The impact of the Hudson Bay closure

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Good morning,

I don’t mention it often, but I really enjoy writing. Not just the news, but our restaurant reviews as well. One thing I also love is art, whether it’s movies, performances, you name it. 

So with today being somewhat of a slow news day, I thought I’d try something different, and write up a review of an art exhibit I recently visited. 

Vancouver’s art community is special, and it doesn’t get nearly enough attention for how much there is available. So I’m really interested to hear what readers think of this review, and if we should start doing more.

We’ve also got a breakdown of the Hudson Bay closure and the impact downtown.

Let’s dive in.

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout founder

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Monday: 10 🌡️ 4 | 🌧️

Tuesday: 9 🌡️ 4 | 🌧️

Wednesday: 8 🌡️ 2 | 🌤️

NUMBERS OF THE DAY

🚆 4%: The average increase in TransLink fares which will start on July 1. Single-zone tickets will cost $3.20, up from $3.05, two-zone fares will be $4.85, up by $0.20 and three-zone fares will be $6.60, up $0.25. [CBC]

📉 $19 million: No, that’s not the price of a home in Vancouver, that’s how much the price dropped on this penthouse, from $58.8 million in 2017 to $39.8 million in 2024. [Vanocuver is Awesome]

DOWNTOWN

What the closure of Hudson Bay mean for the downtown core

What happened: With the Hudson Bay in downtown Vancouver set to close soon as due to the company filing for creditor protection, the business leaves a massive building-sized hole in the downtown core and is emblematic of the changing nature of downtown areas, both in Vancouver and around Canada.

Background: The downtown Hudson Bay, located at 674 Granville St. is a heritage building, over 100 years old, and impossible to ignore when you’re downtown. The building has operated as The Bay since the building was rebuilt in 1926, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

A big trend: The end of Hudson Bay should not be surprising, the large central shopping mall-like buildings have been on the decline for decades, as consumers shift shopping habits, especially online. Eaton’s and Sears are two such examples, as stores that focused on window displays with many ttypes of items failed, while smaller stores specializing in certain types of items succeeded, according to CBC. People don’t spend hours browsing clothing in stores anymore. 

• Downtown stores have increasingly been supplanted by larger shopping malls outside the downtown core, with lots of parking spaces. One only needs to look at Tsawwassen Mills to see how shopping patterns have shifted.

What it means: In Vancouver, the closing of such a huge building will hurt the downtown core, and nearby businesses, especially as the building may need to be boarded up while not used. It could also take a long time to find a new tenant, because the space may not work for many retailers due to the interior low ceilings, according to Business in Vancouver.

Zoom out: The city itself has struggled in terms of how to change the downtown core. Granville is currently undergoing a long-term revitalization process to increase density, better public space and making it an entertainment destination, according to CBC. Rather than just a place for shopping and industry, cities are re-imagining their downtown cores as vibrant places to live and play, which is needed as larger commercial businesses like The Bay are no longer viable.

THE AGENDA

👮 Two youths tried to get away from police in a stolen vehicle but were arrested at Denman and Pendrell on Saturday night. In the chase, the youths hit two other vehicles, and it was discovered they were armed with handguns. Luckily no one was injured.  [CBC]

🚄 Amtrak train service throughout the Cascades routes, including Vancouver, were forced to stop on Sunday, after 26 trains were taken out of service due to aging equipment. Busses will be used instead until the trains are fixed. Though it’s unclear that many Canadians are visiting the US this year… [CTV]

🪧 Elbows up, Tesla down — locals protested outside Tesla dealerships for the second weekend in a row, as part of a Global Day of Action against Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, with signs saying things like “Tesla funds fascists.” [CTV]

🏊️ Those opposed to plan to replace the Vancouver Aquatic Centre’s 50-metre pool with a 25-metre one marched together on Saturday to put pressure on the park board to vote against staff’s plan to reduce the pool length. For a more detailed review of this issue, you can read Nate’s story on Friday. [Citynews]

🏒 Well, that may be it sadly. The Canucks’ loss to the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Sunday means the team basically has zero margin for error for the final games of the season if they want to make the playoffs this year. They need 14 points from the remaining eight games, and for other teams to underperform. The team is 34-27-13 on the season. [The Athletic]

⚽️ The Whitecaps were held scoreless in a 0-0 tie against the winless Toronto FC on Saturday. The team is now 4-1-1 on the season and sits in first place in the standings in the Western Conference. 

👮 This is a helpful guide if you’re wondering why some schools in BC have police officers and some don’t, or just what exactly a school liaison officer is. [The Tyee]

Elections

🗳️ NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was in Metro Vancouver this weekend announcing his party would bring in government-backed, low-interest loans to help first-time home buyers get into the housing market. The NDP is currently struggling in the polls. [CTV]

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It’s 100% free—so why not give it a shot? And if you decide you’d rather stick with dry, long-winded business news, you can always unsubscribe.

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NEW JOBS

Discover your dream job in Vancouver:

• Director of marketing and communications, Bard on the Beach

• Assistant manager, fan experience

• Operations supervisor, BC Maritime Employers Association

• Director of operations, The Tyee

• Restaurant operating partner, Tacofino

ART REVIEW

Multiple Realities and the question of control in the past and present

Art is always in conversation with the present. The best exhibits, especially those foregrounded in history, help contextualize the specific moment we find ourselves in. 

So it is at Vancouver Art Gallery’s (VAG) Multiple Realities: Experimental Art in the Eastern Bloc, 1960s–1980s, an expansive look at how lesser-known artists in Central European countries pushed forward political art under oppressive authoritarianism.

The artists chosen by the curator feel distinct, and unique, occupying their own space and viewpoint in challenging times, from Slovakia/Czechoslovakian artist Július Kollerr’s Stockholm Ping-Pong Cultural Situation where people became the art by participating in games, to the mathematical cybernetic pictures and paintings of Romanian artist Sherban Epuré. 

There is no singular style to the artists selected by the museum, beyond exploring expression within repression. Today, where images are mediated on social media, where the algorithms artificially reflect and shape our interests, the unique approach of each artist feels fresh and stimulating. No algorithm could’ve chosen these. As the algorithms grind down uniqueness into a universally appealing format, the artists in distinct places, locales and countries each took a unique approach, finding different ways to express themselves, unmediated by any sort of overarching algorithm.

Ion Grigorescu, a Romanian artist, took photographs of crowds voting in pre-determined parliamentary elections, secretly capturing photos of both police and voters, illustrating the “anatomy of a political spectacle” that played out in his home and across the Iron Curtain. Politics and voting took place, but it was fake and purely for theatre. 

The idea of spectacle, an impossible-to-ignore theatre, is all around us today But rather than only politics, it’s the spectacle of our online world, with meticulously designed Instagram images, and contrived TikTok videos, the format mediated by algorithm owners like Elon Musk rather than Grigorescu’s Romanian dictator like Nicolae Ceaușescu.

I can’t help but think of the online trend of podcast conversations. Some videos may look real, an authentic conversation between two people, but is not a podcast, but a scripted, pre-made ad from a company trying to sell you something. It’s all fake with a veneer of truth, but instead of Grigorescu’s photograph of a political spectacle, it’s an online spectacle of authenticity designed to make you buy. It’s as real as Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu’s victory with 97 per cent of the vote. 

As VAG’s description explains “Multiple Realities sheds light on ways that artists refused, circumvented, eluded and subverted official systems.” The exhibit’s section on mail art, circulated by the postal service “expanded and democratized the marking and distribution of art.” Ingenious methods to prevent monitoring, such as Hungarian artist Endre Tót sending arm from different cities and countries to avoid detection, showcase the level of creativity artists were forced to embrace.

The click of a button to publish art online, in some ways, robs us as viewers of the potential for different creative artistic ventures. The exhibitor's decision to showcase the medium of art, such as the postal service, in conjunction with the art itself, left me questioning what sort of art we’re missing in our present moment. In Canada we may live in a free society, but are we truly free if the vast majority of “art” or, shudder, content, we consume is specifically made to be viewed by endlessly scrolling on our phones?

Multiple Realities can of course be enjoyed without considering the context today. But it succeeds especially when we view it by acknowledging our present world, not only with the spectre of control through political authoritarianism rising around the world but with algorithms and apps that imperceptibly, continuously and unfortunately, disproportionately shape our lives. 

Multiple Realities is on at the Vancouver Art Gallery until April 21. 

EVENT GUIDE

Meeting with Vancouver head planner Josh White | Monday, March 31st, 6:30 pm | Britannia Community Centre | More info

Vancouver International Burlesque Festival | Various locations | Apr. 2 - 6 at various times | Tickets various prices

Free First Fridays at Bill Reid Gallery | 639 Hornby St. | First Friday of every month at 2:00 pm, Apr. 4 | By donation

Food Truck & Artisan Market | UBC Commons | Apr. 3 - 4 at 11:00 am | Free

Free First Friday Nights at Vancouver Art Gallery | 750 Hornby St. | First Friday of every month at 4:00 pm, Apr. 4 | Free

Langara Open House | Thursday, April 3, 4 pm | Langara College | Free

Opening reception for new exhibits | Saturday, April 5, 2 pm | Equinox Gallery | Free

Blossom Block Party | Saturday, April 5, 2 pm | Dunsmuir Patio at Bentall Centre | Free

Barret Bai at the Garden | Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall St. | Select dates in Apr., May & Jun. at 12:30 pm | Tickets $16

Hot Chefs & Cool Jazz Gala | Fairmont Pacific Rim, 1038 Canada Place | Apr. 11 at 6:30 pm | Tickets from $185

Abbotsford Tulip Festival | 3663 Marion Rd, Abbotsford | Apr. 12-May 11 at 10:00 am | Learn more

Kitsilano Comedy Classic | Hollywood Theatre, 3123 West Broadway | Apr. 17 at 8:00 pm | Tickets from $35

Art Vancouver 2025 | Vancouver Convention Centre East, 999 Canada Place | Apr. 24 at 6 pm - Apr. 27 at 5 pm | Tickets from $30

On The Periphery Art Show | The Polygon Gallery, 101 Carrie Cates Court | Apr. 23 at 6:00 pm | Tickets $40

PHOTO OF THE DAY

It’s the beginning of cherry blossom season, with this photo taken near Arbutus Ridge according to Reddit users.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Looking to find cherry blossoms in Vancouver? This handy map has you covered. 

• Speaking of cherry blossoms, here’s everything you need to know about the Cherry Blossom Festival. [Vancouver Sun]

• This French restaurant in West Vancouver is turning heads. [Straight]

• It’s not often you catch a video of a beaver like this, especially in Stanley Park! [Vancouver Sun]

• That’s a pretty big protest at the Tesla dealership in Vancouver. [Reddit]

• This dog named Peaches went missing near Mount Pleasant park.