Cultural Olympiad: What is Canada CODE?

Canada CODE is an online collection of images, video, music and text from Canadians all over the country.

The media has been mixed together by other Canadians to form new narratives. By watching the mash-ups, international visitors get a window into the life, work and play experiences of Canadians from Vancouver to St. John's.

With "Pulse," another section on CODE, Canadians all over the country were surveyed to determine our preferences for everything from transportation - 60 for bike, 40 for bus - to peanut butter - 50/50 for crunchy and smooth.

The Canada CODE mash-ups have managed to sidestep stereotypical images of Canada. Instead, the emphasis is placed on the distinctive, hard-to-pin-down voices that make up Canadian culture.

"The remix application reflects a particular Canadian trait: getting together to make things happen," says Rae Hull, the director of CODE. "With Canada CODE, Canadians can come out and show the world what we're made of - beyond those well-known images of imposing moose and snow-capped mountains."

The Canada CODE mash-ups have been organized into collections like "Canada Chows Down," a series of unconventional Canadian dishes like the steak from Mrs. Parrott's Grade 7 class in Newfoundland and the raisin d'ours (that's "cranberries" in English) from Celenire in Quebec.

In order to get the project off the ground, CODE posted entries from a number of Canadian writers including the 2009 Giller Prize winner, Joseph Boyden. Evelyn Lau of Vancouver, Nicole Brossard of Montreal and 46 other Canadian writers also contributed.

The best mash-ups are being screened in various public spaces in Vancouver and Whistler, including on the Robson Street façade of the Vancouver Art Gallery downtown.