Earthdance 1999 was on of the the first graphic design gigs of my career. It’s so far back now it is outside of my old harddrives, languishing in somewhere back on my old spindles of cd’s from a time when my design was just beginning. I met Sandra Karpetas, the organizer of Earthdance Vancouver 1997-2000, before I even had really cruised the modern internet. She was an inspirational being, encouraging me to get involved in the dance music community beyond my interests as a partier and dj, which really jumpstarted my interest in graphics. It was through Earthdance that I clued in to how large the global dance electronic dance music culture was.
I was immediately enamoured with the whole system concept of Earthdance, a party for peace which was simultaneously held in a number of places around the globe. Sandra was making sure that this even was way ahead of its time by assuring a live internet streaming feed which showed what was happening across the world as well as broadcasting a live feed from the location. At that time BC was an internet TV station hub, with a number of experts in the file living close by. We used the Stanley park Malkon Bowl as the venue and we had a regular roster of oldschool favourites as well as a daytime slot from one of the founding members of Banco De Gaia. It was a pretty epic day and my first real graphic design experience where i saw fliers and posters and my own design at the event. It was a pivotal moment for me.
Here it is 2011 and I have the chance, once again to be graphically involved in this incredibly visionary event. This time, taking place on Vancouver Island, sponsored by an eco-village, supported by some of my favourite west coast scene creators, as well as DJ’d by west coast legends, the event is shaping up amazingly. I used some of the legacy design components from Kristin Grant, and the logo from earthdance central, but spun some onbeyond threads back into it all. Here’s what we came up with.
