the Jupiter Project

We’re a group of working illustrators, formed in Vancouver in 2003. We host and participate in art shows with the simple goal of featuring illustration as art, and connecting with other illustrators in the area. Our collective currently consists of Luc Latulippe, Mia Hansen, Mark ‘Atomos’ Pilon, Rod Filbrandt, Bonni Reid, Lori Joy Smith, and Doug Fraser.

Founding members, left to right: Ryan Heshka, Mia Hansen, Luc Latulippe, Mark Pilon, Rod Filbrandt, and Greg White (seated), at the Museum of Vancouver, 2004

It started with a simple question:

“Where are all the illustrators in Vancouver?” Greg White and I (Luc Latulippe) at the time were represented by the same agent, so we were acquainted with each other, but we wondered where the rest of the illustrators were in the city. We thought it would be interesting to put on an art show that featured only illustrators, so we came up with the idea of forming a collective. After tossing around about a thousand names, we settled on the Jupiter Project for no other reason than that it sounds kinda cool. (And the rest of our names really sucked.)

This still didn’t answer our question though, so we started searching around to see who we could find. A quick glance through a few of the free weeklies pointed us to Mark Pilon and Mia Hansen. We sent them each an email and asked if they were interested, and to our surprise and delight they both said yes. We met, and Mark suggested we also invite Rod Filbrandt and Ryan Heshka. We did, they said yes, and that was that!

Predicta

Our first show was a memorable one. Rod came up with the name: Predicta (named after those great TV sets of the 1950s). Ryan and I conceived the poster design. Of course, there was the small matter of finding a gallery. We thought this would be fairly easy, but we were wrong.

It took several months, dozens of visits and phone calls and emails to local galleries, all of whom gave us the same answer: “No thanks.” Some were polite about it. Some were, quite frankly, jerks.

Among the six of us at the time, only Mark and Rod had significant gallery experience (Mark owned the Moonbase Gallery in Vancouver several years before), and the rest of us were newbies. But it wasn’t our collective lack of gallery experience that was turning off the galleries. Rather, it was two things: A) we were illustrators, and B) worse, we were locals. To galleries at the time, this was akin to walking in covered in poo and asking for a show.

The Columbia Street Studio

Things were looking grim for us, until we met Liane Varnam, the delightful and welcoming curator of the Columbia Street Studio. An artist herself (and now a very good friend of ours, of course!), Liane taught art classes and opened the studio to freelance yoga instructors by day, and turned it into an art gallery by night. It was in a very quiet neighbourhood (in its previous incarnation, it had been a corner grocery store), with little or no walk-by traffic, but we took what we could get. It turned out to be the start of something great.

After a bit of promoting, some cards and posters, emails out to all our friends, and long hours creating and framing our work, we opened on a hot summer evening, in July of 2004. Opening night drew a steady crowd of over 250 visitors. The little gallery was full to bursting, with patrons spilling out onto the sidewalk with their beer and wine. When we closed, it was almost 2am. The show was a huge success, and we were pretty blown away. Clearly A) people wanted to see illustration, and B) people wanted to see local talent. We gloated a little.

The Future

The Jupiter Project followed up Predicta with three more shows in town—Gravy, Medium Rare, and Wall Candy—as well as a group show at the DVA Gallery in Chicago (now part of Rotofugi). Individually, we have since each participated in multiple solo and group shows across Canada and the US. Our group grew to include Doug Fraser, Hobo Divine, Lori Joy Smith, and Bonni Reid, and then shrank down a bit to the current roster: Luc Latulippe, Mia Hansen, Mark ‘Atomos’ Pilon, Rod Filbrandt, Bonni Reid, Lori Joy Smith, and Doug Fraser.

Today

Of course, we certainly don’t purport to BE all the illustrators in the city, though since starting our collective we have certainly met many more who live and work here in Vancouver. We may or may not add to our ranks as time goes on, but we do wish to continue on our current mission to keep hosting art events which feature our work and that of other local illustrators.