FAÇADE FESTIVAL 2016 was an immersive and dynamic projection mapping experience, which transformed the Robson Street façade of the Vancouver Art Gallery, with the works of five Vancouver-based contemporary artists. The event ran from August 30th to September 5th, 2016, and featured a special finale presentation by Go2 Productions. The event was unique in that it aimed at making art accessible for all by taking it off gallery walls and screens and putting it in front of hundreds of new viewers in a dynamic, interactive format.
This public art project featured newly commissioned works by artists Eric Metcalfe, Barry Doupé, Rebecca Chaperon, Renée Van Halm, and Chris Shier and was organized by the Burrard Arts Foundation (BAF) in collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery. In addition, technical mentorship was provided to all the featured artists by projection mapping specialists, Go2 Productions. Each artist visited us in the Go2 studio for two hands-on mentoring sessions and were shown how projection mapping would be used in conjunction with their art. The artists also got to see what their final presentations would look like on our four-foot model of the Art Gallery building.
Each featured artist specialized in different styles and mediums ranging from ink prints to painting, and digital lighting animations to video inputs and distortion effects. Our digital artists thoroughly enjoyed working with each of the contemporary artists in translating their work into a very successful projection mapping experience.
The Grand Finale event took place on the evening of September 5th, kicking off at 8pm with a special projection mapping presentation titled Divine Composition by Go2 Productions which featured exquisite footage by famed cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg with a background score by renowned composer Alain Mayrand. The presentation was inspired by the Golden Ratio – a mathematical sequence that occurs in nature and has been used to inspire architecture, music, art and design for centuries.
Go2 used time-lapse flower footage by famed cinematographer, Louie Schwartzberg, integrated and augmented with colourful animations. “Having my visuals displayed through projection mapping at events like Façade Festival allows me to share my work with audiences in a new, dramatic way. What better way is there to experience the wonders of nature than outdoors?”, Louie enthused.
Renowned composer Alain Mayrand also took his inspiration from the Golden Ratio. Alain, who was thrilled to have his music performed in his hometown, wanted his composition to physically echo the numbers in the Golden Ratio, and not just abstractly represent them.
An estimated 35,000 people attended the projection mapped show, with the hashtag #FacadeFest reaching over 70,000 people.
Design team:
- Creative Director: Adrian Scott
- Interactivity Design: Patrick Daggit
Equipment used:
- Mac Pro with QLab
- 2 Christy 20K projectors