If there’s anything that I’ve learned from hearing my boyfriend’s dad talk about the government’s meddling with independent businesses on the Eastside, it’s that the DTES is a vibrant neighbourhood, despite its representation of poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, and prostitution, that needs a community art space. My boyfriend’s family owns Chapel Arts (and Wiens Studios) on Dunlevy Avenue and East Hastings Street, an art gallery/venue with a perfect doorway for people to shield themselves from rain, sit and chat with others, shoot up heroin, deal drugs, and even urinate on (the latter three are discouraged). I’m down at Chapel very often, and held my 20th birthday there last year, but I still remember a time before I met my boyfriend, two years ago, when busing to the Eastside, even past the Eastside, was always such a drag — a scary thing to do as a young girl, this fear conditioned by life lessons taught by my conservative mother. An adventure into the unknown.
I had a collaborative photoshoot at the Chapel a year ago with Christine of Vancity Tribe (left). Photo by Avry Wiens, edited by Sunny Chen.
But now that I’ve gotten to know the Eastside better — I grab pho sometimes at Hanoi, I buy cigarettes at the multitude of convenience stores lining Hastings, I frequent Fortune Sound Club (in the considerably reputable side of Chinatown on Pender Street) and the Chapel of course, buy groceries from Sunrise Market (really cheap groceries and awesome Asian snacks, guys), I hit up Music Waste every year and amble from Smiling Buddha Cabaret to Gam Gallery to other Eastside venues just to hear the local bands play (B-lines is one of my favourites), and I walk (sometimes really drunk) to the bus stop on East Hastings, converse with the homeless residents and the shivering high-heeled girls, maybe laugh at some jokes while I wait for the 16 — I have shed that prejudiced fear.
Unfortunately, Chapel Arts is always being legally restricted by the city council for being an independently-owned property, functioning outside of the non-profit sector, especially in an area of such low socioeconomic status. But I think that the Downtown Eastside benefits from this safe space of art and music, by renting the Chapel for any purpose (including, but not limited to, weddings, fundraisers, art exhibits). There are artists living here! Children growing up here, small business owners berated here (sorry, Canadian government, but it’s true), groceries sold and bought, music played, walk signs overlooked, in addition to the crime and socioeconomic disparity. Being a part of a culture can really widen one’s view on the Eastside neighbourhood — here is a sense of community, and it is ours to tend to someday.
Wanna come to this with me? Featuring a collective of urban street youth!
Cool post Sunny! I really enjoyed reading about your experiences with the bustling community of the DTES. It’s a really great place but it’s unfortunate that due to the crime and low socioeconomic status, it has gotten a bad reputation. My friend moved to Chinatown with her boyfriend last year, and a lot of our mutual friends gave them a hard time, not understanding why they would want to move to that neighbourhood. Since she’s moved there a lot of us have gone to her place and spent time in the neighbourhood, which is full of funky coffee shops, restaurants, markets and venues to party at. We’ll have to come check out the art gallery some time 🙂
Hi Carly! Yeah come down! I’ve been trying to get my friends down there but sometimes they are reluctant (especially since a lot of them can’t drive, and busing can be scary at night for people unfamiliar with the area). If there are any cool events, I will let you know… somehow 😛 I will keep commenting on your blog posts I guess.
Your reflection on the DTES really struck me and reminded me of my own – admittedly somewhat less-involved – experiences with the area. I think it’s incredible important that you put the human aspect back into the area, because all too often we’re prone to just labelling the DTES as a “danger zone” to stay away from.
I remember in my first year, I was introduced by a classmate to an afterschool tutoring program at one of the elementary schools in the DTES. Spending two semesters helping with the program not only gave me a good deal of experience but also opened my eyes to something that I had never at that point considered. Like many others, I was lured into the belief that there was nothing good that could come out of a place with a reputation like the DTES, but having experienced the environment first-hand I was, completely contrary to expectations, struck by the sheer amount of warmth and love that was almost tangible in the air.
Perhaps because the DTES has its unfortunate reputation, people are all the more willing to put forth even more effort to make it a safe place for all of its residents. From the homeless shelters to the soup kitchen programs to the afterschool tutoring I played a part in, these things were all an integral part of the DTES that I had never seriously considered before. Watching the students laugh and yell as they played in the schoolyard, I found myself asking if, deep down, there really was any difference between them and the children from any other district; if there was any difference between the families who loved them from other families; if there was any difference between the people who live in and visit the DTES from other people.
Needless to say, I was hard-pressed to find an answer.
That is amazing. I think once I graduate and have more free time, I will do some volunteering down there as well.
I think we really have to actively dispel the negative preconceptions of the DTES and change the way others view the area. Because it is a “zone of degeneration”, I feel as though the community is easier to be ignored in terms of what the residents need, what the homeless need, and what the sex workers need. They need change! We need change! And by educating ourselves, and, for you, volunteering down there, we can facilitate that change.
Hello Sunny. This post was absolutely marvelous and I thank you for sharing your personal experience within Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with us. After reading “Missing Sarah” I have shed prior judgment on much of the stigma surround the DTES, and have since been wanting to take a visit. I’m inspired by your insight into the DTES community and I am most definitely going to look into visiting Chapel Arts and Wiens Studio. This will be a great adventure (as I don’t often venture into this part of town) and I’m thrilled to be opening up to a greater part of Vancouver’s culture.
Hope to see you around! I’ll let you know if there’s a good show later on (e.g. live music), but the carvers will be doing their thing every Thursday starting Oct 30th. It’d be great to have the support; I think it will motivate the youth to pursue carving and creating. They roam around a lot and Nathan (my boyfriend’s dad) told me how hard it is to contact the kids to get them together for meetings because some don’t have cell phones and some don’t have enough minutes. But everything’s going pretty well so far regardless. I’m excited to meet them and watch them carve.
Hi Sunny.
I really appreciated your post for many reasons. It’s a really good follow up to Missing Sarah. After reading that book, I started understanding that DTES is a different place than the stereotypical narratives (sketchy, drug users, crime, homelessness) I often hear about it. I feel like it’s been reframed in my mind, and your post just reaffirmed that. I especially like the part of the title:”…It is our community too.” When I moved here a few years ago, many people cautioned me against heading past Pender street, because they said it was a dangerous place to go to. Therefore, if I can avoid it, I try not to go there, and in my head, it’s branded as a “sketchy neighbourhood”.
However, I’m starting to slowly realize that looking different (from many neighbourhoods in Vancouver) and having a different group of people should not nullify its status of being a community. Just because it doesn’t fall under a stereotypical brand doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be tended, or that it isn’t representative of the people living here in Vancouver as well.
Second, I really appreciated this post, because it’s tied to another class I’m studying, wherein we just finished a placed-base project, which gets us out in the community to learn about Black History in Canada. Most of the people found one place: Hogan’s Alley which is no longer thriving. It was situated in a less frequented area, running between the streets of Prior and Union, from Main Street to Jackson Avenue, and was known for its crime, prostitution, and other less savvy dealings as well. It was very difficult to find much information about it, almost as if it was wiped away from history, or that the people of that time didn’t think of it as worthy enough of being documented very much. There is a memorial project called Hogan’s Alley Memorial Project, if you’re interested.
I’m afraid that if DTES is given this same treatment, the future generations may not know about the people who lived there, the art, the culture and everything in between. So yes, let’s tend it. Yes, let’s consider it a community and start reframing it in people’s mind. Thank you for sharing your first hand experiences of getting to converse with the people there. I hope one day, when I’m brave enough to get out of my comfort zone, I may do the same. For now, the mental narrative of DTES is starting to change in my mind, and that’s a good start.
I’ve heard about Hogan’s Alley! I think Jimmy Hendrix lived there for a while, with his grandmother. Don’t quote me on that though 😛 Thanks for your feedback. Let me tell you this: I have never been mugged, stabbed, kidnapped, or raped down there. Sex workers have propositioned my male friends three times now, and I have been verbally harassed once for wearing a tight, short dress (which I verbally retaliated against; the guy thought he was complimenting me but it was like an offhand comment on my butt to his friend), but never anything physical and I was never made to feel like I was in danger. If anything, buy pepper spray and a utility knife to carry in your bag to make you feel safer at night, anywhere, period. I haven’t done that but I probably should 😛 What I’m saying is: don’t let fear stop you from enjoying the vibrant parts of Vancouver. Good luck.
Hello again 🙂
I am putting together a study group for the final exam. If you’re interested in joining, email me at c.bean@alumni.ubc.ca for details!