What's on: Canadian arts and culture events in the UK this February
It’s hard to believe that an entire month of 2022 has already passed, but here we are, on the doorsteps of February. With restrictions being lessened in the UK, there is every excuse to find your way to one of the many fantastic art exhibitions and events opening this month. We’ve gathered both group and solo shows, in addition to concerts and fairs that feature Canadian talent, a selection of events that will stimulate minds and stir imaginations throughout this cold, damp February. Read on to find out where to go in the UK this month to see art and culture that hails from Canada.
Rita Evans, Coil of Days 2019/20 film still. © Rita Evans 2019.
Rita Evans: Stringing the Matrix at Tate St Ives
5 February - 2 May 2022
British-Canadian artist Rita Evans presents a new work commissioned by Tate St Ives, opening on 5 February. Her sculptures often tread the line between artwork and instrument, played to produce a collective experience and turn these objects into sound sculptures. This particular commission is inspired by the architecture of Constructivist artist Naum Gabo and references the stringed forms of other works found at St Ives, including the sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. It features large-scale brass hoops with thread woven around the sculpture and is accompanied by the 2019 film Coil of Days, featuring Evans’s sound sculptures played in a performance choreographed by artist and dancer Pepa Ubera.
Lines In The Snow, New Art Project, London
24 February - 30 April 2022
This group exhibition, curated by Canadian gallery artist Zachari Logan, features 12 Canadian artists working in drawing to highlight the broad variety of drawing techniques employed in creating contemporary art. The participating artists range from well-established to ones who are newer to the scene. They include Alison Norlen, Stephen Andrews, Ruth Cuthand, Jane Buyers, Andréanne Godin, Ted Barker, Tristram Landsdowne, Wally Dion, Nathan Carson and Andrew Salgado.. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing works by Ruth Cuthland, whose art often references her indigenous roots and the policies which limit the freedoms and living experiences of Canadian First Nations people, as well as Stephen Andrews, whose work began with portraits featuring those who have, like him, been diagnosed with AIDS, now evolving to a portfolio of works that deal with issues of memory and technology.
Yarli Allison, Work-in-process, a VR sex dungeon, collaborate with Letizia Miro, 2020.
Decriminalised Futures, Institute of Contemporary Art, London
15 February – 22 May 2022
Once a highly contentious topic, sex work has been at the forefront of discussions on human rights in recent years. Throughout culture and academia, it has been recognised as a highly gendered issue that spans topics of labour, policing and borders. Expanding on these existing conversations, Decriminalised Futures at the ICA in London brings together various artists who will be presenting work that highlights the history of sex work, contemporary experiences by sex workers and how issues surrounding sex work intersect with the likes of racial justice, queer and trans liberation and anti-austerity work. Prominently featured in this exhibition is Canadian-born Hong Kongese artist Yarli Allison, who will be presenting a time-based installation created in collaboration with Letizia Miro, a Spanish poet, sex worker and emigree to London. The installation explores the concept of the “ideal” as both a pleasing product and coping mechanism, blending vocal performances and digital modelling to produce a video work that acts partly as fiction and partly as a documentary.
Installation Image of Paper at Beers London. Photo courtesy of Damian Griffiths.
Paper, Beers London
On until 26 February 2022
Opened last week and on until 26 February, Paper at Beers London is a group show with 32 artists, including three Canadians, presenting works on paper that span an impressive breadth of styles, processes and subject matter. Of the participating Canadian artists, Tel Aviv-based Melanie Daniel’s quietly colourful images combine pixelated icons from a decidedly digital realm with the curves and lines of everyday scenery. UK-educated and based Canadian artist Andrew Salgado uses oil and oil pastels to create exuberant figurative images that centre movement and colour. Mike Swaney, born in British Columbia and currently based in Barcelona, uses a mix of various mediums to create artworks with a child-like resonance in its playfulness and motifs.
Toni Losey, The Dance - Petulia and Pietro, 2021. Earthenware, 39 cm x 30 cm x 29 cm and 39 cm x 32 cm x 28 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Collect 2022, Somerset House, London
24 February - 27 February, 2022
Collect 2022, taking place at the end of February, is an art fair that offers a selection of the best that contemporary craft has to offer. Organised by Craft Council, it showcases a diverse variety of mediums that range from ceramics to neon. We interviewed participating Canadian ceramic artist Toni Losey about her practice and the pieces that will be included in the fair. Read about Toni’s artworks and her artistic practice here.
Patrick Watson at the Barbican
Classical Music at the Barbican in London
Various dates
Music fans will want to pay the Barbican a few visits this month, with Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan presenting an emotional and raw performance in her rendition of Poulenc La voix humaine. Another event to look forward to at the Barbican is Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson, performing along with composer Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in this concert of Watson’s compositions, reimagined.
More events to add to your cultural diary
If you're near Quebec City these coming months, the 10th edition of the city's Biennial will be taking place from 25 February until 5 April and promises a selection of local, national and international artists that will continue placing this event as a staple of the Canadian contemporary art scene. If you're looking to engage in some youth opera, Glyndebourne presents Pay the Piper at the end of February, composed by four female musical talents, including Canadian Cecile Livingston, whom we spoke to last year. And if you're around Wolverhampton, the British Art Show 9 will be taking place at both the Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the Wolverhampton School of Art, featuring many of the most influential artists based in the UK today, including border-bending Canadian artist Sin Wai Kim, formally known as Victoria Sin.