This year for the 5X Festival, we’re bringing back the 5X Art Party on June 18th—a celebration of some of the most exciting South Asian creatives in the Metro Vancouver area from a variety of disciplines. You may have attended this historically sold-out event in the past at The Beaumont Studios, but this year we’re taking things back home with our first ever Art Party in partnership with The Surrey Art Gallery. 

“To be partnering with the Surrey Art Gallery is pretty surreal,” said Sahil Mroke, art director of this year and last year’s 5X Art Party. For Mroke, this partnership is especially significant because it’s so close to home. As a young person engaged in the arts scene in the Lower Mainland, Mroke often shared the belief that he had to leave Surrey to seriously pursue art. 

“To be at home, to be ten minutes from home in the place we grew up, it’s that feeling that I can be myself in this space” Mroke explained. 

‍“Maybe I didn’t see myself in this place growing up, but I hope the people who come to this place can see themselves through the work and the art that we’re showcasing.”

Art is more accessible than ever, and it feels like more and more people are leaning into their creative side. During the lockdown, folks explored the things that brought them joy—much of which was creating art through cooking, music, drawing, writing and more. 

“There’s a loosening of the grip in terms of defining what an artist is and more moving into the space of making stuff that makes us feel better or helps us understand the world,” Mroke said. 

The cornerstone of this year’s Art Party is the 4 Corners Exhibit which will be showcasing four emerging South Asian artists from multiple disciplines who have each created immersive installations that take you through a portal into the artist’s world. 

“We thought, how do we create a room for people to walk through that encapsulates the world that is your creativity?” Mroke said about the inspiration behind the exhibit.  

The exhibit will feature installations from illustrator and visual artist Ravina Toor, 5X Poet and literary artist Natasha Kianipour, videographer and media artist Jamie Sekhon and producer, musician and performing artist Nasfi. 

The art party will also feature local vendors, live sets from Molly Randhawa and Aanam Gill of Tala Collective and so much more. 

Space is limited and you don’t want to miss it. Click here to grab tickets and to check out the other events at this year’s festival.

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