About Plank Magazine

Mandate

To encourage intelligent, critical dialogue amongst arts enthusiasts and people working in the cultural sector. To increase media coverage of the performing arts in Vancouver, giving culture the conversational space it deserves.

Mission

There is a gap in the critical discourse about the performing arts in Vancouver. Too often work produced here is either not covered, taken out of context, or quickly dismissed with a capsule review.

Plank will employ alternative models of reportage, particularly a multi-layered approach that takes into consideration an artist or company’s long-term trajectory in the framework of the local, national and international milieus.

Plank will create and experiment with multiple forms of coverage that include:

• overnight reviews;
• researched articles that establish a broader cultural context for the work/artist;
• conversations between critics and artists,
• discussions where more than one critic examines a work.

The unifying principle of Plank is thoughtful, lively, well-written articles that encourage dialogue amongst arts enthusiasts and those working in the cultural sector. It is about recreating the experience of a piece, dismantling the stereotype of a deific critic, deepening dialogue and allowing more nuanced considerations of work.

Thoughtful, engaged criticism is integral to how a community thinks and talks about things that matter. Simply put, Plank is about giving culture the conversational space it deserves.

Plank was founded by:

• Shane Birley
• Alex Ferguson
• Allyson Mcgrane
• Anna Russell
• Andrew Templeton
• Meg Walker
• Maryse Zeidler

The Launch of Plank has been generously supported by Magnetic North.