Chapel Sound Art Foundation
Photo by Issac Becker
Deeply rooted in community, Chapel Sound Art Foundation (CSAF) was incorporated in 2016 as a continuation of the grassroots multidisciplinary artist collective Chapel Sound (which started in 2012). Founded by Sean Euisang Oh, a new Korean immigrant, CSAF welcomed other newcomers, ESL immigrants, racialized folks, MAD artists, artists living with disabilities or chronic illnesses, and anyone who dabbled in multiple mediums (street dancers, DJs, photographers, designers, visual artists, filmmakers, poets, and more) that felt like they needed to carve a small corner in Vancouver that would accept their social gesture. “For us, by us” is the idea.
CSAF’s core mission is to advance creative expression free of boundaries and prejudice while supporting emerging artists, particularly those from underrepresented and marginalized groups. It is committed to fostering equitable opportunities in multidisciplinary electronic music, art, and culture, irrespective of race, class, gender, or orientation.
Its primary activities include:
Artistic Platforms: Creating events, shows, and festivals.
Educational Opportunities: Offering mentorship programs, workshops, panels, and archives.
Resource Access: Providing resources and space for emerging artists grounded in sustainable, accountable cultural production.
At the root of Chapel Sound’s core values is to act as a support structure for the inclusion of diverse voices in Vancouver’s art scene—to actively redistribute wealth and knowledge to communities and artists from the margins. Those core values are reflected in the day-to-day operations with projects, centring relationships over outcome as the foundation learns to decolonize its practices, so if there are conflicts, hurt, or misunderstandings, the priority is always to make sure people are taken care of first and feelings worked through before continuing. This protocol has helped build an extremely solid community foundation and has helped the organization realize so many large projects is a sustainable way.
Chapel Sound maintains a multidisciplinary community space in Chinatown where many DIY community events are held at an equitable fee with subsidy so that emerging artists can have a space to work in.
Since 2016, Chapel has also been acting as an umbrella organization, administering over $210,000 of artist fees and funding to local grassroots initiatives as well as politically advocating for cultural producers, solidifying its place on the B.C. cultural scene as a key player in creating a truly rich, inclusive, and diverse ecosystem. Some of the CSAF-supported artist residencies in 2020-22 included Zahra Shahab (dance/film); Sophia “Sosa” Laurio (dance/education); and Zuleyma Prado (DJ/photography)
In 2022-2024, CSAF established the archiving and documenting of its history to date, recognizing its responsibility to tell and preserve its own stories. Also in 2024, CSAF brought together a B.C. delegation of producers to MUTEK Montreal, funded by Creative BC, to lay the groundwork for a large-scale electronic music festival in B.C., with the consultation of Rainbow Robert from BC Alliance for the Arts + Culture. All of these efforts further solidified Chapel Sound’s place as a key player in the artistic landscape of British Columbia and the collective journey toward equity.
