Milk Stare

Описание: This video is a tableau replication of a photograph taken in 1926. The original photo was titled “Children drinking milk in classroom at Open Air School,” and had an annotation on the verso: “ Board of School Trustees Medical Dept. Vancouver, B.C."
https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/c...
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We were drawn to the uniform/military action of the kids drinking milk, and decided to recreate this moment in a classroom in West Mall Centre at SFU Burnaby Mountain Campus. The piece features a five-minute still tableau which captures the physicality and appearance of the original picture and several shots of other variations.
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This particular Vancouver Open Air school (East 19th Avenue and Clark Drive)
It was first opened by the Rotary Club in 1919 and was in operation until 1932.
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Open-air schools first appeared in Germany and Britain in the early 1900s. They were meant for children predisposed to tuberculosis, a fatal lung disease. Open-air schools were deemed the “solution” to the development of tuberculosis, which, back then, was wrongly believed to begin in childhood. Medical research later proved this wrong.
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In these schools, they held many outdoor activities, kept the windows open for airflow, had a designated nap time, and provided students with food and milk for lunch.
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Vancouver’s open-air schools had to be closed down to save costs during the global economic depression that began in 1929, whereas Britain’s schools survived until the 1950s.
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Makers:
Dawn Ka
Kirill Fertsman
Olivia Der
Yuliia Piekh

Special Thanks:
Aizhan Tabyldieva
Owen Duddles
Yuliia Psekha
Anatole Fossourier
2025-11-27