziz Rajwani from participat- SCHOOL OF ing. MANAGEMENT 2 LANGARA COLLEGE We often say that politics have no place in sport, but sport is intertwined with politics,” said Susan Todd, a profes- sor in the department of kinesiology at Langara. ‘Todd says that when players reach the professional level and are play- ing with athletes from other countries they must act appropriately. Some sanctions have impacted individual athletes while others have affected entire teams. Aziz Rajwani, an instructor at the Langara school of management and member of the board of BC Sports Hall of Fame says that both levels of sanctions are of use. He says that the sports sanctions being placed in Russia should have been more severe from the beginning. “You have to ask yourself, well are those individuals responsible for these actions? And in most cases, they are not therefore they should prob- ably not be individual sanctions,” he said. Rajwani said that athletes are responsible for their personal influ- ence and what they broadcast about themselves. “But to the extent that a particular athlete comes out as pro-Putin and makes his, her or their views known, then it is quite legitimate to sanction that individual,” he said. “I think the sports sanctions initially were kind of soft, particularly by UEFA saying the Russian team could play but not under their own flag,” he said, referring to the Union of European Football Associations. Rajwani says that although the “We're able to have a pop-up event like that and not be stressed about having to put in all this finan- cial money,” Majewski said. “It’s tough when you're a full-time artist and you're working for yourself ... 1 mean you have to be very self-moti- vated.” Arts&life With graduation approaching, students in various art departments at Langara will soon be looking for work in their fields. Jade Ng, a second-year arts student at Langara, majoring in drawing, painting and ceramics, said that she’s looking to find part-time work at art studios after grad- uating. “My dream is to open my own art studio,” Ng said. Ng said she was worried about the availability of a ceramics job within Vancouver, so she branched out to painting and drawing. Jonas Quastel, Langara film arts department coordinator, said it’s hard for students in the film arts to find high-paying work right out of post-secondary. “Walking out of the school and automatically becoming an actor that lives off acting is pretty much impossible,” Quastel said. “It takes about 10 years to establish yourself in “Tt takes about 10 years to establish yourself in this industry.” —JONAS QUASTEL, FILM ARTS COORDINATOR Travis Turner ACTOR, RAPPER, CO-FOUNDER OF LOCAL CREATIVE COLLECTIVE this industry and many other indus- tries.” Turner said he hopes to see artists working together with their peers and other people to help themselves progress as creatives. “Keep motivated, it’s an everyday thing,” Turner said. Sportsnews as commodities initial response was light, stricter sanctions have since come into place. “The message has to be sent that Russia’s not going to be allowed to play in any tournaments be they FIFA or UEFA, and that’s what happened.” He added that the Formula One racing championships cancelled an event in the Russian city of Sochi. Ramjee Parajulee, a politi- cal science instructor at Langara, defines economic sanctions as: “Some measures imposed on a country that doesn't respect rules and regulations in the international community or being perceived as violated the insti- tutional regulations.” Norm Fennema, a history profes- sor at University of Victoria, says that sports create legitimacy in the inter- national arena. “No one has spent more on the Olympics than the Russians,” said Fennema. “I do believe that sanc- tioning Russians has had a massive impact at a symbolic level.” As further sanctions are placed on Russian athletes, more will be benched. JORDAN COPP PHOTO