This photo journal, the 1st one in my 2012 BC visit series, features many pieces of public/street art we saw while on a visit to downtown Vancouver. Our main purpose was to view some of the Terracotta Warriors, the current street art charity project, so most of the photos in this journal feature some of these ‘warriors’. Photos of a few other street art pieces are also included.

The 2012 Terracotta Warriors Project: Although past projects featured orcas, bears and eagles, the current project goes from depicting creatures native to BC to subterranean terracotta warriors buried 2,200 years ago in faraway China.

Since they were unveiled in April 2012, fittingly in Chinatown’s Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden, a total of 33 warriors were placed in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond (one went to Whitehorse in Yukon).

The life sized fiberglass warrior replicas, each painted by a different artist, & each sponsored by a local businesses or organization, will be auctioned off on Sept. 27, 2012 with the proceeds going to the BC Lions Society Easter Seal Houses and Easter Seal Camps for children with disabilities.

The original buried figures were found by accident in 1974 by farmers digging for water near the emperor’s mausoleum in Xian in China’s Shaanxi province. The terracotta army of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, represented real warriors who basically created the country 2,200 years ago. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army

Other useful links: www.terracottawarriors.ca

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Terracotta+army+Vancouver+streets+with+video/6512586/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Terracotta+army+Vancouver+streets/6512586/story.html?tab=PHOT