Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Every Moment Counts (Ecstatic-Antibodies), 1989. | Photo courtesy of Autograph (London)
TechniCowlour
Now until March 15
www.centrea.org/2025/01/technicowlour
TechniCowlour is an installation and performance hosted by Centre A exploring the intersections of mythology, memory and sensory experience. At its core, the project queers and remixes materials – scents; fabrics; songs; gestures; and Iranian mythologies and architectural references – into a fragmented experience of longing; and questions the preservation of culture that persists in diasporic living, blurring the lines between the nostalgic and the immediate.
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Otosan
Feb. 17–22
When little Shizu hides in her Otosan’s suitcase and secretly travels to his most dangerous destination, The North, her presence is a big surprise and an even bigger nuisance to her gruff, no-nonsense father. Facing snowy owls, white wolves and grizzly bears in the most remote of locations, Otosan and Shizu must learn to tackle challenges together, eventually learning how to communicate their love. Inspired by co-creator Shizuka Kai’s real-life experience with her father, a wildlife videographer, Otosan is a beautifully told story that uses puppetry, real wildlife projections and an original score to take the audience on an immersive journey. For more information, check out the Gateway Theatre’s website.
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Nuxalk Strong: Dancing Down the Eyelashes of the Sun
Feb. 20, 2025–Jan. 5, 2026
www.moa.ubc.ca/exhibition/nuxalk-strong
In this powerful display of healing and sovereignty, the Nuxalk Nation demonstrate their resurgence and return to Stl’mstaliwa – the full human experience. In the world’s first-ever dedicated exhibition of the Nuxalk, co-curated by Snxakila-Clyde Tallio (Nuxalk Nation, Director of Culture and Language) and Jennifer Kramer (MOA Curator, Pacific Northwest), Nuxalk ways of knowing are being shared with the world. Nuxalk Strong brings together over 60 Nuxalk historic treasures drawn from the MOA collections, other museums, private and family collections. The display of these belongings expresses the importance of Nuxalk reconnection with their material heritage, made by the hands of their Ancestors. Depicting the distinct and unique Nuxalk aesthetic and style, these treasures continue to inspire contemporary Nuxalk carpenters, artists and weavers to create ceremonial regalia, masks, rattles and other cherished items to once again tell the Smayusta – ancestral family origin stories.
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Fan Expo Vancouver
Feb. 21–23
www.fanexpohq.com/fanexpovancouver
Everyone is a fan of something, and Fan Expo Vancouver is a place to celebrate all things pop culture. Get an autograph or a photo with your favourite Guest then get the inside scoop about your favourite movies and TV shows at the celebrity panels! Watch professional comic artists battle it out in popular Sketch Duels, learn from “How To” workshops and take photos with your favourite costumed characters! It’s also a great place to buy a unique gift (or treat yourself!) with a huge show floor for shopping madness.
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28th Annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Feb. 21–March 4
The 28th Annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival is back with an exhilarating lineup of never-before-seen adventure films! Running in-person from Feb. 21 to March 4 and online until March 23, this year’s selection features inspiring stories of resilience, outdoor exploration and environmental conservation. Get ready for powerful world premieres, including Dr. Jeff, Endless Horizons and Without a Pedal. Visit the festival’s website to secure your tickets and immerse yourself in the world of adventure.
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Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
Feb. 25, 7:30–9:30 p.m.
www.capilanou.ca/blueshorefinancialcentre
Playing at the BlueShore at CapU is the Swiss pianist, composer and producer Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin on Feb. 25. Bärtsch founded his prog-jazz band Ronin in Zurich, in 2001. Ronin’s music combines various styles including funk, jazz, new classical music and elements of Japanese ritual music. The insistent rhythms also suggest the minimalism of Steve Reich. Bärtsch has called the band’s style “zen-funk.” For tickets and more information, check out Capilano University’s website.
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Hoobiyee 2025
Feb. 28–March 1
The official dates for Hoobiyee Nisga’a Ts’amiks Edition are Feb. 28 and March 1, 2025 at the PNE Forum! Mark your calendars for this incredible celebration of Nisga’a culture, tradition and community. The event is a celebration for the Nisga’a people coinciding with the waxing of the crescent moon in February or March, generally when the oolichan begin to make their return to the Nass River. The name stems from the Nisga’a word Hoobixis-hee, which refers to the bowl end of a wooden spoon. For more information about the event, check out their website.
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Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None
Feb. 28–March 22
www.metrotheatre.com/agatha-christies-and-then-there-were-none
One of Agatha Christie’s darkest tales, its growing sense of dread and unfaltering tension will keep you guessing to the very end. Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island, each marked for murder. As the weather turns and the group is cut off from the mainland, the bloodbath begins. The Metro Theatre’s production of The Mousetrap was a huge hit last season and they expect this thrilling play to be every bit as popular! Check out the theatre’s website for tickets, showtimes and more information.
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Tranquility of Communion
Feb. 28–May 25
www.thepolygon.ca/exhibition/rotimi-fani-kayode-tranquility-of-communion
Beginning in the early 1980s, Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989) developed a photographic practice that refused categorisation, cutting across cultural codes, gender norms and artistic traditions. Born into a prominent Nigerian family, Fani-Kayode emigrated to London in the 1960s, seeking political refuge during civil war. As an art student in the United States, he came to negotiate his outsider status along multiple axes, balancing his family heritage and immigration status alongside his own queer sexuality and exposure to underground subcultures. Channelling these multiple facets of his identity into photography, Fani-Kayode generated a remarkable body of images over the course of a career cut tragically short by his death in 1989. Today, his art remains a potent source of inspiration, presciently anticipating contemporary photographic approaches to identity, sexuality and race.
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18th Annual Coastal Dance Festival
March 4–9
www.damelahamid.ca/coastal-dance-festival-2025
The 18th Annual Coastal Dance Festival brings Indigenous artists together to share and support one another in a celebration of lived artistic practices. Guest national and international artists have connected the festival with a global community of Indigenous dance. The festival will take place across two venues: the Museum of Anthropology at UBC and Anvil Centre in New Westminster. For more information, check out the Dancers of Damelahamid’s website.
