PUBLIC ART TALK: "Shaped by Relationships Shaped by Art" with arts educator Marie Lopes

Marie Lopes is an arts educator, curator, and arts administrator, and the Coordinator of Arts, Culture and Engagement for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. She is recognized nationally for her innovative work connecting professional artists and urban communities to create, present, and experience art together. At the heart of this work is community cultural development – literally building community by making art together.

In this free public talk sponsored by the City's Public Art Advisory Committe, Marie Lopes will discuss her involvement with socially engaged and community-based art projects and provide perspectives on the scope and evolving nature of social practice, its relationship to the field of public art, and the integration of art into the everyday life of the city.

Marie Lopes Biography

Marie Lopes has worked for over 25 years in Canadian museums and arts organizations, creating exhibitions and projects that foster creative engagement and public discourse in the arts. She was Curator of Education at art galleries in Windsor, Edmonton, and Burnaby before moving to Vancouver in 1999 where she has worked at ArtStarts and the Vancouver Art Gallery as a Public Programs Coordinator and Head of Public Programs, responsible for artists’ residencies, performances, conferences, classes, artist talks, and cultural events. She joined the Vancouver Parks Board in 2009 and worked as an Arts Programmer at the Roundhouse Community Centre developing engaging cross-disciplinary arts projects. Since 2016, in her role as Coordinator of Arts, Culture, and Engagement for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, she supervises an arts team that organizes and supports artist-in-residence projects and city-wide arts and cultural initiatives in community centres, parks, and facilities – from dance performances in swimming pools to open air weaving projects in parks.

For more information, visit saskatoon.ca/artsandculture