If you are interested in attending this event and it is sold out, please add your name ot the waitlist.  More tickets may become available closer to the event.

For those of you who did not get a ticket to the main event, you are welcome to attend anyways.  We will be streaming the presentations into the lobby of the VAG and will have staff and artists on hand to go through the exercises in the lobby.  If ticket holders do not show up, we will invite people from the lobby to fill those spots.

Every block in downtown Vancouver has an associated number.  The block bounded by Robson, Howe, Hornby and Georgia is known as Block 51.  Two important consultations are taking place on this block: 800-block Robson Street and the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza.

At this event we will look back on the site, to set the context as we move forward.  The night will feature a screening of the 1973 NFB Film “Chairs for Lovers” which documents Stanley King’s consultation process where youth brought forward ideas to turn a downtown parking lot into a destination.

This will be followed by a panel conversation with some of the original designers of Robson Square.  Come hear from Bing Thom, Alan Bell, Nick Milkovich and others about Arthur Erickson’s original vision for Block 51 and how that may inform the future of this area.

This event will end with an illustrated brainstorming exercise, facilitated by Stanley King, to collect ideas on what type of future uses are desired for 800 Robson and the VAG North Plaza.  These images will form the basis of a survey to follow the events.  Results will be included in the staff report to Council on 800 Robson and will be given to the designer for the VAG North Plaza.

This event will be hosted by CBC Radio 1’s Shiral Tobin and is presented in partnership with Spacing Magazine, the Vancouver Public Space Network and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

This event is free, however as space is limited please RSVP.   The second event in this series, Block 51: A Look Forward, will take place on Wednesday, October 17th.

Join in the twitter conversation #Block51

Background

Based on the success of the seasonal transformation of 800-block Robson into a pedestrian plaza, Council has decided to close this block to vehicle traffic until the end of 2012.  They have asked City staff to investigate the public’s interest in using the space as a permanent pedestrian plaza.

The North Plaza of the Art Gallery is also undergoing redevelopment to fix the waterproofing of the underground spaces of the art gallery under the plaza.

To learn more about this initiative, please visit our website.

(Note: The future of the Vancouver Art Gallery is not part of this discussion).