Photo caption: Liam Gillick, A Variability Quantifier, 2022, co-commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa and Fogo Island Arts, Fogo Island, to be discussed at the March 13 Lulu Series talk. Copyright Liam Gillick. Image courtesy of the artist.
Artists, planning professionals, designers and anyone from across Metro Vancouver who is interested in the life and form of cities are invited to attend the Lulu Series: Art in the City. These inspiring evenings of speakers explore the relationship between art and the urban environment, and are free of charge. For 2025, Richmond Public Art is partnering with the Richmond Art Gallery and Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University to present three engaging talks.
Talk #1: Beyond the Museum’s Walls
Josée Drouin-Brisebois
Thursday, March 13, 6:00pm
Wilson School of Design, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 5600 Kwantlen Street
Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Director of National Engagement at the National Gallery of Canada, will discuss recent projects the National Gallery has developed in public spaces across Canada. For many people, art museums are places that are inaccessible, irrelevant and unconnected to their life experiences. Off-site projects support the Gallery’s mandate to develop, maintain and make known their collections and to promote knowledge, understanding and appreciation of art.
Talk #2: Bringing The Breath Below to Life: Howie Tsui’s Public Art at Capstan SkyTrain Station
Klara Manhal and Howie Tsui
Thursday, April 10, 6:00pm
Richmond Cultural Centre Performance Hall, 7700 Minoru Gate
The Breath Below, by Vancouver-based contemporary artist Howie Tsui, is a landmark public artwork at the new Capstan SkyTrain Station in Richmond. This first-of-its-kind commission for TransLink, led by Klara Manhal, Senior Planner of Public Art, is the largest and most immersive work in the transit authority’s public art collection to-date. In this talk, Tsui and Manhal discuss the five-year journey of the project, from its conceptual origins to its realization.
Talk #3: Cultural Land Trusts
Djaka Blais and Brian McBay
Thursday, May 15, 6:00pm
Richmond Cultural Centre Performance Hall, 7700 Minoru Gate
Djaka Blais from the Hogan’s Alley Society and Brian McBay of 221A will have an open discussion about the Cultural Land Trust movement as a model to preserve and grow cultural spaces in Canada. In recounting the challenges faced with their respective projects, they will consider the role of ethnocultural communities in reinforcing land rights as well as reciprocity for Indigenous Nations.
Since 2003, the Lulu Series: Art in the City program has presented international, national and regional speakers, including acclaimed artists, architects, urban planners and other cultural leaders. For more information and to reserve seats, visit richmond.ca/LuluSeries.