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Immigrant artists at Eastside Culture Crawl Nov. 18-20

By Noa Glouberman
November 17, 2011

The doors to hundreds of artists’ studios in East Vancouver will be opened to the public during the Eastside Culture Crawl, Nov. 18-20, 2011, and among the painters, photographers, sculptors and other visual artists participating this year are a large number of Canadian immigrants.

Here, we preview the main event with our own “mini crawl,” featuring some tremendously talented newcomers.
Beata Kacy: artist with a splash

First up was Beata Kacy, who fell in love with sewing and knitting as a child growing up in Poland. After moving to Vancouver to pursue an arts and film education, Kacy gained an interest in making jewelry and, in addition to the soft, woolen textiles of her youth, began to use a range of harder materials like wood, metal, stone, glass and even concrete to create her wearable works.

“Every time you step out the door … the way you personally express yourself is always on full display,” she explains. “As humans … we are drawn to coveting the human form and are enthralled by watching other people to see how they dress or accessorize themselves.”

A talented underwater photographer to boot, Kacy’s former work as a rescue scuba diver comes in handy in keeping her subjects safe during their photo shoots. She also runs Octopus Studios, a 3,000-square-foot workspace at 393 Powell St., where she offers classes in metalwork, felting, soap-making, and other arts and crafts. “Whenever I learn something new, I try to pass on the skills,” she says.

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