Rites of Passage

Capital did not die; it only hibernated. Regrouped and reformed, weí’re back to reclaim our voice within the movements, codes and cultures of society. Now a non-profit, web-based media collective, Capital is focused on tackling the stories, ideas and events all too frequently left out of mass media. We will provide storylines for the elements of our society that are not always given the opportunity to come to the fore.

We have always been a work in progress. Started nearly six years ago, Capital has operated in numerous mediums and been through a number of facelifts. Originally a small website created with the purpose of promoting independent urban art and culture in cultural capitals, Capital slowly evolved to focus on larger social issues. This eventually led to the development of a print magazine, with six issues printed at 10 í¢â‚¬“12 000 issues over a two year period, distributed across Canada, and sprinkled throughout the world in twelve international capitals.

During this period, Capitalí’s film venture Revised Productions collaborated with CBCí’s Zed TV, while our intimate affiliate, Vancouverí’s New Forms Festival, grew from a local two-day music event, to a week-long international celebration of art, music, discussion and new media. Eventually, things got so busy that we had to, against our hearts, put Capital to bed for a while. The people involved scattered, pursuing other interests.

But the questions kept on coming up: Where did Capital go? Is it going to happen again? Something intangible gnawed at us, and we soon found ourselves meeting at various non-descript locations to discuss the logistics behind our then lofty goals of rebirth. We noticed that content offered by media outlets still wasní’t challenging consumers; provocative ideas and innovative spins remained suspiciously absent. We felt there to be more than just cause for Capital to reappear on the scene and help fill this void; to challenge the stagnant status quo with intelligent, creative discussion.

We now find ourselves at another stage, a new emergence. We now face the challenge of establishing ourselves as an effective contributor to our societyí’s dialogue. We welcome and depend on your input and contributions to our project, and hope that our viewers í¢â‚¬“ both new and old í¢â‚¬“ will continue pushing us in our creativity and the breadth of our coverage. We have worked, we have rested, and now weí’re back and ready for this challenge. Welcome to the re-launch of Capital Mag.

Click on Film, Music, Mash, or Politics/Commentary to read more from our first issue back.

The Capital Editors