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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Platform Gallery showcases thriving local design community while celebrating beloved Vancouver street intersections

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Hollywood & Vine. Haight & Ashbury. Portage & Main. Davie & Denman. Great cities are composed of great intersections. Recognizable outside of their city limits, these intersections play host to significant historical events, define the culture of a place, and are the meeting point for diverse groups of people. Launching February 2013 at the Platform Gallery, Intersections celebrates the unique attributes of seven essential cross-streets throughout Vancouver through graphic design.

Seven Vancouver-based graphic designers were invited to respond to a specified Vancouver intersection; Fraser & Kingsway, Main & Hastings, SE Marine & Knight St., Davie & Denman, Water & Carrall, 4th & Vine, Broadway & Granville. “With Intersections, we created an opportunity to acknowledge the humble street intersection as a space that plays an integral role in Vancouver. Everyone has experienced these locations in some way,” says Ross Milne, Platform Gallery Managing Director. “Some of the intersections are infamous, some overlooked, but are epicentres of vital communities, suggesting radically different attitudes and geographies.”

The contributors for Intersections reflect some of the best design talent in the city, representing notable agencies and studios that work regional and internationally in scope, including:

Each graphic designer created a large 36″ x 54″ poster that speaks to their own creativity and understanding of the assigned intersection. The contributors were asked to consider the present realities of the place, but to interpret the past and future of those locations, honouring the diversity of the communities. “We wanted to get away from a purely referential interpretation of these places and go deeper to examine, celebrate, analyze and critique what makes those intersections unique,” says Grace Partridge, Platform Gallery Creative Director.

Intersections will reveal all seven posters at an off-site opening reception January 31, 2013 at the Chinatown Experiment (434 Columbia), 6pm – 9pm. The evening is free and open to the public.

As of February 1, Intersections will be on exhibition at the Canada Line’s Platform Gallery, located underground at Waterfront Station.

The Platform Gallery, and the Intersections exhibition are conceived and curated by Vancouver design and typography studio Working Format together with Lizzy Karp, Anthony Casey, and Luis Sanchez. The Platform Gallery operates under the Canada Line Public Art Program.

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For more details about Intersections or the Platform Gallery please contact:

Ross Milne – 604 566-2648
info@theplatformgallery.ca

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About the Platform Gallery

The Platform Gallery is located within Waterfront Station along the underground corridor that leads to the Canada Line platform and was founded by Vancouver design and typography studio Working Format in 2011. It operates through support from the Canada Line Public Art Program, numerous community sponsors and contributions from some of Vancouver’s best graphic design talent. Exhibitions are produced on a bi-annual basis, inviting contributors to create new work that responds to a growing list of Vancouver-based themes. 

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