Monkey C Interactive’s Artcade principals, from left: David Parfit, Heather Troy, Scott Amos.
MONKEY C INTERACTIVE’S ARTCADE In a world of digital view-based media, this collective presents a hands-on sensory playground of sculptural art. Step inside this unassuming concrete building near the end of Yates Street, continue through the tunnel and you’ll be dazzled by eclectic sculptures, glowing lights and synth-heavy music. David Parfit and Scott Amos, the duo behind Monkey C Interactive, have displayed movement-responsive sculptures throughout B.C. and beyond, and the Artcade began no differently. “We, for years, had kind of fantasized about having a storefront where we could have some kind of experience,” says Parfit. “It wasn’t until we had the opportunity to have a pop-up for the film festival and Winter Arts [Festival], we had enough funding through the two of them that we were able to have a monthlong pop-up just to test the waters and see how people liked it.” Following overwhelming positive feedback at the festivals, Amos and Parfit saw potential for a more permanent fixture and enlisted artist and designer Heather Troy to help create a permanent home for the art pieces. Thus, the thoroughly unique, art-museummeets-playground of Artcade was born. “It’s different building an environment than it is building an object that goes places, right?” says Amos. “It’s a different kind of animal in here than it is historically [with] what we’ve made.” The trio refer to themselves as Artcade’s “threelegged stool”: Amos does most of the building and wiring; Parfit does most of the coding and sound
design; and Troy does the branding and grant-writing, as well as fine-tuning the exhibition experience. “Nothing in here was made by a single person, really,” says Amos, since multiple artists often contribute to a given piece’s concept, construction and/or corrections. Installations are made from salvaged technologies (old phones, cash registers, radios) that give guests a screen-free art experience beyond standard at-arms-length observation. “What we’re building here encourages people to interact with each other and be present,” says Amos. “We get enough screens in our lives … It’s very limiting what you can do with the screen. I mean, don’t get me wrong, video games do it well, but we don’t do video games, right?” Artcade is designed as an all-ages attraction. “It’s beautiful watching people come in with this kind of cautious-but-open attitude about it,” says Troy. “Part of it, right, is creating this sense of playfulness to remind adults to let go … and get immersed in what they’re playing with, which children do naturally. But as adults, we have a really hard time getting back to that space.” The trio eventually hope to design a travelling version of Artcade. “Ideally we’ll keep building enough stuff that we can start to cycle the stuff out of here,” says Amos, “and then send that on tour and then keep building more stuff.”
Sector: Arts and entertainment, tourism, technology. Principals: David Parfit Heather Troy Scott Amos Number of employees: Four Unique selling proposition: A one-of-a-kind audiovisual arts experience that encourages visitor engagement via shared interaction and play. Target audience/ market: Tourists and locals seeking a unique, interactive arts experience. Website: artcade.ca
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