Category: blog

Applications for the 2023 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival are now open! 

Applications for the 2023 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival are now open!
This festival celebrates the creativity of Vancouver artists who break the mould. Whether you work in paint, clay, sound, movement, or anything in between, we want to see what makes you an outsider artist. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your unique vision and connect with a community of like-minded folks!

Application Deadline: May 15, 2023 at 11:59 pm PT
Dates of Festival: October 12-17, 2023
Accessibility: Our staff will work with each applicant to meet their needs and make their experience at the festival as comfortable as possible. If you would like to request assistance with your application, please reach out at voaf@cacv.ca or 604-682-0010.

Head to our website to learn more and submit your application today!

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VOAF 2022 Artist: Glenn Hesse

Glenn Hesse is a low-income artist with a disability active in the DTES community as an organizer showcasing his paintings at the 6th Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse from October 14-16. 

In 2012, Glenn joined a local DTES art group and took up painting as a hobby. In 2018, he took art classes at Emily Carr University and completed his Painting, Fine Arts, and Illustration certificate programs. During that time, Glenn received art grants from the DTES Small Arts Grant and participated in the Emerge Festival as a recipient of the program.

Click here for more information about the artist. 

VOAF 2022 Artist: Tim Varro

Tim Varro (he/him) is a retired art/media teacher turned artist and ICSI patient showcasing his sculptures at the 6th Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse from October 14-16.

He has discovered that working with clay offers him a way to move beyond his disability  (ICSI patient-MVA 1976) to a more light-hearted engagement, an innate quirkiness and an off-centred approach to his work.

VOAF 2022 Performer: Tamami Maitland

Tamami Maitland (she/her) is a singer-songwriter and Jazz pianist performing with Emilio Suarez on bass and Jonathan Fairbank on drums at the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival on Saturday, October 15 from 5:05pm to 5:30pm at the Roundhouse.

Growing up in Japan, she was influenced by music by Studio Ghibli, Japanese culture, and poetry. She was a poet at age of 8, but once she discovered her love for music, she never looked back. In fact, the lyrics of her original songs are often related to nature, the seasons, and
love, just like traditional Japanese poetry.

VOAF 2022 Artist: Melanie Stuparyk

Melanie Stuparyk (she/her) is a photographer who struggles with Bipolar Affective Disorder meaning sharing two poles (high and low) and Affective Disorder means a disorder having to do with mood. She lives in the DTES and struggling with such a disorder can make it a bit difficult to produce her art. She is showcasing her prints at the 6th Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse from October 14-16, 2022. 

When Melanie was a child she was handed her first Kodak Instamatic camera. She has always been artistic, working with pottery, music, digital, multimedia art, as well as photography. She thoroughly enjoys capturing nature to create a meditative state of mind to share with those viewing her photographs. Her art has been shown at Gallery Gachet, the Culture Crawl, Emerge Festival.and connections Salon ‘Mad Universe’ show.

VOAF 2022 Artist: Valeria Desousa (MyClaraOceans)

Valeria Desousa (she/her) is a self-taught artist showcasing paintings inspired by nature at the 6th Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse from October 14-16, 2022.

During the 2020 pandemic, her aviation career came to a temporary halt. Having so much time to reflect and ponder, she decided to use the creation of art pieces as a means of therapeutic processing and cathartic release. She focuses her art on the experience of interpretation and introspection to evoke conversation and emotions.

VOAF 2022 Artist: Al Leveque 

Al Leveque (Omega Al) (she/they) is a queer sex worker showcasing illustrations and paintings that depict “colourful body horror” at the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival from October 14-16.

Originally trained as a traditional tattoo artist, Al expanded their practice after several years and has now been practising as a professional visual artist for over 15 years. The range of their artistic skills is always growing, ranging from their studies in 2D and 3D digital art, to the many other ways their creativity has manifested; in online stores, magazines, building fronts, and on bodies all over Canada.

VOAF 2022 Artist: Val Fishman

Val Fishman (she/they) uncovered her love for painting as a senior and will be exhibiting a collection of landscape paintings at the 6th Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse from October 14-17. 

Five years ago, just prior to retirement, Val decided to take a leap of faith and joined a Senior’s art class. She found that her sense of self was impassioned as she worked with colour and the smooth movements of brush and stroke. She loved the results of quick sketches and what the eye could grasp in a brief moment in time. She loves working with acrylics for their bright and dense colour! She paints outside every chance she gets in the surroundings that she loves. Every brush stroke and dab, every colour mixing pulls more passion out of her. It has become the place that she lives.