Miram Esquitín, the Executive Director of Vancouver Mural Fest (VMF), provided an in-depth look at the festival’s evolution and mission in a recent interview. Founded in 2016, VMF has grown from a grassroots street festival into a leading multi-media art consultancy and production agency, dedicated to connecting people through public art. The organization is renowned for creating vibrant, free open-air galleries during its annual Vancouver Mural Festival and VMF Winter Arts Festival, which attract over 70,000 attendees and generate significant economic benefits for the community.
Describe Vancouver Mural Fest in a few sentences.
VMF was formed in 2016 with a vision to transform the way art is experienced in Vancouver. It has evolved from a grassroots street festival into a world-class, multi-media art consultancy and production agency. Our mission is to create experiences that connect people through public art.
We produce the annual Vancouver Mural Festival and VMF Winter Arts Festival. Our festivals create free open-air galleries for all ages and are thoughtfully layered with interactions between art, people, and places to nurture a shared sense of belonging, reflective of the city’s diverse creative communities.
Throughout the year, we also collaborate with clients and community groups on private and public arts-driven projects through our Artwork Agency. We strive for an artistic and meaningful transformation of spaces, and we help our partners do the same.
To date, VMF has impacted the cityscape with over 400 murals and hundreds of art installations and continues to reimagine public art and events. Public art brings our streets to life. It’s also part of a bigger movement and cultural evolution.
Our events attract over 70K attendees per year and catalyze an estimated $4 million economic benefit in the community.
What problem does it aim to solve?
VMF believes in the power of art to connect people and build communities. Through public art, we celebrate diverse cultures and address socio-cultural issues facing our city and artistic communities. Our team curates art, spaces, and experiences with the goal of increasing a sense of belonging. We are well aware of the prevalent issues of isolation and intolerance through which we are living. Our activities invite a sense of shared experience and inclusion.
We also aim to build a striving arts sector. With the affordability and housing crisis in our communities along with minimum support for the arts, artists face displacement and poverty particularly those from equity-deserving groups. We create opportunities for a diverse range of artists and help pay over $3 million directly towards artists and their projects.
Equity, reconciliation, sustainability, and artistic excellence are at the core of what we do.
We have worked in collaboration and making space for the leadership of dozens of Indigenous artists. Through this work, we aim to affirm the resurgence and importance of Coast Salish culture and art on these lands and directly combat the ongoing systemic suppression of Indigenous visual culture.
We have a responsibility to ensure that creatives who are Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour, are visible and celebrated for their work in our community. Of VMF’s collaborating mural artists, 50% are BIPOC, including 20% Indigenous, 51% female-identified or non-binary, and 20% 2SLGBTQIA+, besides 80% being local.
An ongoing mandate for VMF is to remove barriers and build capacity in the artistic community by developing technical and artistic skills in emerging artists. Almost 40% of VMF muralists have been new and close to 50% of performance artists have been new acts.
When did you start/join it?
I joined VMF a year ago, in July 2023.
What made you want to get involved?
My heart is in community building and social justice. Since I immigrated to Canada, I have been working in non-profit organizations in various sectors: innovation, economic development, access to justice, higher education, and civic engagement. I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to strengthening these organizations through effective teams, strategic relationships, and revenue generation. I also have been leading community-based dance practices and programs for 20 years. So when I saw the posting last year, I jumped at the opportunity, and here I am.
What was the situation like when you started?
Last year the programs that supported organizations through COVID ended. Grants met less and less of the community’s needs. We are also facing a recession and affordability crisis which impacts the ability to adequately compensate and retain staff. Donations are also at historic lows. It’s incredibly challenging as it is for most of the nonprofit sector, especially in the arts, but when the community need is higher in these challenging economic times, many festivals are not running or are significantly reduced.
VMF, however, has always been creative, adaptable, and experimental. A couple of years back, VMF had started new initiatives like the Winter Arts Festival and the Art Agency. These represent opportunities to strengthen and diversify revenue, as well as create innovative ways to produce meaningful public art – but when I joined VMF these initiatives weren’t solidified just yet.
How has it changed since?
Over the last year, we’ve changed many things, especially how we communicate and collaborate as a team so that we can see how our collective efforts add up. We’ve also increased our understanding on how we have to adapt to external pressures. We are gaining stability while keeping true to our mission and values, are making progress on our revenue diversification, and are continually adapting our programming.
What more needs to be done?
More of the same through clever imagination, collaboration, and serving the needs of our community. We’ll continue to be resilient while supporting the team that is making it happen.
How can our readers help?
VMF is calling on art lovers and city enthusiasts to donate, of course, especially to support emerging artists in the VMF matching campaign. Donations will go towards training, mentorship, and artwork opportunities for emerging artists.
Do you have any events coming up?
Vancouver Mural Festival returns August 7-11, 2024 – the city’s favourite splash of colour.
VMF is bringing people together through the power of public art, amplifying voices and creating platforms for diverse artists.
This year there will be murals all over the city with contributions from 40+ artists, new ways for audiences to interact with the art, and over 60 performances.
Many fantastic events will be taking place throughout the festival, including the highly anticipated Mount Pleasant Street Party from August 8-11.
Where can we follow you?
Website | Instagram | Facebook
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
Public Disco – they’ve been around for a while as a community initiative and last year started as a non-profit.
