The visual life-journey of a South Asian artist

Creativity is part of building an identity and coping with mental struggle, says Faria Firoz about her current exhibit The Shape of Our Memories. Firoz explores globalization, cultural diaspora, displacement, and adjustment to new cultures. The Shape of Our Memories starts Feb. 25, 2023 and is presented by Coquitlam Heritage. “Expressing who we really are, without using words,”…

Leaning into the nighttime

Dreams connect us to the past and to the future, says Emily Dundas Oke. Oke, curator for the Burnaby Art Gallery, says dreaming can be a collective and powerful pursuit, giving us insights into the collective psyches of our communities and connecting us with our ancestors. Dream Marrow, the exhibit currently at the Burnaby Art Gallery,…

Japanese women of change

Women of Change, an exhibition hosted by the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) and the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC), aims to highlight the vibrant narratives of six Japanese-Canadian women, to hear the voices of those in underrepresented communities and to draw attention to past injustices. Lisa Uyeda, collections manager at the NNMCC,…

Puns, poems and humour

Death Rides a Unicorn Events is putting on another night of funny people and hilarious poems for their witty literary and spoken word performance, Famous Last Words, Season 1 Episode 2. The event welcomes back returning champions Dina Del Bucchia, RC Weslowski, Lucia Misch, Johnny Trinh and a mystery player, whose name will be unveiled…

Keeping the song alive

Potlatch: music and food. The importance of re-connecting to an ancestral past to heal was not an experience lost on ethnomusicologist Ida Halpern (1910–1987). Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art – developed in collaboration with the Jewish Museum & Archives of BC – presents the Canadian premiere exhibition of Keeping the Song Alive from Nov. 2,…

A mixed menu of food and artworks

Food seems to have always played its part in artwork. The SFU Liberal Arts & 55+ Program presents A Visual Feast: Images of Food and Dining in Western Art, and art historian Efrat El-Hanany will discuss on Oct.7 how food and its consumption has inspired artists over the centuries. The edible art connoisseur will enjoy…

Art exhibition explores Ukrainian history in Canada

Drawing together works from three artists, Ayla Dmyterko, Sonya Iwasiuk and Darlene Kalynka, the ACT art gallery is presenting a Ukrainian themed art exhibition from Sept. 10 to Oct. 29. Titled Labour and Memory – Ukrainian-Canadian Contexts, it is a timely exhibition that explores the different facets of Ukrainian immigration through multiple mediums such as sculpture,…

The ancient art of chigiri-e

Taiwanese artist and pianist Leanne Lai celebrates Japanese culture and demonstrates passion, beauty and unwavering patience in her Chigiri-e Paper Art: Flowers exhibit and workshop, suitable for all ages. “I feel chigiri-e is important to me as it is so beautiful. Very few people know about this unique art form,” says Lai. “I have enjoyed…

True to Place inaugurates largest Indigenous art exhibition

A group of 10 emerging and established Northwest Coast Indigenous artists will exhibit their works encompassing a variety of styles and techniques at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art from June 15, 2022 to March 19, 2023. Curated by artist and muralist Xémontalót Carrielynn Victor (Stó:lō), the exhibition’s primary title is True to…

Bodies in diaspora: Mere Phantoms’ shadow art highlights the refugee crisis

Playing with light and shadow, Surrey Art Gallery’s new exhibition Mere Phantoms: Shadows Without Borders is an interactive show that explores human displacement and memories of home. “One of the installations in the exhibition invites visitors to pick up custom flashlights and shine the light against tableaus of handmade paper-cut-out sculptures. The shadows from these…

Hip-hop in the digital age

Curated by Mark V. Campbell, Still Tho: Aesthetic Survival in Hip-Hop’s Visual Art, an exhibition presented by the Canada Council for the Arts features artwork by 13 cross disciplinary artists from across the country, including from First Nations, Métis, and racialized communities. Still Tho features the work of visual artists from across Canada and beyond whose creativity…