Artists explore mental health today using a glimpse of the past

On September 28, Coquitlam Heritage holds its opening reception to a new artist-led exhibit on the defunct mental health institute of Riverview. The exhibit sees local artists, Lolu Oyedele, Nadine Flagel and Haley Perry, as well as Coquitlam Heritage staff Naomi Fong and Markus Fahrner, reflecting on the challenging history of Riverview, drawing links between…

A Latin American Heritage Month celebration – Remembering Chilean history through art

Celebrating Latin American Heritage Month, the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre (VLACC)’s second annual Latin Expressions program shines a spotlight on Chilean culture with Remembering the Future: Chile 1973-2023: An Evening of Music, Poetry and Art, a vibrant series of film, music, theater and dance performed by Chilean artists in the Vancouver arts community. “In…

Miyo the Storyteller – Unpacking cultural differences through humour

Miyo Yamauchi, performing as Miyo the Storyteller, uses laughs at Vancouver Fringe Festival to ease into cultural conversations in her show “How To Be Japanese: Your Normal Is Not My Normal.” “I think that my humour is self-deprecating. So if I put myself lower than everybody else, everybody can laugh at me. And then eventually…

The music of community and culture

Come Toward the Fire’s celebration of Indigenous musicians Music’s universal connection allows people the chance to explore another nation’s cultural heritage. UBC’s Chan Centre, situated on Musqueam territory, hosts Come Toward the Fire – a Sept. 16 daylong celebration of Indigenous cultures with artisan showcases, food vendors, and musical performances. Amongst the line-up of Indigenous…

The last of the summer music

There is still time to catch some summer concerts before fall sets in. From reggae, afrobeat and dub to soul to alt-pop with dreamy synths and melodious vocals, three distinctive concerts will offer audiences sounds to greet the end of this year’s sizzling season. Surrey’s last Sound of Summer offerings Get infused at Holland Park…

Classification Crisis – A retrospective of Sonja Ahlers’ work

Zines, poetry, installations, excerpts from her personal archive and a decade-plus worth of as yet unseen works are what awaits visitors at Sonja Ahlers’ Classification Crisis exhibition. For the past 30 years, Ahlers has been an influential voice for generations of feminists through her D.I.Y. approach to collage art, poetry, zines, mail art and other publications. Classification Crisis will…

Hands-on, family friendly and accessible art making for all

Eastside Arts Society calls all artists and creatives to participate in their two-day summer art making event CREATE! Arts Festival, a youth-friendly space for learning, discovering and creating. “I’m so thrilled that there is an art-making festival that happens outside and in the summer. It provides many people who are unable to get out of…

Indian Summer Festival’s Punch Up – Laughter in the face of adversity

Anoushka Ratnarajah from Indian Summer Festival (ISF) is curating a stand-up comedy show, Punch Up, that will explore the theme of interconnectedness through a diverse line-up of comedians who have conventionally been the target of jokes. Featuring Joanne Tsung, a first-generation queer Taiwanese immigrant to Canada, and Savannah Erasmus, an Indigenous comedian well-known for her fashionable…

Folk Fest – Music near the beach

Broad and eclectic in range, and with something for every music aficionado, this year’s festival is global in spirit. For three days, morning to evening, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival (Jul 14–16) hits the grass at Jericho Beach Park. The festival schedule is posted online, and with over 40 music acts – with roots in…

Parviz Tanavoli – a retrospective

Heritage and progress: national artistic identity or heavily influenced by Westernization. Parviz Tanavoli, recognized as the only Iranian artist to fully capture the duality and interplay of Iran’s pre-Islam and Islamic cultural identities, showcases his six decade-long career at The Vancouver Art Gallery, July 1–Nov 19. Parviz Tanavoli: Poets, Locks, Cages is the first major Canadian…