World tea party

What do a Capilano College Web
developer, the University of British
Columbia and tea have in common?
The answer is Grant Gregson. Grant,
along with artist Brian Mulvihill
(also known as Trolley Bus), have
been selected by UBC’s department
of Art History, Visual Art and
Theory, as artists-in-residence for a
six-month term starting July 1.
“Our artist-in-residence project is
an aspect of a larger art project
called The World Tea Party, which was
conceived by artists Daniel Dion,
Brian Mulvihill and Su Schnee in
1992,” Grant says. “The World Tea
Party is an ongoing pan-cultural,
interactive installation which
represents a classic tea salon.”

Global citizens

Dean of Business, Catherine Vertesi,
spent some quality time in December
with two Business program students.
Hongyu Zhao (Nancy) is a student
from Hangzhou, China who is
enrolled in the Business diploma
program. She plans to continue
working towards her Bachelor of
Business Administration degree at
Capilano College.

Social integration is really important
to Nancy, who admitted that it was
tough when she first arrived in Canada.

Grant Gregson

The artists will be researching and
archiving aesthetic tea rituals,
objects and practices, and developing
architectural structures and technical
systems for a media networked
portable tea house — a structure to
be designed. for the practice of the
Japanese discipline called chado
(Way of Tea).

World Tea Party exhibitions have
already been presented at the
National Gallery of Canada, the
Venice Biennale, the Pan American
Games, the Art Gallery of Greater
Victoria, and many other galleries.

Grant, who has been working in
interactive art/media and theatre
since the early ‘90s, says that their
project was chosen because of the
interdisciplinary nature of the many
artistic, cultural and technical aspects
their residency will cover.

“Brian has a close association with
the Nitobe Tea Garden, located at
UBC, and has been studying Japanese
tea ceremonies for many years,”
Grant explains. “We have the Garden's
support and access to many teaware
objects and tatami mats for use in
this project.”

Catherine Vertesi meets with two of her students, Hongyu Zhao from China and Nadir
Siddiqi from Saudi Arabia.

“One of the bad things is that we
just hang out together,” she said
about the friends she came to
Vancouver with. “So, I decided to
volunteer in the Peer Support
Centre. It would be great if more
Canadian students became involved
in the Centre.”

Nadir (Nazi) Siddiqi is a recent

graduate of the BBA program and
has since returned to his home in
Saudi Arabia. When he first arrived
in Vancouver in 1999, he attended
the University of British Columbia

Originally a composer, Grant moved
into visual and new media art
practices in the 1990s. He has an MFA
from Simon Fraser University, a BA in
Music and Theatre from the University
of Alberta, has studied new media
at the Western Front Multimedia, and
has a German Equivalency certificate
from the University of Cologne. He
was involved in an artist residency
project in Rotterdam in 2003 that
involved computer wearables, and was
also an artist-in-residence at Oboro
Gallery in Montreal in October 2002.
He also serves on the executive
board of the Leaky Heaven Circus.

In a strange twist of synchronicity,
Brian Mulvihill will be giving a talk
on the performance aspects of the
World Tea Party on Wednesday,
March 22 for Studio Art instructor,
Tiki Mulvihill’s, class. The two

are not related.

and took applied science courses
on his father’s insistence. In his
own words he “failed miserably.”
He decided to attend Douglas
College and take some business
courses. “It wasn’t fun,” he said.
“The instructors were putting me
down rather than pushing me
forward.” After receiving his
diploma a friend of his suggested
that he come to Capilano College.
“Big difference,” he said. “I felt
happy. I was learning something
T could use.

“The instructors bring their personal
experience to class,” he added.
“They make me proud and I want
to make them proud of me. I look
up to them. I’m here so much that
I feel that they are raising me.
Most importantly, my confidence
is now huge.”

Catherine explained that the School
of Business is exploring various
ways, such as being a buddy or
studying abroad, to encourage
students to participate in activities
that broaden their global citizenship.

“Tt would be a great incentive,”
Nazi said. “Everyone would benefit!”