Est. 1973
Founded by 8 artists: Martin Bartlett, Mo van Nostrand, Kate Craig, Henry Greenhow, Glenn Lewis, Eric Metcalfe, Michael Morris, and Vincent Trasov.
Aimed at creating a space for exploration and creation of new art forms, the Western Front has played a major role in the development of electronic and networked art forms in a global context throughout its history.
Western Front was one of the pioneers in connecting artists to technology, and their activities continue to focus on the inception of electronic art, sound, noise and video. They are a crucial platform for interdisciplinary, experimental art practices in Canada and internationally, bringing in artists from all over the world for different events.
The WF’s general curatorial priorities are dedicated to critical investigations surrounding interdisciplinary, media-based, anti-object and ephemeral practices, which pay attention to the contexts and economies in which they are produced.
The internal structure has continued to evolve and several programs were developed and even retired over time, such as the Front Magazine, Literary Arts, and Movement Arts, however the centre still works on such projects from time to time.
The Western Front hosts media-art residencies, and the current artist in residency is Gabi Dao who is just finishing up her last project. In her residency, Gabi worked on producing her podcast series called Here Nor There in which she features emerging artists, curators and organizers based in Vancouver.
Recently, the Western Front hosted Gabi Dao’s Slow Wave Pt. 2 in collaboration with Michelle Mackenzie’s All the Little Objectiles, which featured a sonic sound installation that was distributed throughout the Western Front, from the basement to the Luxe Hall where Michelle was performing live. The event turnt the whole building into various soundscapes, inviting visitors to float about and up the stairs throughout various spaces. The Western Front offers this sensibility to the texture and makeup of its featured exhibits by allowing them to take over beyond the exhibition space and work effectively in a bigger setting and context. The curatorial activities reflect on the contextual surroundings and economies in this way, which was also seen in 2015’s exhibition of Urgent Imagination, which expanded over the exterior of the Western Front.
“About Western Front.” Western Front. N.p., n.d. Web.