Splash in support of Arts Umbrella, Vancouver
In 1979, 45 young creative minds enrolled in the first program run by Arts Umbrella, which provides young people across Vancouver with access to arts education. Last year, the organization reached an astonishing 24,000 young people from the age of 2 to 22. About 80 per cent of families accessing the programs, which includes everything from dance and the culinary arts, filmmaking to music, do so at little or no cost.
On Oct. 26, Splash, an auction and gala in support of Arts Umbrella, was held – one of Vancouver’s must-attend fall happenings – and $1.075-million was raised, breaking a record for the organization. And next year will mark Arts Umbrella’s 40th anniversary, a milestone that will be punctuated by a big move into a new facility on Granville Island, located in the south building of the former home of Emily Carr University of Art + Design. At 50,000 square feet, it’s twice the size of the current digs, providing much-needed space to serve and engage an ever-growing student body.
This latest Splash, the 37th edition, was co-chaired by arts givers Christie Garofalo and Bruce Munro Wright, both of whom serve on Arts Umbrella’s board of directors. The event brought together more than 100 works by a plethora of creators from B.C. and beyond, including Dana Claxton, Douglas Coupland, Edward Burtynsky and Elizabeth Zvonar, which were auctioned off throughout the evening. On offer too, between lots, inside the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, were performances by the very students the gathering supports, namely the Arts Umbrella dance company and the pre-professional musical theatre troupe. Among them out taking it all in: Carol Henriquez, a co-founder of Arts Umbrella, who served as honorary chair; architect Robert Lemon, who recently made a $2-million contribution to the Arts Umbrella Building Campaign in honour of his late partner Robert Ledingham; art consultant Brenda Bradshaw; Nicola Wealth Management president and Arts Umbrella Foundation vice-chair David Sung, and his wife, Tassan; and Paul Larocque, president and CEO of Arts Umbrella.
The performance by Arts Umbrella’s dance company.Jamie-Lee Fuoco
Athena Bax and Ken Fitzgerald.Jamie-Lee Fuoco
Christie Garofalo and Bruce Munro Wright.Jamie-Lee Fuoco/Supplied
David Sung and Tassan Jackson-Sung.Jamie-Lee Fuoco
Robert Lemon, Carol Henriquez and Paul Larocque.Jamie-Lee Fuoco
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