Dozens of “outsider” artists are bringing their work to the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Yaletown this weekend.
The Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival is a free event that aims to showcase “the work of visual artists and performers outside of mainstream art institutions.”
Pierre Leichner – a board member for the Community Arts Council of Vancouver, which provides funding and logistical support for the festival – says the concept of “outsider art” is better known and supported in Europe than in North America.
“This is the eighth annual outsider art festival, and that is quite remarkable because we are the first – and only – festival with outsider artists in Canada,” Leichner said.
To illustrate the distinction between “outsider” and “insider” artists, he cited two famous examples.
Vincent Van Gogh, whose art was not appreciated in his lifetime and died in poverty, is an example of an outsider …