The Papercut Arcade

A large banner image of a public, in-person event. The photo shows an artist doing performance work with an audience around a round table.
Image description: photograph of a group of people, wearing grey conical party hats, standing around a round table where a cake is being served.
Credit: 2020 – Inedible Cakes, Performance by Louise Chow. Photo by Kay Slater.

The Papercut Arcade Collective was formed with the intention to run interactive events, workshops and exhibitions. We aim to produce art and games, share and inspire each other through creative challenges, and to create safer spaces to explore creativity and art with like-minded folks.

Our collective strives to be creative group for people of all races, abilities, identities, and levels of education. We wish to respectfully acknowledge that we host events, and play as uninvited guest on the stolen (unceded), ancestral, and traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.


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2024 Events

Join us as we make, discuss, play, create, and share.

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CYOW #5: Skeletons

Image Description: 3 skeletons, falling from the top of the page through a white space. Top skeleton reaches right, middle reaches left, bottom is facing up, head towards the viewer.

Calling all writers, narrative markers, and lovers of the choose your own adventure genre. Make along with us throughout the month of April with live weekly discord studio hours!

Call for Submissions Deadline: May 4th, 2024
Salon Date: May 25th, 2024 – 5:30-7 PM PST (discord)
Showrunner and Collective Facilitator: Louise Chow

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Game Remix #3: Mouse Trap

Image Description: The Mousetrap boardgame with a live mouse stealing cheese, with the text It’s a Trap written across the image.

Join us for our annual jumble. We take a ready-made boardgame or card game, and then, using any of the objects found in the box (except the rules), we make something. In previous years we have had new rules, poetry, illustrations, and short videos made. How will you remix the game pieces from Mouse Trap?

Call for Submissions Deadline: July 7th, 2024
Salon Date: July 27th, 2024 – 5:00-7:00 PM PST (discord)
Showrunner and Collective Facilitator: TBC

More information coming soon!

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Selfie Series #5

Event Feature Image
Image Description: wheat-pasted street posters that read the death of selfies, and who are you fooling with these prefabricated, self-centred boring images really be honest, be true.

The Selfie Series is a self-portrait challenge produced through prompts that we undertake annually. None of us are professional photographers – just extremely creative people. Join us and submit your own selfies to the series.

Call for Submissions Deadline: November 9th, 2024
Salon Date: November 30th, 2024 – Noon PM PST (discord)
Showrunner and Collective Facilitator: Kay Slater

More information coming soon!


Forthcoming Community Events:

Our collective and membership are involved in a wide range of creative challenges, events, personal projects and shows throughout the year. Check out what we’re up to outside of the Arcade. Updated seasonally.


Join Our Mailing List!

Stay in the know. Be informed when we open calls for submissions. Learn about our forthcoming events!