North Vancouver art exhibit takes fresh look at Stanley Cup Riot of 2011
Posted September 9, 2022 3:03 pm.
Last Updated September 9, 2022 3:15 pm.
The Stanley Cup Riot of 2011 is one of four events explored in a new art exhibition now underway at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver.
According to a gallery statement, the exhibition Stan Douglas: 2011 ≠ 1848, is composed of five large-scale panoramic photographs showing protests and riots from 2011.
Reid Shier, director of the Polygon Gallery, says while it can be easier to examine events in the outside world, it can be difficult to look at local issues the same way.
“We can look at what’s happening around the world with a kind of jaundiced eye sometimes. But sometimes, it’s more difficult to look at ourselves, and I think Vancouver, like many cities in the world, has injustices and inequities that bear looking at,” said Shier.
The exhibit is created by Stan Douglas, a visual artist who lives and works in both Vancouver and Los Angeles.
The other protests examined in the display are the street clashes in London, the Arab Spring in Tunis, and the Occupy Wall Street movement in Manhattan.
The Polygon Gallery is pleased to present the Canadian premiere of Stan Douglas's Venice Biennale exhibition 2011 ≠ 1848 from Sept. 9 – Nov. 6, 2022.
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— The Polygon Gallery (@PolygonGallery) August 16, 2022
Shier says the name, 2011≠1848, alludes to the “parallels and dissimilarities of these two years.”
“The revolutions of 1848 have been called the Springtime of Nations … comparatively, it’s far from certain how the activism, riots, and occupations that erupted across the globe in 2011 might become manifest in years to come,” explained Shier.
“History has a way of playing out in radically unforeseen ways, and this exhibition presents a nuanced and complicated way to think about its trajectory.”
Shier adds while every event examined in the exhibition stems from different reasons, it’s important to analyze why the riot happened in Vancouver.
“There are different reasons for the uprisings in the Arab world, what happened in the United Kingdom, [and] the Occupy Movement [that] started in Manhattan [and] spread globally. I guess the question is, was there something more that happened in Vancouver than a bunch of hooligans rioting in the streets,” said Shier.
This is the first stop of a nationwide tour that includes the Remai Modern and the National Gallery of Canada.
The exhibition is on now and will run until Nov. 6 at the Polygon Gallery.
