by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. You can also check it out in the Globe & Mail, from our calendar to theirs…and yours!

MASH-UP | The Vancouver Art Gallery throws down with a cool new show this week. Mash-Up: The Birth of Modern Culture takes on the formidable task of illustrating the emergence and evolution of  “Mash-Up” culture from 1912 to the present day. From collage and montage to splicing, sampling, hacking and remixing, the survey of the history of mash-up involves 371 works from 156 artists. It’s an exhibition so big in scope that the VAG needed to bring all four floors of the gallery in to play. The thing took 3 years to pull together!  Mash-Up opens this Saturday, February 20th with works from people like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Quentin Tarantino and T.S. Eliot. Get in there and find your fave.
Sat, Feb 20 – June 12, 2016 | Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St.) | $24 | DETAILS

CITY | Vancouver based architect, planner, and property developer Michael Geller speaks about city planning at SFU this week. From SFU: “Over the past two years, Michael Geller has participated in a number of planning activities in Russia, including serving on the competition jury for Moscow’s new International Financial Centre; speaking on heritage conservation and master planning in Saint Petersburg; and acting as jury chairman for a sustainable community planning competition in Kazan, Russia’s ‘third capital.’” Expect a presentation loaded with images of old and new Russia, with an emphasis on housing and urban planning, plus a discussion on the lessons Vancouver could learn from Russia. This event is free, but reservations are required as seats will likely fill up quick. Get on the list here.
Feb 18 | 7 pm | SFU Harbour Centre (515 W. Hastings St) | FREE | DETAILS

RIVERVIEW | If you’re wandering around downtown, take a few minutes to slip in to the Pendulum Gallery to check out Riverview, a group exhibition that reveals the beautiful, dark, disturbed and resilient corners of the Lower Mainland’s famous psychiatric hospital. While the show definitely pulls inspiration from the history of the hospital, it also looks to the future. Not familiar? Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam opened in 1913 and closed in July 2012. The decommissioned facility wears signs of its uneasy history everywhere, but it’s nevertheless alluring in its decaying state. (It’s been used extensively by the film industry when the need arises for a creepy set.) The provincial government, which owns the land, plans to build new mental health facilities on the site (scheduled to open some time in 2019-ish). It’s an interesting bit of local history, so acquaint yourself.
Now through March 5 | Pendulum Gallery (885 W. Georgia) | DETAILS

ART | Head to Make Gallery to check out Visual Space, an exhibition of works by their latest artist-in-residence, Pierce Jordan. With a background in industrial and graphic design, Jordan’s show incorporates sound and light in an interactive, site-specific installation, introducing unconventional ways to experience light. From Make: “This show reflects how Jordan’s practice splices together and grapples with, not only the convergence of a variety of mediums, but also the twin disciplines of art and design. Light exists on this boundary, it can be seen as an art piece whilst maintaining its function as a design object. Jordan plays with this dual functionality of light, creating an atmosphere that highlights wider areas of space, illuminating hidden pockets.”
Thu, Feb 18 | 7pm | Make (257 E 7th Ave) | DETAILS

DRAMA | Catch the Vancouver Fringe Festival’s presentation of One Man Dark Knight: A Batman Parody at the Waterfront Theatre this week. Charles Ross (who you may remember from such hits as One-Man Star Wars and One-Man Lord of the Rings) applies his magic to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and delivers (without set, costume, supporting actors or a batmobile) a “one-hour comedic joyride, from Batman’s origins to his epic battles against Gotham’s super-villains.” Time efficient entertainment at its best!
Feb. 18-21 | Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright St) | $25 | DETAILS

HERITAGE | This is Heritage Week! This year the theme for the province-wide celebration of built heritage is “Distinctive Destinations: Experience Historic Places.” From talks and tours to exhibits and awards, there are heritage-themed events going down all around the province. Get out there and get up to speed on some super cool bits of the local history. For a complete list of events check out the Heritage BC website here.
Now through Feb 21 | Various locations 

FILM | The Cinematheque is showing Action and Anarchy: The Films of Seijun Suzuki this week. “In a career spanning nearly five decades, Seijun Suzuki, now 92, amassed a body of work ranging from B-movie potboilers to beguiling metaphysical mysteries. On the occasion of the publication of Time and Place Are Nonsense: The Films of Seijun Suzuki (Smithsonian Institution, 2015) by Tom Vick, a travelling retrospective of the director’s work has been organized by the Freer and Sacker Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and The Japan Foundation.” We’re looking forward to the 1960’s flick Tokyo Drifter – the story of a reformed yakuza on the run loaded with dramatic fight scenes and “goofy” musical numbers. So confusing! So awesome!
Feb 20-28 | Various times | The Cinematheque (1131 Howe St.) | DETAILS

POST SECRET | In 2004 American artist Frank Warren decided to hand out 3,000 blank self-addressed postcards to strangers. He asked individuals to write a secret on the postcard and mail it back to him. Participants were encouraged to set themselves free by anonymously revealing that they had a crush on their best friend; cheated on an exam; lied; stole; hated their piano teacher or were addicted to spray cheese – you know, that sort of thing. The only stipulation was that the secret should be true. Long story short: the gig went viral. Warren has since received over a million anonymous secrets, tallied over a billion visits to his website, held multiple exhibitions, published six books, and a play. Head to The Firehall Arts Centre to catch this “audience-sourced non-fiction storytelling that reminds audiences that no matter what you may be facing, you are not alone.”
Feb 17-Mar 5 | Various times | 280 East Cordova St | $17 – 35 | DETAILS

SKATE | Get up and get your blood flowing by hitting Robson Square for a final lap or twelve around the ice rink. It closes for the season next week so don’t wait around. Take your thermal mug, some nice thick gloves, and some cash (although skating is free, equipment rentals are ‘cash only’ – skates $4, helmets $2). Rink hours are Sunday through Thursday, 9am-9pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-11pm.
Now – Feb. 28 | Robson Square Ice Rink (800 Robson St @ Howe) | Free | DETAILS

COYOTE CITY | If you spend any time in Vancouver’s urban outdoors, you’ve likely come across a coyote. Relatively new to city streets (they’ve only been hanging around since the 80’s), coyotes are growing in numbers and increasing in brashness. Given that they like the city – they’ve got plenty to eat (juicy rodents also on the rise) and find ample locations for building dens in our parks and greenways – it might do well to learn a bit about them! The Stanley Park Ecology Society is leading an evening walk and talk that will cover the species’ basics and talk about how to co-exist with them safely. Expect mud and dress appropriately for the weather. Email to register: programs [at] stanleyparkecology.ca.
Thu, Feb 18 | 6-8pm | Stanley Park Nature House (foot of Alberni by Lost Lagoon) | $10 | DETAILS

To submit an event for consideration, email events [at] scoutmagazine.ca

Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy (but faithful) camera.