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Arts Briefs

Contribute to "Living The Dream," round II
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When it comes to odd living arrangements, Whistlerites have seen it all: living under stairwells; in saunas, broom closets and crawlspaces; even in cars and converted school buses during the winter. Nothing shocks us; it's all part of the charm of living in a ski town, right? According to one local resident and photographer, Carin Smolinski, it's all part-and-parcel of "living the dream."

Smolinski turned this concept into an innovative photo documentary project last year, reaching out to members of the community and asking them to allow her to enter their interesting abodes to see how they were "Living The Dream." The end result was an impressive collection of unique living situations from around town, and somewhat surprisingly, Smolinski found that her subjects were overwhelmingly positive about their living situations: almost all happily told her that they were, in fact, "living the dream."

Smolinski exhibited the collection (aptly titled, "Living The Dream") at the South Side Diner and at the 2010 TWSSF, and most recently, it has been included in an upcoming issue of The Ski Journal .

Now, Smolinski is building on the "Living The Dream" concept: she's looking for a brand-new crop of Whistler residents and their unique living situations to showcase to the world. She's also adding a whole new section to the collection: "LTD families."

"The end goal is to make a book, so it's just kind of another section, a different avenue of Living The Dream," she said during a recent interview.

Smolinski explained that it's a logical extension of the original concept, exploring the realm of ski bums who decide to settle down and start families, but don't want to leave the "bubble." For example, she recently photographed a family with three children living happily in a 900-square-foot cabin.

"It's the cutest thing you've ever seen!" she enthused.

Smolinski will be exhibiting the next round of the LTD collection Millennium Place's Scotia Creek Gallery in April and is looking for more people who want to share their creative living situations. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Smolinski as soon as possible at carinsmo@mac.com (side note: there's a six-pack of beer in it for you!)

 

Forget about Sundance...

Adrenaline junkies will be able to get their fix of thrills on screen from Friday, Feb. 11 to Saturday, Feb. 19, as the 14 th annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) kicks off.

While the event takes place down in North Vancouver, the lineup for this year's ten-day festival is well worth the drive down to the city for outdoor enthusiasts: organizers of the popular event recently confirmed this years "eclectic" lineup of guest speakers, and it features a range of worldly adventurers, including backcountry skier Greg "Two Mill" Hill, climber Timmy O'Neill, and German superwoman Ines Papert.

The 2011 festival features an assortment of local and international guest speakers, from climbers, skiers and paddlers to outdoor environmental activists, who will share their inspiring stories with the audience. In addition to the headlining speakers (Hill, Papert and O'Neill) there will also be appearances by Steve Swenson , the current president of the American Alpine Club; Bryan Smith , the award-winning filmmaker and kayaker; Sean McColl , Canadian rock climbing world champion; Jasmin Caton , an emerging climbing talent from Squamish; Kris Holm , a pioneer of the amazing sport of mountain unicycling; and Ian McAllister , conservationist, award-winning author and photographer.

Tickets just went on sale last week, and individual tickets to most events are $18 in advance or $20 at the door (packages are also available). To read more about any of the guest speakers, view the program for the festival or purchase tickets, visit www.vimff.org .

 

Water On The Table with LUNA

While inclement weather may be cramping our skiing and snowboarding style, why not use the downtime to exercise your mind? Whistler's Late & Unique Nighttime Alternatives (LUNA) group is hosting the second screening in their 2010/2011 winter film series, dubbed Cinema Politica, on Friday, Jan, 21.

This time around, they're presenting "Water On The Table," The 79-minute documentary by Liz Marshall explores Canada's relationship to its fresh water, arguably its most precious natural resource, asking the question: is water a commercial good like running shoes or Coca-Cola? Or, is water a human right like air?

Featuring Maude Barlow, considered by many to be an "international water-warrior" for her crusade to have water declared a human right, the film captures both her public face and the unscripted woman behind-the-scenes, shadowing her on an unrelenting yearlong tour throughout North America.

But, Water On The Table is more than a portrait of an activist: "It is a poetic-essay that presents several dramatic and artfully crafted debates," reads a recent release, "Barlow's opponents are giants in the world of policy and economics and they argue that water is no different than any other resource, and that the best way to protect freshwater is to privatize it. It is proposed that Canada bulk-export its water to the United States, imminently."

Whistler's very own water-warrior, Pina Belperio, will facilitate a discussion to follow the screening (Belperio is a Director on the Board of the Council of Canadians, as well as a researcher, community activist, writer, journalist, and founder of citizen watchdog group, Whistler Watch.) She was also featured in Water On The Table , and was on the film tour to Fort McMurray.

Cinema Politica is a grassroots documentary-screening network that aims to promote, disseminate and exhibit political cinema by independent artists with an emphasis on films that tell stories underrepresented by mainstream media. Whistler's Cinema Politica screenings take place on the third Friday of each month from December to April at Lost Lake PassivHaus. Admission is by donation, and the screenings are open to everyone. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and films begin at 7 p.m. with discussion to follow.  For more information, visit www.lunawhistler.com .

 

Deep Winter winner

Last Saturday night, the MacDonald Ballroom at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler was packed with photographers and powder lovers alike, as they gathered to check out the fifth annual Deep Winter Photo Challenge.

As usual, it was a sold-out affair, with over 1,200 people gathering to see how the six competitors - Ilja Herb, Andrew Strain, Tim Zimmerman, Blake Jorgenson, Robin O'Neill and John Scarth - fared during their three days of shooting in the backcountry of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains.

In the end, two Whistler residents emerged on top: Blake Jorgenson was ultimately crowned the King of Storms, taking home the first-place title and $3,000 prize, while Robin O'Neill, the first woman to compete in the event, placed second. In third place was Pemberton-based shooter Andrew Strain, who took home $1,000 for his efforts.

"I don't think winning is as exciting as executing an idea and bringing it to life in front of the audience. For me that's the thrill," Jorgenson said in a recent release, "As a photographer, I never choose the photos that get printed. It's always somebody else's choice. To come up with a concept and bring it to life exactly the way I want, in front of a home crowd, is the best thing ever."

 

Out of Bounds finalists announced

The 2011 King of Storms may have been crowned, but the photo fun isn't over yet, folks. The Whistler Arts Council (WAC) has just announced the finalists for their annual photography competition and exhibit, Out of Bounds: Tales From the Backcountry.

A jury of industry professionals reviewed all submitted photos and selected Brian Hockenstein, Cam Unger, Dagan Beach, David Bishop, David Henkel, Derek Vanderkooy, Eric Berger, Finn Saarinen, Hans Gulsvik, Jeff Boyce, Jo Winter, Kip Wiley, Lorne Graham, Nicolas Teichrob, Pat Mulrooney, Phil Tifo, Rich Glass, Sam McRae, Trevor Langdon and Vince Shuley to participate in the event.

The month long exhibit kicks off with an opening reception at Millennium Place's Scotia Creek Gallery on Friday, Feb. 4 starting at 7 p.m. This free event includes the Core Shots slideshow - a digital photo exhibition of Sea-to-Sky photographers, originally showcased on screens throughout the village during the 2010 Olympic Games - accompanied by tunes from DJ Rich-A.  A cash bar will also be set up on site, with drinks and complimentary appetizers in abundance.

Starting Feb. 1, people can come by the gallery to check out the work of the 20 photographers and vote for their favourite photo for a chance to win a three-hour snowmobile trip for two from Outdoor Adventures. Two winning photographers will walk away with heliskiing trips courtesy of Coast Range Heliskiing, one from a professionally juried vote and the second from the voting public.

The winners will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 24 following the encore screening of the popular Sandbox film, "Now You Know," at Millennium Place.