July Arts and Culture Events 

We’re into full-swing summer now, and there are so many fantastic Lower Mainland and Whistler events on the way that this was a tough list to pull together. We suggest starting here, and then moving over to our events page for more ways to see art and meet fellow creatives. Let’s get started!

Since starting in 2019, The Fort Langley Jazz Fest has quickly become one of the area’s most prominent cultural events. Live performances, art workshops, dancing, and art markets, this free and family-friendly event promises to be a weekend well spent. The music roster goes well beyond just jazz as well. Take your pick from blues, funk, or swing acts and maybe even catch the roving mardi gras band as they add ambience everywhere in between.

July 20 – 23, 2023

Tending Otherworlds: New Acquisitions 

By Transit: Burnaby Art Gallery – From Metrotown Station, take the #144 SFU bus to Rowan Ave, it’s a 5-minute walk from there!

Marking newly acquired pieces to the Burnaby Art Gallery permanent collection, Tending Otherworlds begins at the intersection between history and desire. Featuring works made on paper (as BAG is the only public art museum in Canada dedicated to works of art on paper), this exhibition is comprised of works that explore notions of queerness and finding the space to thrive while being labelled as “other.”

July 14 – September 24, 2023

As the press release for the event states, “Sensorial Visualities is less a formal exhibition than a proposition to learn together, differently.” Throughout her work, artist Guadalupe Martinez champions empathy and vulnerability over the pursuit of mastery and credentials typically associated with Western academia. With this show, she employs shared experience to engage her audience and create dialogue. Movement workshops, listening experiments, experimental writing, and collaborative performance- each element promises to develop new perspectives on old facets of life.

June 13 – September 8, 2023

Samantha Williams-Chapelsky: West Coast Wanderings

By Transit: Adele Campbell Fine Arts – There are several shuttles you can take to Whistler from Vancouver. For instance, there is one that leaves from the River Rock Casino in Richmond, which you can get to by taking the Canada Line train to Bridgeport Station.

In her latest exhibition at Adele Campbell Fine Arts in Whistler, artist Samantha Williams-Chapelsky shows a stunning collection of semi-abstract paintings. With West Coast Wanderings, the painter’s lush impressionistic interpretations of BC landscapes create new visions of the land, water, and sky that locals know well. Throughout each canvas, swirls of animated colour and thick brush strokes join to create an impressive level of abstraction while still conveying the beauty of the view.

June 30 – July 9, 2023

Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage

By Transit: Audain Art Museum – There are several shuttles you can take to Whistler from Vancouver. For instance, there is one that leaves from the River Rock Casino in Richmond, which you can get to by taking the Canada Line train to Bridgeport Station.

Finding a striking sense of awe in the force of Mother Nature, Manabu Ikeda creates pieces that act as warnings for environmental disaster. With that harsh reality, there are also messages of hope regarding humankind’s natural resilience. The piece shown here, “Rebirth,” is a large-scale drawing depicting the abrupt collision between humans and nature and the process of regeneration that happens after. “Flowers from the Wreckage” is Ikeda’s first major solo exhibition in North America and will feature over sixty works from national and international public, private and corporate collections.

June 24 – October 9, 2023

Pixel art is an underappreciated medium that we really don’t get to report on often enough. Thankfully, artist K.W. Miller keeps us well stocked with original 8-bit content that takes us back to the days of marvelling at the sick graphics of the 80s and 90s. Miller’s first solo show, Purple Socks: Monkey Adventure takes the form of a comic book, prints, stickers, and even an animated short that will be shown at the gallery. It’s a relatively short run, but definitely make the time to stop by if you’re in East Vancouver, it’s certain to be a fun show!

July 13 – 19, 2023

Fashion Fictions

By Transit: Vancouver Art Gallery – Take the Expo Line Skytrain or the Canada Line to Vancouver City Centre, then walk to Robson and Granville Street, it’s just around the corner!

Step into a realm where fashion and fiction collide at the Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition, Fashion Fictions. This showcase delves into designers’ creative exploration of possible futures, offering a fusion of technology, imagination and couture. With diverse contributors, from renowned brands like Comme Des Garçons and Balenciaga to emerging talents and multicultural influences, the exhibition takes visitors through a tapestry of imaginative visions.

May 27 – October 9, 2023

Showcasing Salish artists early in their careers, and a handful of pieces from the gallery’s permanent collection, Invisible Fish reflects on the waterways that feed life into the Coast Salish territory. Through a variety of mediums, and lighting that pulls them all together, there’s a real sense of one piece leading to the next. Another example of the excellent curation by the Surrey Art Gallery team.

June 24 – September 3, 2023

Vancouver’s North Shore

Women, Life, Freedom

By Transit: Cityscape Community Artspace – From the Lonsdale Seabus Terminal, it’s only a 10-minute walk up Lonsdale Ave!

As curator, Saghi Ehteshamzadeh puts it, “For a woman, navigating the world is a treacherous journey; for an Iranian woman, it is a rugged terrain fraught with obstacles.” Featuring a collection of artists, this exhibition provides a platform for the voices of Iranian women to be heard and their stories to be shared. Inspired by the contemporary movement that began after the tragic murder of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in September 2022, Women, Life, Freedom promises to be both harrowing and inspiring in equal measure.

July 7 – August 26, 2023

Jeremy Shaw: Phase Shifting Index

By Transit: Polygon Gallery -From the Lonsdale Seabus terminal, it’s only a 3-minute walk East along the water

Restaging his awe-inspiring show in Paris, The Polygon Gallery presents the North American premiere of Jeremy Shaw’s largest production to date. Using antiquated 20th-century digital media, Shaw creates video futurescapes while committing to lofi canvases. The result gives viewers documentary-style narratives of what could be. Taken in across seven channels, the show’s pieces contribute to a shared sense of unwinding chaos and energy that fills the gallery space.

June 23 – September 24, 2023

James Groening: Welcome to My Renaissance

By Transit: The Gallery at Queen’s Park – Take the Expo Line Skytrain to 22nd St. Station, and catch the #155 Braid Station via Hospital bus to 1st. Street. It’s about a ten-minute walk from there!

With his whimsical, and vibrant designs, Burnaby-based Cree artist, James Groening, or Blue Sky, reclaims his Indigeneity. As one of the many Indigenous children that were victims of the “60s scoop”, Groening was separated from his Kahkewistahaw family and Band, and forced to abandon his familial culture. The works throughout this show act as a celebration of his rediscovering of his lineage and embracing his heritage.

June 28 – July 30, 2023

Just as they did with water in their exhibit aBIOTIC, New Media Gallery returns with a trio of international artists exploring the digital applications and inspirations of dust. All physical matter will eventually break down into its most singular form, and similarly, the artists here dissect how dust is the accumulation of everything in our world, including humans. It’s a subject matter that is all at once tactile and elusive. We can’t wait to see how each artist plays with these polar sensations.

June 4 – August 13, 2023

To easily plan the route for your next artistic outing, you can use the TransLink Trip Planner.