Event organizer 2Cream2Sugar, in collaboration with the Hide+Seek group, showcased a wide range of local artists Saturday, May 25 at their “Street Dreams” warehouse party in Gastown.
Featuring a multidisciplinary lineup of visual artists, fashion designers and musicians, the night saw a wide range of creative influences in an intimate studio space. After watching the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks to reach the NBA Finals on a large projected screen, the crowds were in a good mood to enjoy visual art displayed around the space all night long, and runway shows of local fashion designers paired with musical acts.
Several designers presented reworked fashion pieces including ACiD ART in their debut show, and KSLAM clothing, the product of Casey Lamb who was featured here after her designs were shown in the S/S19 edition of Vancouver Fashion Week. KSLAM’s key pieces included a dress made completely of reworked leather belts, and accessories constructed of dangling knife blades. Kash Kulture and JB Gear rounded out the night with streetwear offering.
^ only Fara and Elijah Blond were R&B artists, the others fall into the category of Hip Hop. Girard a rapper joined Elijah on stage and DKAY, another rapper, also joined FARA on stage. Teon Gibbs was accompanied by Makadi and Amber Bayani who are R&B vocalists.
R&B acts Fara, and Elijah Bond paired well with runway shows, especially Fara who energized the crowd with 90’s covers and her own original content. Elijah Blond and Kid Sharif later ushered in the night with darker, trap-influenced tracks. Visual artists Mescondi Photography, Taylor Borque Designs, Tim Rolls, Dani Oz, and Max Bryan introduced a range of art on display and for sale. When asked about the idea behind 2Cream2Sugar’s Vancouver events, organizer SJ preaches the importance of bringing together groups of creatives that may not usually share the same stage.
“Community over everything,” they said. “Specific to Vancouver, the visual artists, musicians and designers in the past have kind of been in their own little silos. But that’s slowly been changing as the creative scene here grows—that’s why 2C2S’s past few shows have been about tearing down those barriers and bringing the entire creative community together.”
SJ also feels fortunate to have the opportunity to put on 2C2S’s events during a period of time that is favourable for the grassroots creative scene, especially over the course of the past decade where creative events have moved away from being commercially-driven, and not focused on accessibility. 2C2S is one of many groups running without external funding that SJ claims “do whatever [they] can with no help from the ‘corporate’ side of art and music in the city.”
This attitude towards showcasing creativity resulted in an evening where a diverse group of creatives could flaunt their latest work and build connections with other members of the community. In an environment where spaces to organize these kinds of events on can be expensive and difficult to secure, it seems best to get as many artists under one roof as possible.
2Cream2Sugar is planning to hold a similar event in Vancouver this July.
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Featured Artists:
Fashion
Sleepless Mindz Clothing&Design
Music
Visual Artists