Artists re-examine historical objects in new exhibition

The Richmond Art Gallery will be presenting the Eternal Return exhibition, which centres on artifacts from the Richmond Museum’s Migration Collection. Curated by Sunshine Frère, the exhibit will examine historical objects from a new perspective. The exhibition runs Sept. 10–Nov. 19. The cyclical nature of objects According to Frère, the Migration Collection has over 2000…

Future wishes for Canada

To commemorate Canada’s 150th anniversary, one organization is collecting wishes across the country – wishes for the next 150 years. Vancouver’s Yaletown Roundhouse will feature some of these wishes from Aug. 1 to 4, 2017. Taking It Global has put together Explore150, which highlights the relevance of Canadian culture and history and provides an opportunity…

Multimedia contemporary artist aims to inspire

Kwakwee Baker, new age free style artist, will be auctioning his paintings July 29 to raise money for his son’s lacrosse trip and make room for his next collection.  Baker’s original designs were paintings, carvings and drawings. His art evolved to 3D sculptures, polygrams, graphic designs and interactive designs where the viewer can be a…

A watercolourist’s search for peace through her art

“I came to Canada in 2009. It was so beautiful. I couldn’t stop thinking about the beauty of nature; it brings me peace and happiness,” says Iranian-Canadian realist painter Afsaneh Roudgar on her source of artistic inspiration. Roudgar was selected by a committee of community members at the Leigh Square Community Arts Village in Port…

Indigenous Two-Spirit artists rebuild identity through art

Vanessa Dion Fletcher offers a dialogue on menstruation, a formerly taboo subject in First Nations communities. Art installation by Alicia Everett. | Photo courtesy of Vanessa Dion Fletcher Every June, rainbow flags fly with pride as the sun shines on Vancouver. This June, however, the ceremony takes on a new look as Adrian Stimson, an Indigenous Two-Spirit…

Kimonos: a gateway to Japanese culture

Kimono Culture, an exhibit on the history and art of this Japanese textile, will run until Sept. 3, 2017 at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby. A special talk by guest curator Hitomi Harama will be held at the centre on June 24. “Kimono is a core element of Japanese traditional culture.…

REVOLUTION: re-branding artistic practices

The B.C. Alliance for Arts + Culture is hosting their annual conference, REVOLUTION: Engaging Human Creativity, on June 8. With a variety of speakers, panels and workshops, REVOLUTION will explore how the arts can be used to create connections and a better society. Through REVOLUTION, the Alliance hopes to help shift how we as a…

A scream for tolerance – Tsang Kin-Wah’s Canadian debut

“Everyone wanna be accepted and adored” is one of the sentences on the walls of the Onsite/Offsite Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition where Tsang Kin-Wah displays his anti-racist ideologies in elegant flower patterns. The Hong Kong-based visual artist is famous around the world for his so-called “wall paper art,” in which he weaves his messages into…

Learning Through the Arts (LTTA): a refuge for refugees

Maher Bahloul, University of British Columbia (UBC)’s visiting linguistics professor from The American University of Sharjah, Dubai, has constructed a Learning Through the Arts (LTTA) proposal for refugees. The concept of Bahloul’s proposal Meaningful Integration of Syrian Refugees: Targeting the Artists is based on several factors, including the recent arrival of Syrian Refugees in Canada…

A little bit of Vienna in Vancouver

A touch of Vienna social housing is coming to the Museum of Vancouver. Starting May 17,the Vancouver Viennese artist collective Urban Subjects are collaborating with Austrian curators Wolfgang Förster and William Menkin to install a new two-month long exhibit at the MOV. The Vienna Model: Housing in the 21st Century will present a glimpse into…

Looking for identity through history

Deconstructing Diaspora: Institute of Asian Art Inaugural Symposium will be taking place at the Vancouver Art Gallery May 18–19. As part of the Marking Place Speaker Series, artist Jin-me Yoon will be giving a talk traversing the 26 years of her practice, exploring ideas of diaspora, nationalism, migration and displacement. Yoon is a visual arts…

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia

An upcoming exhibit at the UBC Museum of Anthropology (MOA) explores the significance of written and spoken word across diverse cultures in Asia. Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia, which runs May 11–Oct. 9, encompasses a variety of written forms reinterpreted into visual art and includes works ranging from the ancient Sumerian cuneiform…

Different cultures, different brush styles

For artist Winifred Lee, painting has always been an interest but she didn’t have the opportunity to pursue her dream in her native Taiwan. Lee, who moved to Canada in 1977 with the intention of providing a better education for her three sons, says there weren’t many Chinese artists or painting clubs in Richmond at…