Republic Live announced details on the WayHome Music and Arts on-site art installations, WayArt, earlier today. WayHome will be bringing some of the top Canadian-based gallery and well-known artists to make the WayArt experience like no other at any North American festival. Curated under the watchful eye of prominent Toronto-based painter Charles Bierk, WayArt will showcase a diverse range of large-scale installations that make use of Oro-Medonte’s exquisite natural environment, while providing festival attendees with experiences that will titillate and inspire.
“Working with some of the top Canadian artists on original installations was a huge priority for us as we looked to curate art installations for this festival, and having Charlie Bierk curate this for us really puts us in a unique position to set WayHome apart from other music and arts festivals,” said Shannon McNevan, Executive Director, Republic Live. “We want WayHome to be a platform for artists to expose their art to masses, outside of the gallery community and offer something extremely unique in the music and art festival setting.”
Taking a grassroots approach, Bierk’s curatorial direction places emphasis on local Canadian artists, who have been given the freedom to create works on scales not usually afforded to them in galleries. He also worked hard to include young up-and-comers.
“The artists that are participating in WayArt are some of Canada’s most celebrated, in addition to a mix of some great emerging talent we’ve identified,” said Charlie Bierk, WayArt curator. “Having first-time collaborations with Aaron Li-Hill and Trevor Wheatley, along with original pieces from Philippe Blanchard, and VSVSVS, it’s very exciting. People will be in awe when they see how artists like Nathan Whitford, Sean Martindale, The PA System, Bruno Billio and collaborative Julian Michael Majewski and Callum Schuster are going to use the natural setting of Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in their pieces. There will be lots of surprises for fans along the way with the pieces from the talented emerging artist Camille Jodin-Eng and OCAD U competition winners Blockheads. ”
Sculpture/installation artists Aaron Li-Hill and Trevor Wheatley will collaborate for the first time on a three-dimensional text-based installation. Using Li-Hill’s signature flow of wood, sourced from the original mill on the event grounds, and Wheatley’s interest in vernacular language and typography, the assemblage will playfully examine the relationship between nature and contemporary culture’s obsession with staying connected and will be one of the largest scaled WayArt pieces.
Toronto-based multimedia artist, Philippe Blanchard, will showcase a psychedelic installation that combines pattern, colour and lighting to create a trippy and rhythmic sense of movement. The project will be displayed in a 40-foot yurt encouraging fans to explore and move throughout the structure to encounter a true sensory experience.
Bridging the gap between nature and technology, Nathan Whitford will be adapting his highly acclaimed projection, 125 Steps, for WayHome. Using generated patterns, he will create a dazzling large-scale illumination set against the backdrop of the mature trees of Burl’s Creek Event Grounds once the sun has set daily.
Well-known multimedia collective VSVSVS, consisting of artists Anthony Cooper, James Gardner, Laura Simon, Miles Stemp, Ryan Clayton, Stephen McLeod and Wallis Chung, will play with the idea of community space by building an inviting, geometric platform that festival goers are encouraged to hang out on. The festival’s audio feeds will then make the platform vibrate, giving viewers a physical experience of the music.
Winners of the OCAD U x WayHome contest, team Blockhead, is a five-person female collective. Their piece’s originality and quirkiness is what stood out to judges, ultimately winning them the commission of $18,000 to create their vision and an additional $5,000 cash prize. Team Blockhead, made up of Ashley Mauerhofer, Kristen Ryan, Maeve Wallace, Sarah Eldershaw and Zeynep Sen, are creating a number of “Blockhead” large block-like dolls, each with an individual personality and bendable body parts that fans can directly interact with.
Additional artists in the WayArt projects include Sean Martindale, The PA System, Bruno Billio, collaborative Julian Michael Majewski and Callum Schuster, as well as emerging artist Camille Jodin-Eng.
Republic Live, in collaboration with AC Entertainment, co-founders of the Bonnaroo Music Festival, will be hosting WayHome Music and Arts at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds, just ten minutes north of Barrie, July 24th – 26th 2015. The festival will include headliners Neil Young + Promise of the Real, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Alt-J, Modest Mouse and Hozier with an additional 60 plus artists performing over the 3 days. The festival offers 4 stages, a variety of late-night spectacles and experiences, original art installations, fine international and local cuisine, an on-site farmers market, and more. WayHome Music and Arts will inspire fans to explore their own creativity while giving them a powerful, unforgettable, and eye opening experience using music and art as a catalyst. All full event ticket offerings include tent camping or parking and are on-sale exclusively at www.wayhome.com
