Come have a cup of tea!
Animated by lead artist Bryan Mulvihill, Centre A hosts the World Tea Party, a social, interactive gathering space that acts as a work of art, welcoming visitors into a form of “social sculpture.” Tea is offered for free both inside the gallery and on the street, while video projections are shown on the building’s exterior windows.
This international fête celebrates concurrent tea parties in other world cities including Montréal, Yokohama, Vienna and Calcutta via live video web links. Skwxumesh First Nations artist Cease Wyss hosts a First Nations welcome event on Sunday, February 14, featuring indigenous herbal teas. The traditional Japanese tea ceremony is presented by the Urasenke society of Vancouver. The relaxed atmosphere of the World Tea Party invites conversation and informal performances.
Bryan Mulvihill (aka tea-trolley), is the artistic director of the World Tea Party. He is a world tea master and calligrapher based in Vancouver. Along with Su Schnee and Daniel Dion, Mulvihill is co-originator of the World Tea Party. Since 1993, he has presented the project in a wide variety of contexts around the world including the Venice Biennale, the National Gallery of Canada, the Hollywood Bowl Sacred Music Festival, Plug-In Gallery for the Winnipeg Pan-Am Games. His role in Bright Light includes video production for large scale outdoor display, performance of tea presentations in the gallery, on Carrall Street and in Pigeon Park, in collaboration with participating groups and individual artists.
Collaborators will include:
Cease Wyss, Skwxumesh First Nation herbalist, gardener, media-artist and activist. www.technomedicinewheel.org
Jun Oenoki, media artist in residence at Centre A. wtp-yv.blogspot.com
The Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) www.vi-co.org
Urasenke in Vancouver Japanese tea ceremony. www.urasenke.or.jp/texte/index.html
Sally Lee, visual artist, and OBORO, artist-run centre, Montreal. www.oboro.net
Naufús Ramirez-Figueroa, Performance artist. www.naufus.com
Project Rainbow, Artist collective. www.projectrainbow.typepad.com
Covering Up, Lois Klassen and Pierre-André Sonolet, artists. www.facebook.com
Brady Marks, media artist. blog.furiousgreencloud.com
221A, artist-run centre. 221a.ca
