The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

Library and Archives Canada brings Portraits in the Street to Granville Island

For visitors to Vancouver, Granville Island is one of the “must-sees.” This award-winning urban redevelopment combines the downtown island’s industrial heritage with waterfront restaurants, galleries, shops, cafes and one of the liveliest and most enticing fresh food markets on the continent.

With a host of special events planned during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the already popular destination for locals and visitors alike is sure to be among the city’s hottest places to see and be seen. Among the unique attractions during the 2010 Winter Games will be a glimpse into Canada’s winter sports history, courtesy of the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

The Portrait Gallery of Canada is mounting an exhibition entitled Portraits in the Street: Vancouver 2010. The outdoor installation will showcase images of Canadian Olympians, Paralympians, and men and women who have contributed to Canada’s winter sport heritage.

The installation will run from January 25 to March 22, 2010, and feature 23 images of Canadians who have left their mark on the country’s long winter sport heritage and traditions. Like Granville Island itself, where something new and different can be found in the most unexpected places, the portraits will be displayed along Railspur Alley, so a peek around the corner could bring the visitor face-to-face with a part of Canadian winter sports history.

In keeping with the goal of the Portrait Gallery of Canada program — to tell the stories of the men and women, from all walks of life, who have helped shape and continue to shape the country — Portraits in the Street will feature both the famous and the forgotten, the contemporary and the historic.

In putting the exhibition together, the Portrait Gallery of Canada hopes not only to enlighten visitors with stories of the people who are part of Canada’s winter sports heritage, but to showcase them in ways that will provoke thought and wonder.  From Andy Warhol’s imaginative painting of hockey’s Wayne Gretzky to Bryan Adams’ breathtaking capture of Olympic pairs skating champion Jamie Salé, visitors may find themselves re-thinking their perspective on winter sports, and perhaps see the 2010 Winter Games themselves in an entirely different way.

For a country that’s been described as having “nine months of winter followed by three months of poor sledding” every year, the installation promises to give visitors and Canadians alike a glimpse into a heritage that has helped to draw the character of a nation.

For more information on the Portrait Gallery of Canada, please visit www.portraits.gc.ca.