About

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre. We support a multidisciplinary program that provides opportunities to artists working across music, media art, visual art, performance, and literature to create and present work. Through commissions, exhibitions, performances, concerts, publishing, residencies, and workshops, Western Front promotes public exchange at a local, national and international level. We also preserve and provide access to an ever-growing audio-visual archive that documents the organization’s history of artistic programming and production.

Purple type with red outlines that reads “Western Front” on a blue background. — Western Front production still (c. 1983)

A black and white photograph of large sculptural black letters spelling out “A R T” leaning against a wall. The wall has posters and other pieces of paper tacked up on it, including an advertisement for Isaacs Pharmacy Ltd that features an image of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa with text that reads: “You’ll smile too when you see how much you SAVE at ISAAC’S, BIG, BEAUTIFUL, and ANNUAL FALL SALE: IT’S A MASTERPIECE!”, and an exhibition poster for “Hollywood Collects” that shows a photograph of the Hollywood sign at sunset. More stacks of paper are visible in the foreground. — Western Front interior (c. 1973)

History

Western Front was founded in 1973 by artists Kate Craig, Glenn Lewis, Eric Metcalfe, Michael Morris, and Vincent Trasov, composer Martin Bartlett, architect Mo van Nostrand, and writer Henry Greenhow, who collectively purchased the Knights of Pythias Lodge at 303 East 8th Ave as a communal space in which to live and work. They incorporated as a non-profit society in 1974, and named the organization Western Front in reference to the building’s pioneer-like façade, its geographic location on the West Coast of Canada, and their pursuits with avant-garde art.

Together, they conceived of Western Front as a place where multidisciplinary exchange, experimentation, and a synthesis of art and life could occur. While pursuing their own individual artistic practices, the founding artists and their friends took on curatorial, administrative, and technical roles. They invited local and international artists to visit, and create and present work. Western Front quickly became an important centre for visual artists, poets, musicians, dancers, and performance artists who were circulating in the burgeoning networks of correspondence art and artist-run centres.

A black and white photo of the interior of Western Front’s Grand Luxe Hall, showing a view of the large room looking toward the back wall. The room is mostly empty apart from some equipment, including a drum set, lecterns, and large cardboard cut-out of Mr. Peanut. — Western Front Grand Luxe Hall (1973)

Lillian Allen performing as part of the Women in Words Festival (1985)

A black and white photograph of Western Front’s founders, relaxed and seated in a circle around a large wooden table in a room furnished with potted plants at Western Front. — Founders Glenn Lewis, Martin Bartlett, Peter Fraser, Michael Morris, Vincent Trasov, Kate Craig, and Mo van Nostrand (c. 1973)

A colour photograph of Western Front staff in the office. Anna Stauffer stands next to a table holding a phone to her ear, and Jonathan Middleton and Eileen Kage are seated at a desk, looking at a computer. — Anna Stauffer, Jonathan Middleton, and E. Kage (c. 1999)

The disparate activity at Western Front was unified by a shared attitude of resistance to the “official” art market-system in favour of artists’ self-determination, and drew inspiration from the anti-art ideas of Fluxus, including Robert Filliou’s concept of the Eternal Network; the bohemian ethos of West Coast counterculture; and emergent avenues of art creation and dissemination offered by new media and telecommunication technologies. These guiding concepts are manifest in such endeavours as the famous Mr. Peanut mayoral campaign of 1974, as well as pioneering programs focused on telecommunications, computer graphics, and media art production. Western Front’s music program maintained a focus on non-Western compositional and philosophical practices, Jazz music, experimental vocal performance, and electro-acoustic composition, and was instrumental in supporting the New Orchestra Workshop Society, which held weekly workshops at Western Front from 1979-2020, and in the foundation of the Vancouver Community Gamelan, which was situated at Western Front from 1986-2019. Frequent poetry and literary readings were followed by the creation of Front Magazine (1985-2011), which developed as an alternative communication channel for advertising Western Front’s events, while inviting submissions, and then grew into an editorial publication.

A black and white photograph of Warren Knechtel, Kate Craig and Vincent Trasov standing around a table in the kitchen, preparing food. — Warren Knechtel, Kate Craig, and Vincent Trasov in the Western Front kitchen (1973)

Over the 1980s, the original founders increasingly stepped back from their active roles programming and administering the organization, with many also moving their homes out of the building. In their place, they invited emerging curators and artists to take on these roles. As a result, Western Front became a significant proving ground for emerging curators to develop their ideas and establish their practices.

Today, Western Front remains responsive to the changing conditions of the arts ecology, with the organization’s structure and programs continuing to evolve.

A black and white photo of musicians seated with their instruments in Western Front’s Grand Luxe Hall, including a pianist, keyboardist, cellist and vocalist. — Concert by Vital Baton Music Co. (1974)

A close-up colour photograph of the cover of the “Day Without Art” issue of Front Magazine. The title, “Front,” appears in large black capital letters above “Day Without Art” on the yellow cover, with “November/December 1990” and “Vancouver’s Inter-Arts Magazine” in small letters across the top of the cover. — Front Magazine, *Day Without Art* (Nov/Dec 1990)

A colour photograph of two women, each seated, wearing headphones, and facing a video camera mounted on a tripod. — Media art production in the Grand Luxe Hall (1978)

A black and white photograph in which four performers stand in a row behind cardboard cut-outs of ocean waves. Robert Amussen and Kate Craig look down at scripts, while Suzanne Ksinan stands in a spotlight and recites. Martha Miller looks holds a sign that reads “Attack Sounds” and wears another sign on her chest that reads “Entire Whale Army.” — Robert Amussen, Kate Craig, Susan Ksinan, and Martha Miller performing as the Lux Radio Players (1974)

Site and Building

Western Front is located in the Mt Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada on the unceded traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations of the Coast Salish people. The area was once dense rainforest diagonally bisected by an Indigenous trail, which today is the thoroughfare Kingsway. Bordering the area were two significant streams that flowed into False Creek, and which were sources for food, plants and medicines.

In 1922, the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order operating under the principals of “Friendship, Charity, and Benevolence,” built Lodge No. 11 at 303 E 8th Ave. The building was designed by Lodge member Ira B. Jones to support business and recreation, and included two large halls, a dining room, kitchen, temporary lodgings, and an attic apartment for the caretaker of the building. The Knights of Pythias supported members and their families when they were sick or in need, organized funeral arrangements, provided insurance, and ran an employment bureau. At the Lodge, they also offered classes and organized social activities such as tournaments, annual picnics, banquets, and benefit dances.

A colour photograph that looks north onto Western Front’s facade. The wooden siding is old and the paint faded. — Exterior of the Western Front (1973)

In 1972, the Knights of Pythias sold the building for $44,000 to the collective of artists who formed Western Front. Each artist contributed $1,000 to the down payment. The artists quickly adapted the use of the building’s spaces to their needs, utilizing the two halls as a versatile performance space and a dance studio, the dining hall as a gallery and staff offices, and the lodging rooms as AV studios and accommodation for artists.

In 2016, the Western Front Society purchased the building for $1.5 million from the remaining artist owners with the support of a Community Amenity Contribution from the City of Vancouver. Today, we act as the stewards of this heritage asset, ensuring its ongoing use as a community service centre.

Western Front is still home to long-time artist-tenants, and also to the dance company EDAM (Experimental Dance and Music) and dancer Jane Ellison, who have been valued tenants of the dance studio since 1982.

A black and white photograph of the interior of Western Front’s gallery, in which an exhibition of many photographic portraits of different sizes, tightly crowded together on the walls, is on display. There are visitors in the gallery, some looking at the work on the walls and some seated on the floor. — *Pin Up Portraits* (1979). Curated by Eric Metcalfe

A colour photograph of the interior of Western Front’s gallery and Maria Hupfield’s installation. The exhibition consists of projected images on the north and west walls, a large black banner with yellow type that reads “John Hupfield’s Woodlands Indian Art + West Coast Indian Art” on the east wall, a small podium under the banner upon which sits a turnable, with a collection of records and two folding chairs next to it; and a sculpture that looks like a shovel with the handle bent at a right angle sitting on the windowsill high on the east wall. — Maria Hupfield, *John Hupfield’s Woodlands IndianArt + West Coast Indian Art* (2017). Curated by Pablo de Ocampo. Photo: Maegan Hill-Carroll

Staff

Susan Gibb
Executive Director

susangibb@westernfront.ca

Susan Gibb came to Western Front in 2019, from the position of Curator at If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution in Amsterdam, where she had worked since 2013. At If I Can’t Dance she worked in close collaboration with artists to develop and produce new work commissions across performance, moving image, and publishing, and to present these works in partnership with arts organizations internationally. Previously, she worked as Curator, Visual Arts at the multidisciplinary arts centres Carriageworks and Campbelltown Arts Centre, in Sydney, to foster collaborative exchanges between artists and the diverse communities of urban Sydney. She also ran the independent curatorial initiative Society from a shop front home in Sydney from 2011-12. She has taught curating and performance at the Dutch Art Institute and the School for New Dance Development.

Sophie Slater
Operations Manager

sophieslater@westernfront.ca

Sophie Slater has worked in cultural heritage and art for the past decade, primarily in the UK. With a degree in History of Art from University of Warwick, Sophie specializes in management, operations and development of cultural assets, such as heritage buildings and their art collections. Sophie worked at stately homes Althorp Estate and with the conservation charity National Trust at Osterley Park and House, before immigrating to Canada in 2019. Sophie has since attended, been an artist in residence and most recently taught at Kootenay School of Arts, focusing on recycled fibre arts, natural dyeing and basketry.

Ben Wilson
Technical Manager

benwilson@westernfront.ca

Ben Wilson has worked in contemporary art and music for over 25 years as a composer, performer, educator, curator, and technician. He has been employed by Western Front since 2007 as Music Program Assistant, Interim Music Curator, and, since 2015, Technical Manager. Ben has taught Electronic Music Composition, Audio Engineering, and Audio Post Production for Film and Television at Vancouver Community College and Simon Fraser University. As a composer, musician, and sound designer, Ben has studied, performed, and worked in Europe, Australia, Japan, USA, and Canada.

Aki Onda
Curator-at-Large

Aki Onda is an artist, composer, performer, and curator whose works are often catalyzed by and structured around memories—personal, collective, and historical. Crossing genres and disciplines, they have been active internationally in art, film, music and performance. Their artistic collaborators include Michael Snow, Ken Jacobs, Paul Clipson, Raha Raissnia, Ho Tzu Nyen, Loren Connors, Alan Licht, Annea Lockwood, David Toop, and Akio Suzuki. Onda has presented their work at The Kitchen, MoMA, MoMA P.S.1, New Museum, Blank Forms, ICA Philadelphia, REDCAT, Time-Based Art Festival, Walker Art Center, Novas Frequências, documenta 14, Louvre Museum, Pompidou Center, Palais de Tokyo, Fondation Cartier, Argos, Bozar, ICA London, La Casa Encendida, Caixa Forum, Serralves Museum, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Nam June Paik Art Center, amongst others.

Kiel Torres
Assistant Curator

kieltorres@westernfront.ca

Kiel Torres is from Vancouver, Canada. She joined Western Front in 2022 as the Content Writer & Editor and previously held positions at Britannia Community Services Centre, Hatch Art Gallery, and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. Her work focuses on performance, poetry, criticism, and correspondence, and she hosts a seasonal reading series at Choklit Park.

Anna Tidlund
Archivist

annatidlund@westernfront.ca

Anna Tidlund is a Swedish-Chinese settler, having lived and worked in Vancouver since 2007. Tidlund currently works as an archivist for the Western Front, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, and the estate of ceramic artist Wayne Ngan. Tidlund holds a Master of Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia. She has worked as a researcher, academic programs assistant, and archivist since 2015, and has served as an Ethics Committee member for the Association of Canadian Archivists. Together with Kate Woolf, Anna is a beekeeper at Sahalli Park Community Garden.

Andy Resto
Archives Assistant

andyresto@westernfront.ca

Andy Resto began as an archives assistant at Western Front in 2021. He holds a Master of Archival Studies and Library and Information Science from the University of British Columbia. Previously a music director at a local radio station, he has experience in radio broadcasting, hosting radio programs on CiTR 101.9FM and No Fun Radio. He has organized events in the local music community, including a monthly interdisciplinary performance night at the former Toast Collective, and performed in a number of bands in Vancouver. His primary interests in archives involve digital preservation strategies and records and information management.

Trey Le
Content Writer & Editor

treyle@westernfront.ca

Trey Le was born in coastal Southeast Vietnam and immigrated and settled in Canada as a young child. He is an arts administrator and writer working with multidisciplinary and public-serving organizations with a particular interest to advance public engagement and social activism through artistic and cultural frameworks. He has held roles with the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory at the University of British Columbia, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Out on Screen, Toronto International Film Festival, Parks Canada and has served on the board of Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

Daniel Pickering
FOH & Technical Assistant

danielpickering@westernfront.ca

Daniel Pickering is from the Lil’wat Nation. Having grown up in St. Albert, Alberta, he moved to Vancouver in 2016 to complete his BFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. His artistic practice focusses on exploring moods and narratives built from colour, texture, and expression in portrait and figure painting. Daniel recently completed the Indigenous Internship Program at the Museum of Anthropology, followed by a placement at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre where he learned to handle, care for, and repair the baskets in their collection. He also continues to work on the Gallery Prep Crew at The Polygon Gallery.

Maura Doherty
Bookkeeper

Maura Doherty is an arts bookkeeper, passionate about financial systems and literacy, and helping artists dot i’s and cross t’s so that they can focus on the art itself. She has had the privilege of working with artists and arts organizations of varying sizes, disciplines, and mandates over the past ten years in many different capacities, including operations management, facility management and volunteer coordination. She currently provides bookkeeping services for non-profits and charities such as VIVO Media Arts Centre, C-Space, New Works, Théâtre La Seizième, and Wild Bird Trust of BC, alongside Western Front.

Board

Lindsay Sherman
President

Lindsay Sherman is the Manager of Strategic Projects & Office of the CEO at the Vancouver Art Gallery, which is situated in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and sƏl̓ílwƏtaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Prior to moving to Vancouver, Lindsay has worked with art organizations in both England and Canada with a focus on governance and operations. She received an MA in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.

Ryan Tacata
Vice President

Ryan Tacata is a performance maker and writer based in Vancouver. His collaborative art practice is situated between live art and social practice, and engages in place making, ordinary acts, and gift-giving. His work has been presented internationally, including at the Asian Art Museum, Stanford University, the City of Chicago, Court Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Museum of Performance + Design, and The Momentary. He is co-artistic director of the performance group For You, and Assistant Professor of Performance at the School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University.

Joost Bakker
Treasurer

Joost Bakker is an active founding partner of architecture and design firm DIALOG, and a recipient of the 2017 Architectural Institute of British Columbia Lifetime Achievement Award. Born in Curaçao, he is a fourth generation architect in his family. For over forty five years, Joost has brought strong urbanist values to his professional, artistic, and volunteer work. His pioneering work on the internationally recognized redevelopment of Granville Island, multiple major university projects, as well as the creation of the Royal Canadian Navy Monument, reflect the diversity and creativity of his practice. Joost continues his record as a dauntless volunteer to numerous civic, arts and cultural organizations in Vancouver.

Kate Barry
Secretary

Kate Barry is a performance artist currently based in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and sƏl̓ílwƏtaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Her work investigates queerness, subjectivity, and embodied practice through painting, drawing, and video. She has also contributed over 25 years to working in artist-run spaces in Canada, including as a board member at FADO Performance Art Centre (2011-14), project manager for More Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women (2016), archival and research associate for Wordless: The Performance Art of Rebecca Belmore (2019), and as the programmer for the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen launched by grunt gallery in 2019. Currently, she is a sessional faculty at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) and is a member of the collective, MARFEC (Mutual Aid and Reciprocity Fund at ECU).

Mari Fujita
Past President

Mari Fujita is an Associate Professor in the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and Chair of the Bachelor of Design Program. Her research focuses on the spatial and cultural effects of globalism. Her design studios and seminars explore emergent forms of urbanism with a focus on Vancouver and other regions experiencing rapid growth or decline. Mari maintains a design practice, Fubalabo, which pursues diverse projects including gallery installations, interiors, building designs, and urban proposals. She is also a partner in the product design practice Maiku Brando, which produces material studies and wearables. She has worked as an architect in New York and Berlin. Mari is also a member of the UBC University Arts Committee. She received a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.Arch from Princeton University.

Shae Anthony
Member-at-large

Shae Anthony is an Irish and Delaware woman trespassing on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and sƏl̓ílwƏtaʔɬ lands. She is a practicing artist, art therapist (thesis pending), registered psychotherapist (qualifying), and art educator. Shae is passionate about fostering creativity in people of all ages and thinks that creativity is the closest thing that we have to magic. Shae is in the process of obtaining her Art Therapy certification through the Toronto Art Therapy Institute, and works with Arts Umbrella and DAREarts to deliver art programming to parents, toddlers, and elementary students. Shae believes in solidarity through mutual aid and volunteers with her local open access fridge with the goal of providing easily accessible, free, and healthy food to all community members.

James Jeffries-Chung
Member-at-large

James Jeffries-Chung is a lawyer and trademark agent with a background in intellectual property law. He has worked in London, Paris, and Vancouver, both in private practice and more recently as in-house counsel. Originally a classicist with a focus in Greco-Roman Art, James has degrees from the University of St Andrews, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. James has a particular interest in working with creatives and advancing diversity initiatives.

Jenni Schine
Member-at-large

Jenni Schine is a sound artist and community-engaged researcher based in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and sƏl̓ílwƏtaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. A big fan of public engagement, Jenni has extended her work into art installations, film, and soundscape compositions. Her hope is to create art that is ecologically accountable and builds relationships in a reciprocal manner. Jenni is an instructor of anthropology at the University of Victoria, specialising in sound, creative practices, and feminist teaching models. She also likes to connect artists with scientists and produce radio. She currently serves as the SoundWorks Associate Editor of the BC Studies Journal and was previously a member of the Vancouver Soundwalk Collective and Director of the Salmon Coast Field Station. Jenni is a keen collaborator, ocean swimmer, and beginner gardener.

Past Staff

Through this list of past staff, we hope to acknowledge everyone who has worked for Western Front since 1973. For amendments, please contact info@westernfront.ca

Nathaniel Marchand
Assistant Curator
2022-23

Abigail Sebaly
Archivist, Documentary Heritage Community Program
2020-23

Meghan Latta
Event & FOH Coordinator
2019-22
Adminstrative Assistant
2013-19

Kate Woolf
Curatorial Assistant
2019-22

Aram Bajakian
New Music Curator
2018-22

Carie Helm
Development & Fundraising Manager
2017-21

Pablo de Ocampo
Exhibitions Curator
2014-20

Simranpreet Anand
Exhibitions Assistant
2018-20

Allison Collins
Media Arts Curator
2014-20

Lief Hall
Technician
2011-13, 2016-20

Miyra Olney
Bookkeeper
2012-20

Caitlin Jones
Executive Director
2009-19

Roisin Adams
New Music Assistant
2014-19

Kristy Waller
Archivist
2014-19

DB Boyko
New Music Curator
1990-98, 2010-18
Director/Curator, New Music
1999-2009

Kathleen Taylor
Exhibitions Assistant
2016-18

Gabi Dao
Media Arts Assistant
2017

Kristin Lim
Administrative Assistant
2012
Development Officer
2013-17

Shyla Seller
Archivist
2014-15

Emmy Willis
Media Arts Assistant
2014-15

Jana Grazley
Archivist
2012-14

Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross
Administrative Assistant/
Venue Coordinator
2012
New Music Assistant
2013
Exhibitions Assistant
2014

Jesse Birch
Exhibitions Curator
2012-14

Sarah Todd
Media Arts Curator
2010-14

Kate Armstrong
Acting Executive Director
2012-13

Jenni Schine
New Music Assistant
2012-13

Scott Owens
Archivist
2012-13

Dave Shakur
New Music Assistant
2012

Amy Nugent
Development Officer
2011-12

Katie Lyle
Administrative Assistant
2011

Jesse McKee
Exhibitions Curator
2010-11

Jessica Hum
Development Officer
2010-11

Andrew Lee
Technical Director
2008-11

Fiona Hernandez
Administrative Assistant
2009-11

Mandy Ginson
Exhibitions Assistant
2009-11

Karianne Blank
Front Magazine,
Art Director
2009-11

Reanna Alder
Front Magazine,
Managing Editor
2008-09
Front Magazine,
Editor
2009-11

Ann Hepper
Bookkeeper
1989-91, 1996-2011

Mark Soo
Exhibitions Assistant
2004-10

Bobbi Parker
Development Officer
2009

Alissa Firth-Eagland
Director/Curator,
Media Art
2007-09

Candice Hopkins
Director/Curator,
Exhibitions
2006-09

Liz Park
Media Arts Curatorial Resident
2008-09

Robyn Ludwig
Operations Director
2008-09

Sandra Wintner
Technical Director
1999-2009

Andreas Kahre
Director/Curator,
Publications /
Front Magazine,
Editor
1998-2009

Peter Morin
Aboriginal Curator-in-Residence
2009

Lindsay Dew
Administrative Assistant/
Venue Coordinator
2008-09

Ben Rogalsky
Technical Director
2007-08

Natalie Loveless
Guest Curator,
Performance Art
2007-08

Devona Stevenson
Office Manager
2007-08

Michael Birchall
Acting Operations Manager
2008

Damien Petryshyn
Operations Manager
2008

Leanne Johnson
Director/Curator,
Publications /
Front Magazine,
Managing Editor
2000-08

Anastasia Koutalianos
Front Magazine,
Editorial Assistant
2007
Operations Manager
2007

Laura MacDonald
Operations Manager
2005-07

E. Kage
Technician
1992-94
Technical Director
1994-2007

Peter Courtemanche
Technician
1992-94
Technical Director
1994-97
Director/Curator,
Media Arts
1997-2007

Joanne Bristol
Guest Curator,
Performance Art
2006

Anna Kalfa
Operations Manager
2004-05

Devinder Agnish
Technical Director
2002-05

Victoria Singh
Director/Curator,
Performance Art
2001-05

Jonathan Middleton
Director/Curator,
Exhibitions
1999-2005

Vera Gamboa
New Music Assistant
2003-04

Gabriel Alden
General Manager
2000-04

Jean Routhier
Technician
1997-2004

Eric Metcalfe
Co-founder
1973
Music Curator
1975-85
Performance Art Curator
1989-2001

Melanie Little
Front Magazine,
Managing Editor
2000

Cindy Vallance
Administrative Director
1999-2000

Fiona Bowie
Exhibitions Co-curator
1998-2000

Antonia Hirsch
Exhibitions Co-curator
1996-1997
Exhibitions Curator
1998-99

Kerri Embrey
Front Magazine,
Co-editor
1998-99

Matt Smith
Technician
1998-99

Elaine Stef
Hall Rentals
1998

Caroline Flack
Physical Plant
1998

Elspeth Sage
Administrative Assistant,
Multimedia Lab
1997-98

Jay Thompson
Technician,
Multimedia Lab
1997-98

Shawn Chapelle
Technician
1996-98

Zainub Verjee
Special Projects
1990-91
Director
1991-98

Elizabeth Vander Zaag
Video/Media Curator
1986-87
Special Projects
1993
Digital Arts Workshop
1994-1995
Coordinator/Instructor
Multimedia Lab
1996-98

Spencer Cathey
Telecommunications Curator
1985-89
Computer Graphics Curator
1985, 1990
Special Projects
1990-93
Technician
1994-98

Hank Bull
Technician
1973, 1979-80
Telecommunications Curator
1974-92
Exhibitions Curator
1985-86, 1988-92
Administration
1984-1986
Front Magazine,
Editor
1988-90
Music Curator
1986-1992
Literary Curator
1990-91
Special Projects
1993-1994
Acting Director
1998

Geina Fournier
Rentals
1997

Karen Lee
Administrative Assistant,
Multimedia Lab
1997

Grant Gregson
Technician
1996-97

Steve Chow
Front Magazine,
Editor
1996-97

Laiwan
Front Magazine,
Editor
1995-97

Judy Radul
Literary Curator
1986-87
Front Magazine,
Editor
1992-93
Exhibitions Curator
1993-97

Renee Rodin
Literary Curator
1995-97

Jane Ellison
Administration
1981-82
Front Magazine, Editor
1988-89
Western Front Publications
1990-91
Front Magazine, Production
1993-97

Conal Cook
Physical Plant
1992-97

Katherine Lee
Front On Line
1995-96

Bobbi Kozinuk
Engineer
1990
Technical Director
1991-94
Media Director
1993-96

Christine Stewart
Multimedia Lab
1996

Marilou Esguerra
Front Magazine,
Editor
1995-97

Margaret Gallagher
Multimedia Lab
1995-96

Steven Zur
Multimedia Lab
1995-96

Tuula Schroderus
Bookkeeper
1991-96

Larissa Lai
Front Magazine,
Editor
1994-95

Mike MacDonald
Technician
1992-95

Kenneth O’Heskin
Special Projects
1990-94

Kate Craig
Co-founder
1973
Co-director
1973-80
Bookkeeper
1973-78
Video/Media Curator
1976-85, 87-93
Special Projects
1990-91, 93-95
Technician
1994

Dana Claxton
Front Magazine,
Guest Editor
1993

Keith Wallace
Special Projects
1993

Lisa Robertson
Front Magazine,
Poetry & Writing Editor
1990-93

Brice MacNeil
Archives
1987-89
Poetry Curator
1990
Exhibitions & Archives Curator
1990-93

Brice Canyon
Front Magazine,
Editor
1993-94
Front Magazine,
Production
1994-97

Kye Goodwin
Computer Graphics Curator
1984-92
Special Projects Curator
1992

Charles Watts
Poetry Curator
1982-92

Peter Cummings
Front Magazine,
Assistant Editor
1991

Andrée Lafrenière
Front Magazine,
Assistant Editor
1990

Lynn Thorsell
Front Magazine,
Assistant Editor
1991

Louise Christie
Front Magazine,
Assistant Editor
1990-91

Vanessa Lowe
Computer Graphics
1990-91

Daniel Scheidt
Special Projects
1990-91

Karen Henry
Administrator
1989-90
Director
1990
Acting Director
1991

Gaylene Macdonald
Front Magazine,
Editor
1990

Laura-Beth Stewart
Front Magazine,
Editor
1990

Enzina De Angelis
Front Magazine,
Editor
1989-90

Mark Parlett
Technician
1990

Doug Gough
Technician
1989-90

Randy Anderson
Office Manager
1989-90

Ron Tranow
Front Magazine,
Editor
1988-90

Annette Hurtig
Exhibitions Curator
1988-89

Iain Macanulty
Technician
1989

Susi Milne
Exhibitions Curator
1987-88
Poetry Curator
1989
Office Manager
1986-89

Alex Varty
Music Curator
1986-89

Warren Tallman
Literary Curator
1986-87

Jai Djwa
Assistant Technician
1986-87

Doug Brown
Technician
1985-87

Glenn Lewis
Co-founder
1973
Co-director
1973-87
Performance Art Curator
1977-79
Exhibitions Curator
1986-87

Daina Augaitis
Administration
1983-84
Exhibitions Curator
1984-86

Owen Underhill
Music Curator
1981-85

David Kelln
Technician
1976-78
1982-85

Patrick Ready
Technician
1980-81

Elizabeth Chitty
Video/Media Curator
1980-81

Dwight Gardiner
Literary Curator
1978-80

Cornelia Wyngaarden
Bookkeeper
1978-80
Administration
1978-80

Martin Bartlett
Co-founder
1973
Co-director
1973-80
Technician
1973
Music Curator
1974-79

Paul Wong
Technician
1974
Video/Media Curator
1978-79

Vincent Trasov
Co-founder
1973
Co-director
1973-80
Literary Curator
1976-78

Michael Morris
Co-founder
1973
Co-director
1973-80
Exhibitions Curator
1976-79

Mary Beth Knechtel
Literary Curator
1973-76

Gerry Gilbert
Literary Curator
1973-76

Annual Report

2023 Annual Report, Western Front
2022 Annual Report, Western Front
2021 Annual Report, Western Front

Contact

+1 (604) 876-9343
info@westernfront.ca

Western Front
303 E 8th Ave
Vancouver BC V5T 1S1
Canada

A colour photograph of Western Front staff seated on and standing behind a couch in the Grand Luxe Hall. — Tuula Schroderus, Eric Metcalfe, Conal Cook, Bobbi Kozinuk, Peter Courtemanche, Larissa Lai, Zainub Verjee, DB Boyko, Judy Radul, Antonia Hirsch (c. 1994-96)

A black and white photograph of the artists standing in front of Western Front’s street entrance. — Paul Wong, André Ménard, Hank Bull, Nelle Haetling, Jane Ellison, Kate Craig, Eric Metcalfe (c. 1982)

Colophon

Graphic Design by Line-Gry Hørup
Website Development by Paul Bernhard

© Items published on Western Front’s website may be freely shared among individuals, but they may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from Western Front and advance notification to the authors, the photographers and the artists.

Western Front is a non-profit
artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.

About

History

Site and Building

Staff

Susan GibbExecutive Director

Sophie SlaterOperations Manager

Ben WilsonTechnical Manager

Aki OndaCurator-at-Large

Kiel TorresAssistant Curator

Anna TidlundArchivist

Andy RestoArchives Assistant

Trey LeContent Writer & Editor

Daniel PickeringFOH & Technical Assistant

Maura DohertyBookkeeper