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Darren

Exhibitions Galleries & Museums Surrey
Rajni Perera’s Futures Unpacks the Potential Paths Forward

by Darren January 10, 2025

January 10, 2025

With its sole West Coast stop, Rajni Perera’s touring exhibition, Futures, arrives at the Surrey Art Gallery with imaginative windows into humanity’s next evolutionary…

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january, 2025

13jun(jun 13)10:00 am30mar(mar 30)5:00 pmTo Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965(june 13) 10:00 am - (march 30) 5:00 pm PST 6393 N.W. Marine DriveEvent Type:Art EventAdmission Type:Free,Ticketed

18sep(sep 18)1:00 am26jan(jan 26)1:00 amFormline : Calligraphy, The Creative Synergy of Bill Reid and Bob Reid(september 18) 1:00 am - (january 26) 1:00 am PST 639 Hornby StreetEvent Type:Art Event

27sep(sep 27)10:00 am17feb(feb 17)5:00 pmShelley Niro: 500 Year Itch(september 27) 10:00 am - (february 17) 5:00 pm 750 Hornby StreetEvent Type:Art EventAdmission Type:Ticketed

Event Details

The Vancouver Art Gallery is pleased to announce the much-anticipated presentation of Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch, a monumental retrospective that surveys the 40-year career of celebrated Bay of Quinte Mohawk artist Shelley Niro. Organized by the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and with curatorial support from the National Gallery of Canada, this extraordinary exhibition showcases the full breadth of Niro’s prolific career from her unique perspective as a Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman, bringing together works across painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media and film.

“We are honoured to be able to share this remarkable retrospective of Shelley Niro’s career with Vancouver,” says Anthony Kiendl, CEO & Executive Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “Niro has been fundamental in shaping the discourse around Indigenous representation, culture and ways of being.”

From the 1980s to the present, Niro has created art that reflects contemporary life and builds upon Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) philosophies, deep understandings of history and a woman-centred worldview. Accessible, humorous and peppered with references to popular culture, this sharp-witted survey delves into the timeless cultural knowledge and generational histories of the artist’s Six Nations Kanyen’kehá:ka community to make art that provides purpose, hope and healing.

“The Art Gallery of Hamilton is thrilled to be sharing this important project,” says Shelley Falconer, President and CEO of the Art Gallery of Hamilton. “We are confident that Shelley Niro’s incredibly poignant works will resonate deeply with Vancouver audiences. The artist’s talk will be an excellent chance to hear from the artist herself, along with the audio guide located throughout the exhibition.”

Spanning almost four decades and over seventy works—from painting to beading—the exhibition is organized into themes that Niro often returns to: Matriarchy, Past is Present, Actors and Family Relations. Each provides vantage points from which she probes ideas central to her experience and identity as a Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman. Niro’s persistent vision is to empower Indigenous women and girls, advocating for self-representation and sovereignty. Her highly empathetic approach moves viewers to understand the issues at hand through her visually impactful and politically powerful manner. She uses parody, feminism and spirituality to examine identity and, in turn, brings political power to the realm of the personal.

The exhibition title refers to the film The Seven Year Itch, released in 1955, the year after Niro was born. The film, starring Marilyn Monroe, portrays a marriage unravelling and refers to the concept of relationships waning after seven years. Niro explores this idea, suggesting that the relationship between colonizers and Indigenous peoples has always been uncomfortable, and there remains an itch. Niro created a self-portrait titled The Seven Year Itch in 1992, in which she imitates the famous scene of Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grate with her dress blowing up.

“I remember seeing Shelley’s first solo show back in 1992 and slowly realizing, standing before Mohawks in Beehives, that I was witnessing a paradigm shift in contemporary Indigenous art,” says Richard Hill, Smith Jarislowsky Senior Curator of Canadian Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “It was fundamentally a change in how Indigenous identity was publicly presented. I had experienced a good deal of humour in Indigenous communities, but I hadn’t seen an artist treat identity as a space of riotous and inventive role-playing like Shelley did. It was liberating, opening a space for a rich, complex and often hilarious view of contemporary Indigenous experience. Any stereotype that got in her way was not so much overthrown as deftly pierced by laughter and left to deflate under the weight of its own absurdity.”

Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch runs from September 27, 2024, until February 17, 2025. The exhibition is accompanied by a glittering publication designed by Barr Gilmore, available for purchase in the Gallery Store. This publication features contributions from esteemed authors and curators, including Lori Beavis, Sally Frater, Adrianna Greci Green, Bryce Kanbara, Madeline Lennon, Nancy Mithlo and Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie.

The exhibition is organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and with curatorial support from the National Gallery of Canada. Curated by Melissa Bennett, AGH Senior Curator of Contemporary Art; Greg Hill, Independent Curator, formerly Audain Senior Curator, Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Canada; and David Penney, formerly Associate Director of Museum scholarship, Exhibitions, and Public Engagement at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. The Vancouver Art Gallery presentation is coordinated by Richard Hill, Smith Jarislowsky Senior Curator of Canadian Art.

Time

September 27 (Friday) 10:00 am - February 17 (Monday) 5:00 pm

Location

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street

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28sep(sep 28)8:00 pm21jun(jun 21)10:00 pmVery Very Improv(september 28) 8:00 pm - (june 21) 10:00 pm PST #102 - 20230 64 AvenueEvent Type:Performing ArtsAdmission Type:Ticketed

Event Details

Every month, the talented cast of loveable improvisers from across the Lower Mainland takes to the stage at The Bez Arts Hub in Langley for a very fun evening full of comedy improv games, scenes, and surprises.

The Georgia Straight calls Very Very Improv “city-quality comedy talent in the ‘burbs”, and audiences agree. “Very Very Improv is a blast every single time! Each show I’ve attended has been a hoot!” Join the fun! You’ll laugh lots.

Very Very Improv is a new, professional improv theatre company based in the Fraser Valley that has brought together some of the top improv performers from across the lower mainland.

Members of the cast have trained and performed with Vancouver Theatresports, The Panic Squad, Funny Brothers Improv, Tightrope Improv, Trinity Western University, University of the Fraser Valley, Canadian Improv Games and more.

Door & Bar at 7:15pm
All parking spots available after 5pm

Feature image: Jonathan McEwan

Saturday, September 28th at 8pm
Friday, October 25th at 8pm
Saturday, November 30th at 6pm & 8pm
Friday, December 27th at 8pm
Saturday, December 28th at 8pm
Saturday, January 25th at 8pm
Saturday, February 15th at 8pm
Saturday, March 29th at 8pm
Saturday, April 19th at 8pm
Saturday, May 31st at 8pm
Saturday, June 21st at 8pm

Time

September 28 (Saturday) 8:00 pm - June 21 (Saturday) 10:00 pm PST

Location

Bez Arts Hub

#102 - 20230 64 Avenue

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03nov(nov 3)10:00 am16mar(mar 16)5:00 pmFirelei Báez(november 3) 10:00 am - (march 16) 5:00 pm 750 Hornby StreetEvent Type:Art EventAdmission Type:Ticketed

Event Details

Organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, this exhibition is the first mid-career survey of the richly layered work of Firelei Báez.

One of the most exciting painters of her generation, Báez delves into the historical narratives of the Atlantic Basin. Over the past twenty years, she has made work that explores the multilayered explorations of the legacy of colonial histories and the African diaspora in the Caribbean and beyond. She draws on the disciplines of anthropology, geography, folklore, fantasy, science fiction and social history to unsettle categories of race, gender and nationality in her paintings, drawings and installations. Her exuberant paintings feature finely wrought, complex and layered uses of pattern, decoration and saturated colour, often overlaid on maps made during colonial rule in the Americas. Báez’s investment in the medium of painting and its capacity for storytelling and mythmaking informs all her work, including her sculptural installations, which bring this quality into three dimensions.

This exhibition offers audiences a timely opportunity to gain a holistic understanding of Báez’s complex and profoundly moving body of work, cementing her as one of the most important artists of the early 21st century.

Time

November 3 (Sunday) 10:00 am - March 16 (Sunday) 5:00 pm

Location

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street

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09nov(nov 9)10:00 am02feb(feb 2)5:00 pmThe Lind Biennial(november 9) 10:00 am - (february 2) 5:00 pm 101 Carrie Cates CourtEvent Type:Art EventAdmission Type:Pay What You Can

Event Details

A showcase of new work by the finalists of the Philip B. Lind Prize for Emerging Artists. Established in 2016, this honour is awarded biennially to an emerging BC-based artist working in mediums of photography, film, or video. Artists are nominated for the prize by arts professionals from institutions, organisations, and post-secondary programs across the province. In 2024, thanks to a generous donation from the Lind family, the prize amount has increased to $25,000, making it one of the country’s largest accolades dedicated to supporting visual artists.

This year’s exhibiting finalists are: Mena El Shazly, Karice Mitchell, Dion Smith-Dokkie, Parumveer Walia, and Casey Wei. They were selected from a longlist of more than 60 nominees by a panel of esteemed international jurors: Grace Deveny, the Art Institute of Chicago’s David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Associate Curator, Photography and Media; Brian Jungen, acclaimed contemporary artist; and Aram Moshayedi, writer, interim chief curator at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and current curator-in residence at Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony on January 23. Previous Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize winners include Charlotte Zhang (2021), Laura Gildner (2020), Jessica Johnson (2019), Christopher Lacroix (2018), Marisa Kriangwiwat Holmes (2017), and Vilhelm Sundin (2016).

Time

November 9 (Saturday) 10:00 am - February 2 (Sunday) 5:00 pm

Location

The Polygon

101 Carrie Cates Court

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05decAll Day22janThe Gingerbread Men: A(nother) Holiday Cabaret(All Day) 162 West 1st AvenueEvent Type:Performing ArtsAdmission Type:Ticketed

Event Details

The Arts Club Theatre Company continues the holiday merriment with their presentation of the charming The Gingerbread Men: A(nother) Holiday Cabaret, on the Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre from December 5 to 22.

Prepare to be whisked away on a dough-lightful cabaret of classic holiday songs as The Gingerbread Men return to the Arts Club stage this holiday season. Fresh out of the pan with their signature golly-gee charm, toe-tapping tunes, and buttery-smooth harmonies, The Gingerbread Men: A(nother) Holiday Cabaret is the perfect recipe for a holly jolly good time.

“We have a rich history with the Arts Club Theatre Company,” said Jeffrey Victor, co-founder and lead singer. “Our group was formed during the 2012 Arts Club production of White Christmas. During our 10-year anniversary in 2022, we were invited by Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran to return to the Arts Club for a one-night only concert; it was truly a full circle moment. People loved the show and today, we are delighted to be back for our third Christmas season. The comment we hear the most from audiences is that ‘it’s not Christmas until we see The Gingerbread Men.’ We love that we have become a holiday tradition for Vancouverites aged 1 to 91.”

Handsome, dashing, debonair served with a side of holiday ham and cheese, The Gingerbread Men—Brennan Cuff, Brandyn Eddy, Jer Lowe, Jeffrey Victor—have been crooning holiday classics since 2012. Their repertoire spans many musical genres including doo wop, jazz, holiday standards, and acapella, all while ensuring they don’t stray too far from the versions you know and love. The charming Gingerbread Men are sure to gingersnap you into the Christmas spirit!

Time

December 5 (Thursday) - January 22 (Wednesday)

Location

Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre

162 West 1st Avenue

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09janAll Day09febSomeone Like You(All Day) Event Type:Performing ArtsAdmission Type:Ticketed

Event Details

Get ready for a millennial take on Cyrano de Bergerac as the Arts Club Theatre Company presents Someone Like You, on tour across the Lower Mainland from January 9 to February 9, 2025.

This charming new comedy dives into 21st-century Vancouver with mistaken identities, millennial manifestos, dating apps, and the quest for self-love in this Arts Club Silver Commission written by Christine Quintana.

Best friends Isabelle (Steffanie Davis), verbose and open-hearted, and Kirsten (Ivy Charles), vulnerable and loyal, have been through thick and thin since university. When Isabelle takes her “wingman” duties for Kirsten’s rebound romance with Harjit (Praneet Akilla) a bit too far, feelings and friendships are fraught with complications.

Playwright Christine Quintana said, “Audiences can expect a very fun night at the theatre! The core of Someone Like You is a female friendship—something so foundational to so many people’s lives, but so rarely represented authentically on stage. All the joy of your favourite vintage rom-coms but without the fatphobia, racism, and homophobia that come with the period. Our creative team has filled the stage with fashion and iconography from East Van and recognizable characters from our daily lives.”

The Arts Club Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Ashlie Corcoran, added, “Right from the first time I met Chrstine, I knew I wanted to offer her a Silver Commission and had just the adaptation that I felt she’d bring an interesting perspective to. For me, it was having Christine create a modern adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac set in Vancouver. We are thrilled to present this funny, fierce, political, and theatrical play on tour across the Lower Mainland.”

Time

January 9 (Thursday) - February 9 (Sunday)

Location

Multiple Locations across Metro Vancouver

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