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Video Inners understood the advantage of community outreach. Some, like Shawn Preus, Jeanette Reinhardt and Paul Wong, had become engaged with the video scene after attending workshops by Metro Media or Michael Goldberg and knew the effect they could have.Video Inn wanted to encourage more people to come through the doors, demonstrate the effectiveness of video, and engage with producers from outside Vancouver. They went to galleries, schools, parks, and community centres extolling the creative and educational virtues of small-format video, conducting workshops and screening tapes.
Video Inn's most unique outreach project came in 1974, when they bought a converted 1954 GMC school bus. Collective members set off on a series of trips, eventually traversing Canada, contacting schools, community groups, social organizations, and arts centres interested in, or already using, portable video. They offered workshops, screenings, and met with similarly minded individuals and groups to discuss the future of the medium and possibilities for collaboration or exchange. They also compiled a bounty of information about the state of Canadian video production and public accessibility in letters home and diaries that now reside in the archive.
"For me, " writes an Inner of the tour, "... the smaller, less established, often isolated groups proved more interesting to visit. Partially, I think, because of their eagerness to learn what was going on elsewhere and to obtain all the information they could get from us. It was nice to feel needed. As well, being still in the struggling stages, they were quite energetic and open to change."
As the decade progressed Video Inn expanded its services. In 1978, Video Inn started a new publication to follow in the footsteps of the Exchange Directories - Video Guide - which was distributed around the world. In 1980, Video Inn, after much debate, established a video distribution service: Video Out International Distribution. Video Out gave Vancouver video artists (as well as national and international producers) access to new exhibition opportunites that might otherwise not been available to them. It also joined with other Canadian media distributors to advocate for proper reimbursement to artists by the institutions that showed their work.
Sources:
Crista Dahl Media Library & Archive
"Making Video 'In'", Editor Jennifer Abbott, Video In Studios, 2000.
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Andy Harvey and Rex taking Video Inn for a walk1976
Powell Street at Gore Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Video Inn at the Powell Street FestivalJune 1976
Oppenheimer Park, Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Photo: Paul Wong
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Video Inn workshop at the Vancouver Art Gallery1976
The Vancouver Art Gallery, 1145 Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Children take a turn using a portapak as part of a Video Inn workshop at the Vancouver Art Gallery.Circa mid-70s
The Vancouver Art Gallery, 1145 Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Crista Dahl, Paul Wong and Karen ZajacEarly 1970s
Seattle, Washington State, United States
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Kid Vid Workshop1975
Video Inn, 261 Powell Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Photo: Shawn Preus
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Kid Vid: video portrait1975
Video Inn, 261 Powell Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Kid Vid: Paul Wong demonstrates two-way communication1975
Video Inn, 261 Powell Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Photo: Shawn Preus
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Video Inn at the Vancouver International Women's Day March1975
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Photo: Shawn Preus
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Video Inn monitor tower at the Vancouver Public Library1974
Vancouver Public Library, Main Branch, Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Video Inn at the Vancouver Public Library23 July 1974
Vancouver Public Library, Main Branch, Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Photo: Crista Dahl
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V.O.I.C.E. Flyer1979
Video Inn, 261 Powell Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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The Bus and the Video Inners1974
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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