Dawn Monette performs outside the art gallery on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver on May 20, 2013.
Photograph by: wayne leidenfrost Wayne Leidenfrost , Vancouver Sun
Buskers
on Granville Island are upset with new regulations and a strict new
audition process that stripped a popular autistic musician of his permit
to perform at the bustling tourist site.
They say the new rules are out of harmony with local culture and the values that, until now, made Granville Island, in the words of busker Eden Cheung, “one of the best places in the world to busk.”
Keegan Chen, 31, who has Aspergers, had been performing on Granville Island for several years. His father Patrick Chen said that after going through the new audition process that came into force this year, his son was cut with no explanation.
“He was crushed,” Patrick Chen said. “Granville Island says they are diverse, with varying types of performers. He’d been there for years, and he was very popular.”
Dawn Monette, who has performed as a juggling golden statue on Granville Island for four years, is boycotting the federally owned property in protest and trying to organize a buskers association to advocate on behalf of street performers.
Monette said buskers were stunned this year when the Granville Island Cultural Society doubled the permit fees (to $110 from $55) and announced the new rules that she believes will limit the performers’ artistic freedom and exclude performers such as Chen.
Buskers were not consulted about the new rules, which also include a ban on fire performances, a tougher, two-tier audition process, cutbacks in available areas and a ban on deviating from scripts approved by the GICS.
Monette says the new rules also stipulate that performers can’t improvise, engage with audience members or deviate from the script they auditioned with — a restriction on free speech that particularly upsets her.
“All of us thrive on being able to connect with people. For each show to be formulaic is impossible. As an artist or performer, if I want to be able to change one of my jokes, I should be able to.”
Between 15 and 25 licensed buskers show up to draw for spots around Granville Island each day during the prime spring and summer months, Cheung said.
Cheung offers a popular variety act that includes magic, card tricks, whip cracking, harmonica and balancing on a ladder.
“It’s been tough lately,” he said. “The mood has darkened.”
Cheung is continuing to perform at Granville Island while trying to lobby for buskers to have a voice in how their acts are managed.
“To have someone with a busking background making these decisions would help alleviate the concerns,” said Cheung.
He said some aspects of the new 15-page rule book and contract seem arbitrary.
“The fire ban was a total shock,” he said. “There has never been an incident, no damage, we are all safe, we all carry personal liability insurance.”
Cheung said Granville Island administrators informed the performers that they were trying to bring their rules in line with the city’s bylaws, which prohibit fire performers except by special event permit.
A Granville Island Cultural Association representative refused to comment when contacted by The Vancouver Sun.
The association has a contract with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to manage street entertainment on the island.
dryan@vancouversun.com
They say the new rules are out of harmony with local culture and the values that, until now, made Granville Island, in the words of busker Eden Cheung, “one of the best places in the world to busk.”
Keegan Chen, 31, who has Aspergers, had been performing on Granville Island for several years. His father Patrick Chen said that after going through the new audition process that came into force this year, his son was cut with no explanation.
“He was crushed,” Patrick Chen said. “Granville Island says they are diverse, with varying types of performers. He’d been there for years, and he was very popular.”
Dawn Monette, who has performed as a juggling golden statue on Granville Island for four years, is boycotting the federally owned property in protest and trying to organize a buskers association to advocate on behalf of street performers.
Monette said buskers were stunned this year when the Granville Island Cultural Society doubled the permit fees (to $110 from $55) and announced the new rules that she believes will limit the performers’ artistic freedom and exclude performers such as Chen.
Buskers were not consulted about the new rules, which also include a ban on fire performances, a tougher, two-tier audition process, cutbacks in available areas and a ban on deviating from scripts approved by the GICS.
Monette says the new rules also stipulate that performers can’t improvise, engage with audience members or deviate from the script they auditioned with — a restriction on free speech that particularly upsets her.
“All of us thrive on being able to connect with people. For each show to be formulaic is impossible. As an artist or performer, if I want to be able to change one of my jokes, I should be able to.”
Between 15 and 25 licensed buskers show up to draw for spots around Granville Island each day during the prime spring and summer months, Cheung said.
Cheung offers a popular variety act that includes magic, card tricks, whip cracking, harmonica and balancing on a ladder.
“It’s been tough lately,” he said. “The mood has darkened.”
Cheung is continuing to perform at Granville Island while trying to lobby for buskers to have a voice in how their acts are managed.
“To have someone with a busking background making these decisions would help alleviate the concerns,” said Cheung.
He said some aspects of the new 15-page rule book and contract seem arbitrary.
“The fire ban was a total shock,” he said. “There has never been an incident, no damage, we are all safe, we all carry personal liability insurance.”
Cheung said Granville Island administrators informed the performers that they were trying to bring their rules in line with the city’s bylaws, which prohibit fire performers except by special event permit.
A Granville Island Cultural Association representative refused to comment when contacted by The Vancouver Sun.
The association has a contract with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to manage street entertainment on the island.
dryan@vancouversun.com
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