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The Powell Street Festival takes place on the traditional, unceded and occupied territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Winners of the 5th Annual Public Art and Design Competition for Powell Street Festival Announced
Vancouver, BC (Monday, May 4, 2020) – UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture students Shaheed H. Karim and Amy Wu are the winners of the 5th Annual Public Art and Design Competition for Powell Street Festival Society. The team has been awarded a $1000 prize for their proposal titled Go Kingyo, a production budget, and mentorship from Revery Architecture and Abaton Projects.
The Go Kingyo installation takes inspiration from the goldfish which, in Japan, is a symbol of beauty, grace, and of summer. It is said the mere sight of a swimming goldfish can cool the body and calm the mind. The Design Team explains, “The large origami inspired fabric and bamboo goldfish swims above seating…Dozens of origami goldfish are hung in recycled jars underneath the shading structure inviting visitors to lay back and watch the fish swim.”
Jury member Joseph Fry described the design as “… a very nicely rendered scheme. Nicely illustrated, sculptural and punchy.”
On April 29, PSFS announced the cancelation of the 44th Powell Street Festival as a public gathering event. An adapted celebration is under way and the Go Kingyo design team has been enlisted to join the festival staff and volunteers as they work to reconceptualize a safe and innovative celebration of Japanese Canadian arts and culture.
The 5th Annual Public Art and Design Competition for Powell Street Festival is a partnership between PSFS, Revery Architecture, Abaton Projects and University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and is financially supported by Hapa Collaborative, PFS Studio and Revery Architecture, as well as several private donors. The jury included Shinobu Homma, Technical Principal of Revery Architecture; and Gary Smith, Art Fabricator of Abaton Projects, and Joseph Fry of Hapa Collaborative.