This August, immerse yourself in a 360° projection that takes you deep into an ancient forest, have all your burning questions answered at two Ask Arts Anything events, and much more.
AUGUST
A rescued damaged photo found In Yamamoto-Chō in Watari District, Miyagi Prefecture. ©︎ Lost & Found Project
VocalEye Almost Live Virtual Tour: A Future for Memory
Wednesday, August 11 | 6:30 p.m. | Online
Free
MOA is partnering with VocalEye, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making public programming accessible for the blind and partially sighted, to offer an online tour of A Future for Memory: Art and Life after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This slow-looking virtual tour will include highlights from the exhibition, with visual descriptions for people with sight loss. Hosted by Amy Amantea, a member of the blind/low vision community and VocalEye executive director Steph Kirkland, this event will include a post-tour conversation and opportunity for Q&A with exhibition curator Fuyubi Nakamura.
Credit: Jonas Jacobsson/Unsplash
Book Launch: The Invention Of Multilingualism
Tuesday, August 17 | 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Online
Free
Join the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies for the virtual book launch for Dr. David Gramling’s latest book, The Invention of Multilingualism (Cambridge University Press, 2021). In this book, Dr. Gramling presents original new insights into the topical subject of multilingualism, describing its powerful social, economic and political discourses. The event features an introduction by Dr. Gramling, a conversation between the author and Dr. Ervin Malakaj about some of its key features, and a Q&A session.
Ask Arts Anything: First Year Student Meet & Greet
Tuesday, August 17 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Online
Free
Are you an incoming first-year student who will be new to the UBC campus? This is your pre-campus-arrival virtual welcome! Join Associate Deans Stefania Burk and Laura Moss, along with Arts Academic Advisors and Peer Advisors, for a casual chat about what to expect when you head to campus in September. From having fun and getting involved to picking a major or navigating the campus and current health protocols—all questions are welcome in this interactive, informal meet and greet.
Ask Arts Anything: Transfer & New to Campus Student Meet & Greet
Thursday, August 19 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Online
Free
Calling all second and third-year transfer students, and returning first-year students who are new to the UBC campus — this is your pre-campus-arrival virtual welcome! Join Associate Deans Stefania Burk and Laura Moss, along with Arts Academic Advisors and Peer Advisors, for a casual chat about what to expect when you head to campus in September. From having fun and getting involved to picking a major or navigating the campus and current health protocols—all questions are welcome in this interactive, informal meet and greet.
Sanctuary: The Dakota Bear Ancient Forest Experience
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Until September 26) | Museum of Anthropology
Free with museum admission
Sanctuary is a 360° projection that takes you deep into a forest that has existed since the last Ice Age and is now under threat. Inside a geodesic dome, built within the Haida House, viewers will experience an auditory mix of music and nature sounds, with a wraparound view of an ancient forest. Hosted by multimedia artist Cease Wyss, this is a transporting experience that will take you inside hollow trunks, where black bears make their winter dens, to the precipice of a waterfall and other magical places.
JULY
The Last Jubilee
Friday, July 9 | 7 – 9 p.m. | Online
Free
Directed by MFA alum, Omar Muñoz, The Last Jubilee follows the story of a group of artists in a society where art has been deemed a threat and made illegal. This world is overrun by artificial intelligence, surveillance, and policing. The group of artists, who call themselves The Jubilee, gathers every week to make art in secret at the abandoned Frederic Wood Theatre. This cabaret-thriller was born in response to the frustration of having artists’ livelihoods taken away during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part-theatre, part-film, this piece will make you question not only the nature of theatre, but also the place art holds in society.
Indigenous Bodies of Evidence and Counter-Mapping in the “Green” Nuclear Archive
Wednesday, July 14 | 12:30 – 2 p.m. | Online
Free
How does our vision of a climate-friendly future hinge on rebranding or even erasing our toxic past? What bodies of evidence are enrolled as “proof” to create archives of sustainable or toxic energy choices? Join Dr. Ann-Elise Lewallen, associate professor of Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Victoria, as she explores recent Indigenous strategies to counter the “green energy” archive enlisted to promote nuclear energy.
A Future for Memory: A Conversation with Atsunobu Katagiri and Fumihiko Futakami
Thursday, July 15 | 6 – 7:30 p.m. | Online
Free
Join MOA for a virtual conversation with Atsunobu Katagiri, a featured artist in A Future for Memory: Art and Life After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fumihiko Futakami, curator of the Minamisōma City Museum. The conversation will be facilitated by MOA curator Fuyubi Nakamura. The guest speakers will discuss their personal experiences and involvement in the recovery process following the 2011 triple disaster that rocked Japan.
Image by Nigel Laing
Drawing in the Meadow: Workshop with Chrystal Sparrow and Holly Schmidt
Saturday, July 24 | 1 – 3 p.m. | Online
Free
Join artists Chrystal Sparrow and Holly Schmidt for an afternoon of drawing in Fireweed Fields. Chrystal and Holly will guide a series of drawing experiences that deeply engage with the clover, plantain, buttercup and grasses in the meadow. Using materials such as oil pastels and charcoal, participants will explore memory, emotion, and kinship relations with plants to create expressive and unique drawings. No previous drawing experience is required.
Roots and Shoots: Village Tales
Now streaming | Online
Free
Join Silk Road Music on a beautifully vivid journey through the many facets of traditional Chinese music and dance. Meet the ancient 5,000-year-old instrument that’s considered to be the grandparent of the accordion and harmonica, dance along to a lively tune, and discover what a horse race and a conversation between birds can sound like when imaginatively translated into music.
JUNE
Wolastoqey: Rising Voices in Language Revitalization
Available to watch now
Learn about the revitalization of the Wolastoqey language in a conversation with Dr. Bernard Perley and Logan Perley, moderated by UBC Asper Visiting Professor and CBC journalist Angela Sterritt. Dr. Bernard Perley is the Director of the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies at UBC whose research is rooted in language revitalization and linguistic anthropology. Logan Perley is a CBC journalist based out of New Brunswick as well as an advocate for the Wolastoqey language.
Roots and Shoots with Cris Derksen
Available to watch now
Acclaimed Indigenous cellist and composer and UBC Music alum Cris Derksen performs and discusses her work in a special digital edition of the Roots and Shoots Music Education Program, produced by the Chan Centre annually as a resource for Vancouver area schools. Derksen introduces school-aged children to an evocative new sound world in which the strings of her cello creak and squeal to mimic the sounds of cracking ice and singing whales and a traditionally “classical” instrument takes on a new life alongside electronic drum beats and vocal tracks.
Examining anti-Blackness and anti-Black racism
Thursday, June 3 | 4 – 5:30 p.m PT | Online
Free
Hear from alumni in different fields as they provide their insight on how anti-Blackness and anti-Black racism manifests in our culture and society, as well as how it drives their own lives and the work that they do in their communities. Learn from and reflect on the lived experiences shared in this conversation and examine the active role that we each need to play in dismantling oppressive systems and practices. This event is presented in partnership with the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office.
Our Animal Friends: Caring for yourself and the animals in your life
Tuesday, June 8 | 12 – 1:30 p.m. PT | Online
Free
Pet adoptions have been on the rise over the last year and there is interesting science behind our bond with animals. Hear from UBC experts from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and UBC Okanagan’s School of Education as they share their research on the impact that animals can have on our physical and mental health, well-being, and quality of life and offer guidance on caring for your pets. Francesca Fionda, Adjunct Professor in the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, will moderate the conversation.
Can We Cut Emissions Fast Enough?
Wednesday, June 9 | 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. PT | Online
Free
The climate crisis is one of the most challenging problems humanity has ever faced. Join us for a talk by Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), as she discusses how rich nations can respond to the planetary crisis in a way that avoid harming the development opportunities available to low and middle income countries in the Global South.
The National Forum on Anti-Asian Racism
June 10 – 11 | Online event
Free
UBC is convening in this two-day virtual event to address the ongoing crisis of escalating anti-Asian racism in Canada. Join a constellation of community organizers, scholars, and public intellectuals, along with key figures in government, health care, media, journalism, the corporate world and the not-for-profit sector for frank discussions about anti-Asian racism in Canada with the aim of articulating bold and concrete recommendations for action.
alumNIGHTS Pride 2021
Thursday, June 17 | 5 – 6 p.m. PT | Online
Free
Don’t miss the second annual alumNIGHTS Pride! This event will feature an iconic drag lip sync by Canadian drag celebrity Scarlett BoBo, a stunning operatic performance by UBC alum Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 (BMus’07), and a fun-filled battle of wits in a Pride Trivia Extravaganza hosted by Arts alum Mike Whitaker (BA’08).
Artists Unscripted: The Mothers of Native Hip Hop
Thursday, June 17 | 6 – 7 p.m. PT | Online
Free
Join the Museum of Anthropology for Artists Unscripted — a series of informal conversations with artists of diverse backgrounds, practices and outlooks. Featuring Christie Lee Charles’ groundbreaking hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ rap, MzShellz’s empowering hip hop for women, and DJ Kookum’s fresh beats and videos for youth and women alike, this event will introduce you to a perspective that balances family, culture and music.
The National Forum on Anti-Asian Racism: Student Dialogue
Friday, June 18 | 3:00 – 5 p.m. PT | Online
Free
This event is a student-facilitated discussion to provide space for post-secondary students from across Canada to reflect on their learnings from the National Forum on Anti-Asian Racism. The objectives of the event are to collectively identify and develop strategies for students to bring to their respective campus communities, and to support the building of Asian Canadian-focused student networks and cross-institutional knowledge at both a local and national level.
Image Bank
June 18 – August 22, 2021 | Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery
Free admission
Image Bank explores the artistic collaboration of Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov. This exhibition reflects on a period of optimism where artists envisioned a non-hierarchical alternative to the world of art galleries and museums, where images and ideas could be freely exchanged through the international postal system, thereby creating an open-ended and decentralized method of networking that predates social media.
Light Hours: Eleven Artists Looking at Hong Kong
Saturday, June 19 | 7 – 9 p.m. PT | Online
Free
Organized by UBC Hong Kong Studies and Hotam Press Gallery, this event brings together 11 Canadian artists of Hong Kong descent to explore their relationship to this special city with a unique history. By focusing on Hong Kong and the Canada–Hong Kong relationship, Light Hours seeks to open up a discourse about the complexity and possibility of a Hong Kong Canadian identity during a critical time.
Native Hip Hop Festival
Monday, June 21 | 6 – 10 p.m. PT | Online
Free
The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) will be co-presenting this year’s virtual Native Hip Hop Festival, now in its 7th year, in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day. Hop online for a powerful evening of politics, activism, and story telling woven through each performance by award-winning musicians. This celebration of Indigenous culture and hip hop will be set in MOA’s Haida House, against a stunning backdrop of Northwest Coast art and architecture.
Zakir Hussain: Alone Together
Saturday, June 26 | 7 p.m. PT | Online
$0 – $20
Virtually hosted at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts, you won’t want to miss this special performance by acclaimed tabla player, Zakir Hussain. Hussain will be joined virtually by Grateful Dead legend Mickey Hart and Bansuri virtuoso Rakesh Chaurasia. This event is part of the Indian Summer Festival, taking place from June 17 to July 17, 2021.
MAY
Holly Schmidt: Fireweed Fields
Ongoing | Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
Free
In this outdoor installation, Fireweed Fields transforms the Belkin’s lawns into a fireweed meadow, encouraging increased biodiversity through gradual succession as a metaphor for the resurgence of life after a crisis. This installation is part of artist Holly Schmidt’s public art initiative, Vegetal Encounters, and serves to tear through the fabric of maintained lawns and colonial ideals and plant the initial seeds for change.
Job Search Strategies: Networking, the Hidden Job Market and Interviews Skills
Thursday, May 6 | 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. PT | Online
Free
In this session, learn effective strategies to maximize your interview preparation, explore how understanding the hidden job market can boost your job search, and build your network of Arts alumni.
Exploring Asian Heritage in Vancouver
Thursday, May 6 | 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. PT | Online
Free
Celebrate Asian Heritage Month with this panel discussion featuring Arts faculty, students and alumni. Join in as they explore the significance of this occasion to Asian Canadians and answer questions from UBC and Vancouver community members.
Designing Your Future: Webinar Series for Graduating Arts Students
Saturday, May 8 | 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. PT | Online
Free
Developed specifically for graduating Arts students, this series of webinars will help you prepare for life after UBC. You can expect to learn about design-thinking principles, job applications, and utilizing LinkedIn for your job search. Don’t miss this opportunity to boost your job search strategies and maximize your interview preparation.
Community Connection Series: Career Stories with Indigenous Professionals
Thursday, May 13 | 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. PT | Online
Free
In this event, panelists will share the tools they have used to leverage their lived experiences and discuss strategies for building one’s network in order to gain access to career information, professional opportunities, and future mentors.The second half of the event is reserved for Indigenous students, with more informal conversations with alumni in breakout rooms.
A Future for Memory: Conversations with Masao Okabe and Chihiro Minato
Tuesday, May 18 | 7 – 8:15 p.m. PT | Online
Join MOA for a virtual conversation with Masao Okabe and Chihiro Minato — featured artists in A Future for Memory: Art and Life After the Great East Japan Earthquake, facilitated by exhibition curator Fuyubi Nakamura. The artists will discuss their artistic practices and involvement in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and provide background for their works on view in the exhibition.
