Welcome to the Vancouver Lexicon. Its purpose is to pin down the patois of the City of Vancouver by recording its toponyms, nicknames, slang terms, personalities, places, and other Van-centric things. Full A-Z here.
Cheaper Show, The | defunct event, local art showcase | A series of annual mass/group art exhibitions that was launched in November, 2001 by a group of creatives led by local artist Graeme Berglund (pictured above).
The wildly successful shows were intended to get a new generation interested in meeting artists and purchasing and collecting their works. The concept saw 400 pieces by 200 artists, all selling for $200 each. Affordability was key.
The first Cheaper Show, held at The Sugar Refinery nightclub on Granville Street, drew 200 people. The final Cheaper Show took place in the summer of 2011 inside Mt. Pleasant’s retired Jantzen bathing suit factory. It hosted 12,500 people.
Usage: “The coolest thing about The Cheaper Show was the genuine thrill finding a piece of art that you loved that hadn’t sold yet.”