Interweaving the worlds of journalism and fiction

Vancouver-based writer and communications specialist Carlo Javier shares his stories about how he got into writing, both in journalism and then fiction: one that explores the relationship between people and technological devices and another that provides a critique on the holistic identity of Filipinos in Vancouver. “I try to walk on days where it’s quiet so I can…

Melody McKiver: Classical music meets Indigenous stories

Melody McKiver, Anishinaabe composer and violist, will have her Vancouver debut per-formances at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Western Front on May 17 and May 18, respectively. Growing up with musician parents, McKiver has pursued music since childhood, first starting on violin and then picking up drums and percussion, studying all of them to…

Paper flowers

Nancy Lui, owner of Citrine Paper Flowers, will host a workshop at the Italian Cultural Centre on Saturday, May 11, to share her craft and teach others the art of making paper flowers. Vancouver-born Lui’s parents emigrated from Hong Kong in the 1970s. She believes creativity runs through her lineage, from her grandmother as a…

Salon du Livre: Vancouver hosts its very first French book fair

A rich and diverse programme will be seen for the first time in twenty years in Vancouver on Apr. 26. Salon du Livre (French book fair) will bring together nearly twenty francophone authors from British Columbia and beyond, signing their books and offering a variety of literary activities. Author Danielle S. Marcotte will introduce her book for children aged…

Rewiring the conversation

“It’s so important that people come to see this play because it doesn’t sit in a negative place. We raise these serious issues to try to process them,” says Valerie Methot, director, playwright and set and sound designer of REWIRE. Created in collaboration between industry professionals and youth, REWIRE addresses the causes of negative stress including grief, poverty…

‘With wings like clouds hung from the sky’

Chinese Canadian brush painting artist Lee Nam went largely unrecognized when he worked with Emily Carr in Victoria in the 1930s. Five years ago, Montreal-based artist Karen Tam began the difficult task of trying to find out more about him. Tam will explore his work in an exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery from May…

K!MMORTAL: “X marks the swirl”

Lyrical flow rap, experimental hip hop, electronic soul full, activating queer, and Filipinx shape shifting type movement are all part of the descriptions artist Kim Villagante uses to capture just how multi-dimensional K!MMORTAL is. Mainly self-taught in music, she just released her second album X Marks the Swirl, with the swirl symbolizing her gender fluidity. A…

“NASSIM”: theatre unscripted

What would it be like to walk into a performance without knowing the script? That is what NASSIM, the international award-winning play, asks of its performers. There are no rehearsals; there is a different guest actor at each performance; and the actors never see the script until they step on stage to perform it. “This [type of…

Portrait of a poet: Natalie Lim

Natalie Lim, a Vancouver-born, Chinese-Canadian poet, won the 2018 CBC poetry prize with her first public poem submission: “Arrhythmia.” This surprise success has encouraged her to continue to explore her heritage and share her work. Lim explains that writing has always been part of her life, but that it was the discovery of spoken word…

One Girl, a film about beauty and diversity

The 21st annual Reel to Real Film Festival for Youth presents culturally diverse films and documentaries, aiming to expose youth to new ideas and cultural perspectives. One Girl, a documentary offering a glimpse into the life of five girls from five different counties, fits exactly this aim. “I wanted to show how diverse and beautiful the…

When magic comes to town

It’s a tale with a twist! Theatre professionals Amaranta Leyva and Kim Selody are working hard to retell the most magical of all stories, fairy tales. And these stories are a little different than you’re used to. “The heart of the play is the message,” says Leyva, lead actor in Jack and the Magic Bean. It’s a…

Performance photography from India

A major exhibition of Indian photography exploring gender, religion, and sexual identity will open at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Apr. 19. And will run till Sept. 2. Moving Still: Performative Photography in India has been three years in the making, with Diana Freundl, associate curator of Asian Art at Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) meeting Critical Collective’s…

Väsen: a new take on Swedish folk music

The Swedish acoustic trio Väsen, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, has developed their own spin on traditional Swedish Folk music over the last three decades, lending what they feel is a virtuosic level of rhythmic and melodic complexity to their both their studio albums and live performances. The Rogue Folk Club, will present the…