Welcome to ReIssue Digestif, a bi-weekly-ish round-up of events on our radar. All times in PST.
If you are BC- or AB-based and have an exhibition, event or call-for-submissions posting to submit for consideration in the next Digestif (March 1–14th), email details to editor@reissue.pub
Book Launch: 16th Annual Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show & Opening: A Canoe is an Island
Gallery Gachet, 9 W Hastings St, Vancouver BC
Now-March 22, Tuesday-Saturday 12–6pm
Opening & Book Launch: February 15, 7–9pm
Free
This joint event brings the 16th Annual Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show catalogue launch, and the reception for the group exhibition, A Canoe is an Island. The catalogue features works by 56 exhibiting artists and contributors from within the DTES community, as well as conversations and texts providing context surrounding the show, its participants, and community.
A Canoe is an Island features photographs, tapestries, cotton scrolls, sculptures, and a canoe — together exploring the multifaceted concept of a ‘vessel.’. Defined as a craft for travelling on water, a container for holding something, and a person into whom some quality is infused, the vessel serves as a unifying idiom to describe the multiplicity of experiences, realities and relationships that bodies of colour situated in a post-colonial world have with bodies of water and formation of place. With works by Lydia Brown, Simon Grefiel, davi de jesus do nascimento, Valérie d. Walker, and Speplól Tanya Zilinski.
Phanuel Antwi: On Cuddling
Montalbano Family Theatre, Level 8, Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch, 350 W Georgia St, Vancouver BC
Thursday February 15, 7pm
Free register here
What can a cuddle tell us about intimacy, violence and racism? Artist, curator, educator, and organizer Phanuel Antwi combines poetry and essays to stirring effect to highlight the interplay of intimacy with racial violence. Antwi will be in conversation with poet Cecily Nicholson and scholar Nadine Attewell.
Cognito
The Vault Gallery, 750 Fairfield Rd, Victoria BC
February 16–19, 5-8pm
Opening: Friday February 16, 5–8pm
Free
13 video artists with duelling projectors showcase their works! Featuring: Amelia Beauregard, Charlotte McDougall, Esme Cope, James Boyle, Jenny Malcolm, Jinyu Chen, Mahalia Ward, Mahshidsadat Madani, Mary-Jane Laronde, Rachel Folland, Sarah Massey, Sula Michie, Yoanna Mantcheva. Curated “and coaxed” by Leanne Olson, via the University of Victoria Visual Arts program.
Exquisite Pressure
What Lab, 1814 Pandora St, Vancouver BC
February 16–17, 7:30pm
Tickets $10 here or at door (NOTAFLAF)
Hosted by The Biting School, What Lab’s Exquisite Pressure, or ExP, allows artists working in theatre, performance, and dance to share new and in progress works in front of an audience for feedback. This edition features works by Action Earwig, Eddy Van Wyk, and Kalia Bhullar.
Xiangmei Su: Here————There
Canton Sardine, #71–268 Keefer St, Vancouver BC
February 17–March 30, Wednesdays–Saturdays, 12–6pm
Opening: Saturday February 17, 2–6pm
Free
Xiangmei Su’s practice examines the relations between spaces (cultural, natural, social and individual) and her cultural identity. Notions of identity and belonging are consistently renegotiated by the individual, as Su adjusts to the formation of a transnational Chinese-Canadian identity.
Concert by Paul Chiyokten Wagner and Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang
Grand Luxe Hall, Western Front, 303 E 8th Ave, Vancouver BC
Saturday February 17, 7:30pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets by donation (suggested $15-30) here
To open the evening, Paul Chiyokten Wagner will present a number of songs for flute and drum that have come to him with visions of healing and prayer for all relations — tree people, animal people, and human people — from the traditional teachings of his Coast Salish tribal ancestors of the Wsaanich (Saanich) Tribe of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Collaborating over two decades, Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang have developed ethereal and transcendental music based on their study of cross-cultural and pan-musical traditions, forms of ritual, and their connection to lands. At Western Front, the duo will perform selections from their recent album Azure (2023), which comprises five new compositions recorded in Seattle during the spring of 2022. Curated by Aki Onda.
BLAC X VBL Archive Party
The Black Arts Centre, Unit 105-10305 City Pkwy, Surrey, BC
Saturday February 17, 1–5pm
Free, RSVP here
This marks the first iteration of the recurring Archive Party, a collaboration between the Black Arts Centre and Vancouver Black Library. This research-based project aims to address and remediate the gaps and absences within official archives to further inform Black youth on the importance of documenting ordinary, intimate, familiar and monumental moments of Black life. Participants are invited to attend with personal archival objects such as family photographs, newspaper clippings, posters, documents, and other ephemera.
Films for Gaza
Wednesday February 21, 7pm–late
Liquidation World ℅ Red Gate Arts Society, 1965 Main St, Vancouver BC
Tickets ($17.50, $23 at the door) here
Through the works of Razan AlSalah, Suha Araj, Saeed Taji Farouky, Farah Nabulsi, Dina Naser, and Ahmad Saleh, the program discusses personalized Palestinian experiences and the harsh realities of lived occupation and genocide. The screening will be about 115 minutes (with intermission). Sohbi Al-Zobaidi, filmmaker and co-owner of Tamam Fine Palestinian Cuisine will be making a guest speech. Original prints by artists Diana Quandour and Peonica Fernando, and Palestine related books c/o Massy Books available for purchase.
Mother Cloud Spatial Sound Festival
Lobe Studio, 713 E Hastings St, Vancouver BC
February 21–25, schedule here
Tickets here
MOTHER CLOUD forms annually to present spatial audio works, and is the only music festival powered by 4DSOUND in North America. The program reflects a wide range of musicianship, purposes, and practices in multichannel audio technology.
The program features live, spatialized performances by world-class artists like Robert Rich, Marina Hasselberg, Huerco S, and Hiro Kone; spatial sound diffusions by international artists Kali Malone, Andrea Belfi, Rrose, Huma Utku, and Zöe Mc Pherson and local artists Brandon Wint, Pendamental, and ZAMEEN-A; sound baths and facilitated listening by Rena Anakwe, Romila Barryman, and Kate De Lorme; the world premier of Ruby Singh’s Vox.infold II; and more!
Twice Colonized
Massy Arts Society, 23 E Pender St, Vancouver BC
Saturday February 24, 6pm
Free, register here
In this “powerful exploration of cultural trauma” (The Film Stage), director Lin Alluna follows alongside renowned Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter as she strives to reclaim her language and identity after a lifetime of whitewashing and forced assimilation. A member of a historically marginalized and oppressed community, Aaju’s heritage puts her in the unique position of someone who has been “twice colonized” – first by European settlers who arrived in the Arctic, and then by modern-day Canadian policies and institutions. While launching an effort to establish an Indigenous forum at the EU, Aaju finds herself facing a difficult and deeply personal journey to mend her own wounds after the unexpected passing of her youngest son. Twice Colonized also plays at Vancity Theatre on Friday, February 23 as a part of KDocs Festival.
Obsidian: Hip Hop Battle & Jam
The Black Arts Centre, 10305 City Pkwy, Surrey BC
Sunday February 25, doors 6:30pm
Tickets here
Obsidian is a monumental community Hip Hop battle and jam to celebrate Black History Month in partnership with the Black Arts Centre. This is a Black-led and Black-centred event, celebrating the richness of Black culture and talent. While a core focus is creating a space that amplifies and uplifts Black voices and experiences, everyone is welcome to come watch and support!
Unbound Gestures
Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Atrium, Centre Aisle Gallery and Encores Café), 6450 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby BC
February 21–March 3, gallery hours here
Opening: Thursday February 29, 6pm
Free
This group exhibition features works by Deer Lake Artists in Residence 2023. Participating artists include: Mandy Tsung, Cat Hart, SF Ho, Nazanin Oghanian, Crystal Noir, Tamana S. H. Djuya, Rob Froese, Kennedy Snider, Michelle Grimm, Azadeh Mehryar, Brit Bachmann.
Black Art in the Absence of Light
Artspeak, 233 Carrall St, Vancouver BC
Thursday February 29, 6pm
Free
Pillows and popcorn, movie night at Artspeak, featuring Sam Pollard’s 2021 documentary, Black Art: In the Absence of Light, which follows the practices of various Black American artists, including Theaster Gates, Kerry James Marshall, and Kara Walker, to name a few.
Calls
Exhibition and Residency, Oxygen Art Centre (Nelson, BC)
Deadline: February 16
Request for Qualifications, Richmond Public Art Program: Temporary Public Art Installation (Richmond, BC)
Deadline: February 29
Request for Qualifications, Surrey Langley Skytrain Public Art Project (Surrey, BC)
Deadline: February 29
Wednesday on the Wharf, Salmon Arm Arts Centre (Salmon Arm, BC)
Deadline: March 15
2025 Call for Submissions, Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art (Kelowna, BC)
Deadline: March 18
Call for 3D Artwork, North Van Arts (North Vancouver, BC)
Deadline: April 2
Call for Submissions (Summer Group Exhibition), Langley Arts Council (Langley, BC)
Deadline: June 5
Call for Submissions (Photography Group Exhibition), Langley Arts Council (Langley, BC)
Deadline: June 12