As part of the Paws Land Community Series, West Coast Cultural Lab created a special edition of Vancouver On Ink as one of the project’s core community engagement components.
Developed alongside the screening, mini visual letter film festival, and Community Picks playlist, the publication was designed to encourage audiences to reflect on their relationships with animals, care, empathy, and community through creative participation.
Rather than only discussing animal-related topics through information or advocacy, the project invited people to engage through storytelling, writing, art, music, and shared emotional experiences. Through these softer entry points, audiences were encouraged to think a step further about rescue culture, valuing life, and the role communities can play in creating care and connection.
Featuring local stories, reflections, artwork, and community voices, the special edition became part of a larger interdisciplinary experience surrounding the screening.
Alongside its regular distribution through Vancouver Public Library branches and community spaces, Vancouver On Ink is also catalogued at the UBC Library and the Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Copies of the special edition were distributed during the screening as part of the overall community gathering.
The project reflected one of West Coast Cultural Lab’s ongoing visions:
that arts and community engagement can create meaningful spaces for reflection, dialogue, and human connection.
