October features an array of fascinating talks, concerts and festivals. Don’t miss the best of what UBC Arts has to offer this month!
Artivism: A Festival of Creative Resistance
Until Oct 5 | Various locations
FREE
The second annual ARTIVISM festival — a student-run event focused on social justice — continues this month. It gives student artists a chance to create, exhibit, and perform their work throughout UBC’s venues including the Museum of Anthropology, the Belkin Art Gallery, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Barnett Hall, Dorothy Somerset Studio Theatre, Hatch Gallery, MAS and AHVA art gallery.
Check out the full line-up of student-led dialogues, exhibits, art sales and performances.
The Nature of Canada
The Nature of CanadaOct 2 | 5:00 – 6:30 PM with reception to follow | Green College, Coach House
FREE
The Nature of Canada is an innovative collection of reflections on environmental issues old and new. Fifteen authors from across the country grapple with two deceptively simple but ultimately complicated questions: How have people engaged with Canadian nature and what do these engagements reveal about the nature of Canada (and Canadians)?
Join co-editor Graeme Wynn and speakers Wade Davis, Tzeporah Berman, and Ian Gill for a lively, in-depth, discussion about The Nature of Canada. Marsha Lederman, Western Arts Correspondent for The Globe and Mail will moderate the discussion.
IGNITE Book Club
Oct 3 | 5:00-6:00 PM | Sage Bistro
FREE
IGNITE Book Club presents critically acclaimed author David Chariandy for an evening of discussion and connection. The first in an ongoing series of engagements with racialized authors at UBC’s Vancouver campus, Chariandy will share insights into his works and finding joy amidst his experience of living as a racialized individual, author, and academic. Hosted by Dr. Minelle Mahtani, Senior Advisor to the Provost on Racialized Faculty, this is an opportunity to hear one of Canada’s leading authors reflect on his lived experiences and signature works.
Arts Career Conversations: Entrepreneurship Edition
Oct 3 | 6:00-8:00 PM | Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, Dodson Room
FREE
Curious about building your own business or exploring a side hustle? With critical thinking skills, adaptability, and creativity, Arts students are particularly well suited to becoming entrepreneurs. Come and listen to stories from a panel of Arts alumni who have built successful businesses. Login to CareersOnline to RSVP.
UBC Bands: Symphonic Wind Ensemble & Concert Winds
UBC Bands: Symphonic Wind Ensemble & Concert WindsOct 4 | 7:30 PM | Chan Centre
$8 or FREE Rush Tickets for UBC Students
Directed by Dr. Robert Taylor, the UBC Bands program includes two ensembles: Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Winds. Both ensembles are distinguished by their high level of performance, creative thematic programming, and commitment to contemporary music through commissions, premieres, and composer residencies.
UBC Choirs: Reconciliation and Mercy
Oct 18 | 7:30pm | Chan Centre
$8 or Free Rush Tickets for UBC Students
A concert full of hope and promise featuring UBC’s University Singers and Choral Union. Featuring a dynamic piece by T. Patrick Carrabré, UBC School of Music’s new director, alongside many other moving works.
Diwali at MOA
Oct 19 | 12:00-4:00 PM | Museum of Anthropology
FREE with admission (admission to MOA is free for UBC students, staff and faculty)
Diwali is an annual celebration that takes place around the new moon between the Hindu months of Asvina and Kartika (late October/early November), and is observed by Hindus around the world, as well as people of other faiths, such as Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists.
Join MOA for a delightful Diwali afternoon for all ages. Learn to make rangoli art and colouring patterns, try sari tying, and help lay a traditional candle light design in the Haida House. A henna artist will be onsite to offer beautiful temporary body art (by donation).
Five Ways to Move the Humanities into Public Space and Public Action
Five Ways to Move the Humanities into Public Space and Public ActionOct 24 | 3:30-5:00 PM | Buchanan Tower 323
FREE
In this talk, Paul Yachnin (former Director of the Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas at McGill University) discusses how humanities scholars can bring their knowledge, skills, and ways of seeing the world to others outside the academy.
Happy Ever After? How Marriage Impacts Our Health and Happiness
Happy Ever After? How Marriage Impacts Our Health and HappinessOct 25 | 6:30-8:00 PM | UBC Robson Square C300
$10
Today, like never before, we have choices around marriage—not just in whether or not we will get married but in the types of marriages that we want. Has all this choice made us happier and healthier? Join four UBC Arts researchers: Marina Adshade, Mandy Len Catron, Yue Qian and Carrie Jenkins for an evening of conversation about the marital revolution.
Naomi Klein in Conversation with Kathryn Gretsinger
Naomi Klein in Conversation with Kathryn GretsingerOct 26 | 2:00-3:30 PM | Chan Centre
FREE (pay what you can)
The #1 international and New York Times bestselling author Naomi Klein speaks to the most pressing issue of our time: how bold climate action is essential—not only for environmental survival but also for a just and thriving society.
Her latest book, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal, gathers more than a decade of her impassioned writing, pairing it with new material on the staggeringly high stakes of our immediate political and economic choices. This important, elegant discussion is bound to provoke and inspire. Don’t miss a chance to hear from one of the essential voices of our time.
