Vancouver buskers launch online petition to bring music back to city streets
The move comes in response to the City’s suspension of busking due to COVID-19
Musician Bo Henrik is hoping busking will be able to come back to Vancouver sidewalks.
IF YOU’VE NOTICED city sidewalks to be strangely silent lately or to be missing a certain something, it could be you’re missing the sound of music. On September 8, the City of Vancouver “temporarily suspended” its busking and street entertainment program on city sidewalks due to health and physical distancing requirements.
Now, local musicians are hoping an online petition will help get them back out onto the streets.
Pop and R&B singer-guitarist Bo Henrik used to love playing on the sidewalk near Kits Beach, especially during sunset.
“I love the direct feedback of busking,” Henrik tells Stir. “People either choose to stay and listen or they don’t. It's literally impossible to misinterpret how your set is doing. I also love the connection you get to experience with complete strangers through live music outdoors. It's very grounding.”
COVID-19 has affected him greatly. His mom, who’s in his native Sweden, had the illness, and all of his venue and festival shows were cancelled. He channelled his energy into the Ice Cream Truck Collective, his street-show charity project that travelled throughout BC this summer and raised funds for Covenant House.
Henrik also arranged a demonstration in September at the Vancouver Art Gallery against the busking ban with his musician peers. A petition circulated there gathered about 200 signatures; now, he’s taking that document online, hoping it will gain traction.
He is confident that busking could continue while keeping the public and the players safe.
“I would like to see clear guidelines with the exact safety precautions necessary for the artists to follow and dedicated outdoor venues for artists to play where physical distancing is built in to the construction, like what the City already has done for outdoor drinking outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery,” Henrik says. “Whistler and Nelson carved out a budget to pay artists to perform, I would love to see do Vancouver something like that as well.
“They could require the buskers to use dedicated spaces where social distancing is easy to do and to have the donations collected far enough from the players that people never need to get too close,” he says. “Also masks for buskers who don't use vocals in their performance wouldn't be a bad idea.”
Scott Edwards, City of Vancouver manager of street use management, explains that public health measures to reduce the risk of disease-19 transmission don’t align with the inherent nature of busking.
“In response to COVID-19, the City has taken several actions to create more space for physical distancing, community life and local business recovery,” Edwards says. “Earlier this year, the City paused busking on sidewalks in order to create additional space for physical distancing and allow for two-way movement of pedestrians. Within the context of COVID-19, sidewalks do not have adequate space for a busker, audience, clearances from other infrastructure and also allow for two-way movement of pedestrians.”
Buskers can apply to the City’s pilot program Share a Square, “which is intended to support and provide guidelines for small-scale neighbourhood-based activities that build social and community connections” at places like Jim Deva Plaza and Bute-Robson Plaza.
Cameron Hood is another local musician who’s feeling the impact of the pandemic. He has two university degrees in music, with flute as his major instrument, though these days he plays mainly electric bass. He started busking with Ron Johnston earlier this year after all his regular gigs stopped overnight and his students stopped coming.
They put signs up by our instruments saying “please maintain social distancing” and made certain to chose spots where there was lots of room for people to get by, including those who use wheelchairs.
“We’re going out busking because we have no other source of income,” Hood says. “We always made sure everyone maintained a safe distance. The City’s decision was stupid, short-sighted, and actually when it comes right down to it, probably illegal, against our rights and freedoms.”
Vancouver musicians Ron Johnston (left) and Cameron Hood started busking when their regular gigs stopped due to COVID-19.
Related Articles
