Princesses + Monsters addresses gender roles through archetypes

Traditional gender roles are questioned in the current exhibit hosted at The Italian Cultural Center in Vancouver. Princesses + Monsters, the opening exhibition to the Gendered Voices Series, looks at traditional archetypes through visions from childhood. “How does feminism address these long-held traditional roles that are being maintained in our culture?” asks Angela Clarke, curator of…

An artist in each of us

When it comes to making art, each artist chooses their own styles, methods and mediums through which they can express their ideas. For Dawn Livera, a Vancouver-based artist, working with good old paper and books and other forms of media are her favorite mediums. Livera is happy to share her art-making secrets Feb. 1 at…

LunarFest 2019: The Galleria of Imperial Inspirations

To mark the Chinese New Year, LunarFest will be holding several special events in various locations across Vancouver. The celebrations will include an exhibition showcasing Giuseppe Castiglione’s impact on Chinese art. “LunarFest is a legacy event from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. That was the first year we collaborated with the Cultural Olympiad to showcase…

Echoes from Chechnya

If No One Asks is the first solo North American exhibition for Chechen artist Aslan Gaisumov. Though the specific history behind the work hails from across the globe, Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) curator Kimberly Phillips feels the issues it wrestles with can resonate just as strongly in Vancouver. On display at the CAG now until March…

From the collective to the individual

The China-based Polit-Sheer-Forum Office (PSFO) art collective is a five-member group mixing an open enjoyment for art and movement with a subtle critique of the world around them. Having been raised during and after China’s Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976, these artists have much to say about group mentality and the importance of individuality in…

First Nations’ past meets present in multimedia works

The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery will be the host of Hexsa’a_m: To Be Here Always, a multimedia exhibit that ties together history and the present-day, using art in a way that is not just symbolic but a genuine representation of the vibrant culture and legal issues that exist today. The exhibit will run from…

Revealing the magic that surrounds us

North Vancouver has been the source of inspiration for local painter Margot Brassil for many years. She is also an active member of North Van Arts and features in the 2019 You Are Here calendar. Brassil relocated to British Columbia 14 years ago and has been painting her surroundings ever since. “I grew up in South Africa,”…

Searching for the heart of the scarecrow

Corazón del espantapájaros (Heart of the Scarecrow), an upcoming art project hosted by the Audain Gallery at the SFU Jan. 17–March 9, will feature Canadian Guatemalan artist Naufus Ramirez-Figueroa in his third iteration of a serial project that originated from a 1962 Guatemalan play with the same name. The project will exhibit some of the…

Art in motion

“In the Greek language, the word for transit is metaphora; so to go to work or come home, one literally rides a metaphor.” says Kimberly Phillips. This year, Phillips, curator of the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG), is continuing this link between metaphor and travel. She has curated a travelling art exhibit, with the support of TransLink,…

Shake Up: An exhibition to mark seismic upgrades at MOA

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is at the start of an extensive seismic upgrade project to protect the iconic Great Hall and preserve the invaluable Northwest Coast Collection for generations to come. Shake Up: Preserving What We Value is a brand new exhibition designed to coincide with the upgrades and provide visitors with the chance to learn…

Julian Hou: Life of a resident artist

In the Fall of 2018, local artist Julian Hou started a media arts residency at Western Front to further develop his art practice through exploratory research. Hou’s projects often weave various media pieces together that build multi-layered narratives for audience members to contemplate. “I often work in several mediums simultaneously and gradually something emerges in…

Pictures of Persia in North Vancouver

A new exhibit from the dawn of photography also tells of the history of Iran, says Pantea Haghighi. Looking at Persepolis shows old photographs depicting excavations of Persia’s past glories, photographs that were once used as promotional tools in turn-of-the-century Iran. “It’s something that happens around the world: an ailing monarchy would want to be affiliated…

Pierre Vassura: New Work 1983–2018

After an artistic career spanning several decades and continents, Italian-born artist Pierre Vassura will have his first major solo exhibition on Canadian soil at Richmond Art Gallery (RAG) this December. Vassura has been creating artwork since the mid 1950s and arrived in Richmond in the early 1980s. After one small show at the Italian Cultural…