CANNABIS CULTURE – Prolific Downtown East -Side Artist Alan Sayers has died.
You may not know his name, but if you are Vancouver resident or a regular follower of this magazine — you’ve seen his work.
Celebrated for his “rockstar” portraits and gritty depictions of the architecture and individuals of Vancouver’s core communities, Sayers and his portfolio were a constant presence at events and demonstrations.
Now, Sayers is counted amongst the legions left dead — nearly 5 people per day in British Columbia — by the Opioid Crisis, another tragic casualty in the continuation of a failed policy known as the International Drug War.
He – like all the dead — was also much more.
Sayers, a born Vancouverite and resident of Chinatown, had made his living as a designer and art director when he decided to remove himself from the dilutions of the art for profit world and dedicate himself to painting his neighbors — and his neighborhood — full-time.
“The last twelve years of my life have been very interesting and creative — monetarily challenging but creative.” Sayers said in a 2018 interview with Access Television (featured above).
His choice of perspective was atypical, painting the