Photo (left) taken by Dan Fairchild
Photo (right): Yue Minjun
Day of Laughter
July 13, 2017
Vancouver Biennale
http://www.vancouverbiennale.com
Starting 10:00 AM on Thursday July 13th at Morton Park, the Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, will proclaim the official DAY OF LAUGHTER in honour of visiting Chinese artist Yue Minjun. If you don’t recognize the name, you’ll certainly recognize his face because its featured prominently on the fourteen giant smiling bronze men that make up the most iconic public art installation in the city, A-maze-ing Laughter. This free public event, which will include a noon-hour Laughing Yoga class, will celebrate this great work of public art by amplifying the message that happiness is a basic human right and laughter fundamental to our good health. The Day of Laughter will mark Yue Minjun’s first time in Vancouver and first visit to his sculpture in situ at English Bay. Come see in person the smile that started it all.
This is a free public event sponsored by the Vancouver Biennale, West End Business Improvement Association and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.
About A-maze-ing Laughter
A-maze-ing Laughter, by renowned Chinese artist Yue Minjun, was installed in 2009 as part of the Vancouver Biennale temporary public art exhibition. It immediately became a magnet for endless throngs of visitors wanting to playfully mimic its exaggerated poses and wide-mouth grins. The story of its planned departure at the end of the exhibition in 2011 caught the attention of Chip and Shannon Wilson, who generously donated the funds to gift the sculpture to the people of Vancouver for the enjoyment of generations to come. In 2013, A-Maze-Ing Laughter became the only public artwork in Canada to ever be nominated for the “Great Places in Canada Contest” by the Canadian Institute of Planners. The sculpture also helped the West End win the 2015 “Great Place in Canada Great Neighbourhood” Award.
