June 2023 Arts and Culture Events 

Have you already started your summer planning? Well, even if you’ve already booked the time off and planned your itinerary, you’ll likely still have a few days to fill in the coming months. What better reason to get out and see the fruits of the local art community! Plus no safety demonstration required.

*Cover Photo – Jeremy Shaw: Phase Shifting Index.
Credit: Timo Ohler

A fantastic sunny day outing idea, a visit to the contemporary barn at Swallowfiend Farm is a surefire way to view some off the beaten path art.
Hosted by Fort Gallery, this pop-up show features the mixed-media art of Dion Smith-Dokkie. Using lush and sensuous abstract drawings, textile works and immersive videos, Smith-Dokkie transforms the space into a healing escape. A response to the isolation of quarantine, and experiences of mental illness and addiction, the artist creates a calming intimacy with the pieces of this exhibition, bathing the barn’s interior with glittering and kaleidoscopic light.

June 16 – 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

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

Her first solo exhibition in Canada, Genesis Tramaine brings her disctinct visual fusion of the divine and the whimsical to Gastown. While the works were created after a deep exploration of biblical narratives, Tramaine’s work achieves more than strictly religious iconography. The visual theme of eyes that frequents her work prompts viewers to lock their gaze into each piece, and in doing so, face the challenges surrounding topics like identity, spirituality, and the human experience.

June 1 – July 9, 2023

By Transit: From Waterfront Station, take the #50 South False Creek bus to Fir Street, then walk 10 minutes toward the water!

Bard on the Beach returns to Vanier Park with their signature flair for comedic mischief and lush language. This time out, the staple series gives Shakespeare a mod haircut with a 1960s-inspired production. Packed with songs from the Beatles, you’d be surprised how well the Fab Four’s tunes can carry a multiple-act story arc. There’s a good chance this run will sell out, so be sure to get your tickets ASAP!

As You Like It runs from June 8th – September 30th on the BMO Mainstage, 1695 Whyte Avenue, Vanier Park.
For times and tickets, see here.

Queer Arts Festival

By Transit: Roundhouse Community Centre – Take the Canada Line train to the Yaletown-Roundhouse station. It’s only a 3-minute walk from there!

Having been founded in 1998, the Queer Arts Festival had only one option on where to go next- SPACE! The fest returns with 13 unique and vibrant events, that are certain to blast you into the atmosph-queer! Futurism and fantasy are in full effect on this year’s schedule, so peruse the cosmically camp shows and pick something you might not have otherwise. After all, the fest’s mantra is, “Dare to be challenged, risk being changed.”

June 17 – 28

With a career spanning four decades, the innovative textile art of Diane Roy has developed a visual language of it’s own. Taking inspiration from the biodiversity on the western coastline, her work often evokes the shapes of corals, sea anemone, urchins, and shells. “The Deep and the Shallows” presents the largest showcase of the artist’s work to date, along with a new monumental tapestry piece that must be seen in person to fully grasp.

June 24 – September 3, 2023

By Transit: Surrey Civic Plaza – Take the Expo Line Skytrain to Surrey Central Station, it’s a 2-minute walk from there!

Part block party, part calendar of multimedia art events, 5X is Canada’s largest South Asian celebration of youth culture. Taking place over multiple days and venues, this event series is an invitation to all cultures to enter a portal into one of BC’s most vibrant communities. June 17 is the main music festival day at Surrey Civic Plaza, so be sure to stop by, join the dance floor, and sample a variety of South Asian cuisines!

June 13 – 18, 2023

Vancouver’s North Shore

Jeremy Shaw: Phase Shifting Index

By Transit: 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

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.