PIGEON DEN ART COLLECTIVE
The Pigeon Den Art Collective is an "gathering place" where individual artists, writers, educators, producers and various organizations, both formal and informal, can create, present, promote, and encourage dance, visual arts, theatre and the related arts. We seek to invite collaboration between different artists to create works that invite social, and cultural change, and that support community-based art in all forms.
Purpose
We nurture the interconnection between art and cultures, time and space.
Vision
We envision art that has the power to build bridges, foster dialogue, deepen relationships, and advance a more equitable society.
Mission
Through the arts, we are able to create dynamic experiences that open hearts and minds and allow for new ways of seeing ourselves, each other, and our diverse histories.
Values
Foster belonging
We work at the speed of trust — fostering relationships built on mutual respect and compassion
that honour individual hopes and histories, while also seeking to understand the needs of the diverse communities and artists we serve. We work openly and inclusively to create a welcoming experience for all.
Learn and evolve together
We are honest about what we know and do not know, and seek opportunities to learn. It is our collective responsibility to continuously improve and to work together as we further the organization’s mission. We hold ourselves accountable to results, with a clear view of how our work impacts the diverse communities we serve.
Embrace change
We continually review and assess our path and have the courage to shift directions. We are adaptive, open to what emerges and responsive to what matters. Through ongoing community consultation and collaboration, we are initiators of change.
Lead boldly
We generously share our collective platform to amplify and engage a diversity of voices. Passion and curiosity fuel our continual drive to experiment and question the status quo. We inspire inclusive action through an understanding of the past, forward-looking bold initiatives, and infectious enthusiasm.
Collective Artists - Jim Sands
Jim is an East Vancouver-based storyteller, songwriter, and performer. Jim has written, produced, and performed in a number of solo storytelling shows that have been part of festivals such as the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, Heart of the City Festival, and Fringe Festivals across Canada. As a musician, Jim has performed at the Vancouver Farmers' Market, Granville Island and a variety of venues around Vancouver. As a storyteller, Jim's mission is to tell his own story and to support others to gain the skills to find and tell their own stories. He fulfills this mission by performing, teaching and researching storytelling. His approach is to work to create a safe and inclusive environment that welcomes all contributions. Workshop content is based on an iterative approach that works to identify and address the needs of workshop participants.
Collective Artists - Kevin Li
Kevin “Shazam” Li is an actor, dancer and choreographer best known for his hand choreography work on the American fantasy TV series The Magicians.
Kevin recently worked on the premiere Apple TV series SEE as a movement researcher, choreographer, and coach under the direction of the movement director, Paradox Pollack.
Kevin started dancing after moving from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 2009. He fell in love with hip hop and other street/club dance styles such as locking and house. He then joined SOULdiers, a part time training company that focuses on hip hop and other street dance styles.
After that spending three years with SOULdiers, Kevin went on to focus on tutting and flow arts. He practiced with the Vancouver circus community and explored prop and tutting hybrid dance. He also joined Technicru and started training in animation dance.
In 2014, Kevin took a leap of faith and joined Modus Operandi, a Vancouver based contemporary dance training program with zero contemporary dance experience. The directors Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond recognized his street dance ability and gave him a chance. The four year professional development program focusing on technical, artistic, choreographic and collaborative skills prepared him for a wide breadth of work in dance and movement.
Kevin is interested in all kinds of dance and art, he is especially interested in how different forms, styles, elements, and cultures intersect. He would like to continue exploring and bridging different forms, different cultures and their communities.
Collective Artists - Robyn Froese
Robyn Froese is a Saskatchewan-raised and Vancouver-based musician and songwriter who invites you into her world with her commanding voice. Marrying conversational lyrics and large concepts with a soulful undertone.
Robyn has just released her new EP Wasp Woman and the Haunting of Heatley.
Her new single "Fool" is on Spotify!
Collective Artists - Karen Thorpe
Karen Thorpe is a local community artist and musician. She is a volunteer coordinator for the "Listening Post." She has led community art-based workshops at both The Listening Post and at UBC Learning Exchange
Collective Artists - Flick Harrison
Flick Harrison is a writer, media artist, filmmaker, community engager and educator in Vancouver. Starting on the CBC youth series Road Movies as one of Canada’s first professional videographers, he’s since made videos in Pakistan, the US, Mexico and China. His work includes research, creation, visual design, youth leadership, activism and media literacy.
MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE ART
“I’ve explored boundaries of all kinds in media, politics, education and the arts for over twenty years. As an artist, I explode the aesthetics of political conflict; as an educator, I try to make media flow organically from the social. My ambition is to lead, support and challenge non-profits, schools, community groups and other progressive actors to improve their understanding and use of media, all while having fun.”
Flick spent five years consulting and making interactive & documentary videos for the Art and Social Change (ASC!) Research Project with Judith Marcuse, and has produced, taught and led projects for many clients including Groundswell Social Ventures, Ballet BC, the Pacific Cinematheque, Arts Umbrella, Roundhouse Youth Theatre Action Group and many others. Flick decided to combine all these streams into one media capacity-building project:
Flick Harrison is the founder of Polity Media Lab. PoRhymes Rhymes with Quality!
Collective Artists - Bill Beauregarde
Bill Beauregarde- Artist in Residence
Bill Beauregarde is a Cree/Métis/ artist from the Encock Nation who has been a practicing theatre artist and technician since his youth. His technical skills include creative set design, detailed mask making in multiple forms, puppet construction and engineering, First Nations drum making, woodcarving skills and teaching in clown, stilt walking and mask. He was based in Alberta, with Green Fools Theatre working on many productions including Dancing on Water and ISIS: to name a couple. He also worked as set designer/technical /puppet creator for Old Trout Puppets Co. touring Famous Puppet Death Scenes. He did technical and set design for numerous companies including the Alberta Ballet’s The Nutcracker, Alberta Lyric Theatre’s flagship production Love According to John at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium and many other’s such as: Edmonton Opera, Loose Moose Theatre Company, Alberta Theatre Projects, Stage West Theatre, the Cirque Du Soleil, Ghost River Theatre to name a few.
He has studied with Jacques Lecoq at Ecole nationale de cirque in Montreal and Dean Bearham in Calgary. He moved to Vancouver from Calgary Alberta in 2011 and since then has worked with Heart of the City Festival, Theatre Terrific in set design and puppet construction along with applying his talent as Coordinator of cultural and community programs for the Aboriginal Front Door Society in Vancouver.
Collective Artists - Ann Chou
Ann K Chou, a Hong Kong-born visual artist, specializes in lanterns and wearable puppets, reflecting her intersectional identity as a hard-of-hearing, first-generation immigrant. With a meditation practice of Chinese calligraphy stroke painting, Ann incorporates sustainability through material reuse. Lanterns, capturing light and evoking emotions, symbolize support, sharing, and family bonding. Embracing rebirth through deconstruction, Ann cherishes the creative process. Her art breaks barriers, promotes accessibility, and nurtures connections. Alongside her artistic endeavors, Ann's technical expertise in healthcare and IT enriches her artistic expression. Residing in Victoria, she has received cross-disability screen-dance residency, showcasing her multidisciplinary approach.
Collective Artists - Hongoro Navaan
Hongoro Navaan is a fashion designer. She has her own retail outlet by Metrotown, in Burnaby. Her work and artistry combine traditional wear with modern flair and sensibilities.
Sky and earth, sun and moon, fire and water, plains and mountains…all this natural imagery is deeply embedded in the soul of Mongolians. The Mongolian nomadic ancestors lived all their lives with Mother Nature, and such tradition is always inherited from generation to generation.
Hongoro Design fuses Mongolian traditional art and culture with modern artifacts. Utilizing plenty of Mongolian traditional color themes and authentic Mongolian-grown materials like cashmere, the wearable arts bear the natural scenery and ancient spirit that implores modern society to rekindle this reverence for nature through sustainability.
Collective Artists - Jonathan Ng
Jonathan Ng teaches music, a talented violinist and pianist. Jonathan works has many hidden talents including his culinary skills. He volunteers at Jacob's Well and is one of the key performers in "Don't Feed Da Pigeons." A father and family man, Jonathan brings calmness and steadiness to the collective.
