I hope you’ve had a relaxing May because it’s about to get busy! There are many events happening throughout the UK this June, spanning a huge variety of cultural forms, from contemporary art to popular music. What they share in common is creativity and innovation, the capacity to inspire, and a fresh helping of Canadian talent. It’s a good thing this month starts off with a long weekend because between celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee, you’ll want plenty of time to immerse yourself in the culture that Canadians have to offer. Read on to find out what's destined for your cultural diary this June.

Anonymous photo, Sir George Williams University protest, 1969. Gazette newspaper fonds.

Anachronism and assemblage: the unfinished image of Montreal

9 June 2022

This fascinating talk takes Montreal as a case study to consider urban temporality, and how an uncovered archive can contribute to the evolving identity of a city. Held at the Courtauld, it considers resurfaced and re-circulated images of the Sir George William affair, the largest student occupation and protest in Canadian history that was held at what is now Concordia University, in response to mishandling of racist allegations against faculty. Book your spot to learn about important reconsiderations of how archives and visual culture affect the narrative of a place.

Adam Baker, 'Let's sit in front of the mirror all night and imagine', 2022. Oil on canvas, 90cm x 120cm.

Come out and play at Beers London, 19 June - 16 July

Last month, I included London-based Canadian artist Andrew Salgado's solo exhibition at Beers, London. This June, Salgado trades his artist hat for that of curator in this group exhibition that celebrates the expanse of queerness as manifest in the varied colours and forms produced by international artists of the LGBTQ+ community. Expect paintings, ceramics, and more, presenting an array of compositions that speak to the experience of queerness.

Rajni Perera, *Traveller*, Commission for the Royal Bank Of Canada. 40” X 60”, mixed media on paper.

Rajni Perera: Traveller, Eastside Projects, 4 June to 6 August 2022

Ready to immerse yourself in an otherworldly science fiction dreamscape? Toronto-based, Sri-Lanka born artist Rajni Perera continues with her series Traveller, which presents paintings, sculptures and more in a speculative future after white supremacy has dissipated and in the aftermath of ecological collapse. Encounter human-like figures of a distant time ahead, reconsider how the inhabitants of an "immigrant future" may live, and reimagine how kinship can be formed in the poisoned landscapes following climate disaster. Taking place at Eastside Projects in Birmingham.

Folk Music in Glasgow and Beyond

1st and 9th of June

Glasgow is an exceptionally musical city, and they always seem to have some Canadian talent in their programming. This month, three concerts deserve your time and attention. The first is Juno-nominated Madison Violet, a musical duo hailing from Toronto, who will be performing at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow. Catch them on the 1st of June at one of my favourite spaces in Glasgow for a night of folksy magic, or see where else they’ll be touring in the UK. Then on 9th June, head to The Hold, a venue at the Admiral Bar to see three-time Juno nominee Suzie Ungerleider perform her lyrical masterpieces. If you’re unable to make it to Glasow, Suzie will be touring around the UK throughout the month of June.

Canadian Rock Music in the UK

Multiple dates

This June, in several locations around the UK, you’ll be able to catch Canadian rock legends live in concert. In London, the market town of Castle Donington, and Glasgow, Theory of a Deadman from B.C. will be playing their alternative rock sounds. Then on 29th June, Bryan Adams will be making his way to Cornwall as a part of his UK tour. Can’t make it for that date? Fret not, for he’s got several more dates throughout July that you’ll be able to book tickets for.

A Thousand Words for Weather, Senate House Library

22 June 2022 - 25 March 2023

In the collaboration of my dreams between one of my favourite buildings in London coupled with an arts commissioners that always seems to hit the mark, A Thousand Words for Weather is a sonic installation that spans three floors of the iconic Senate House Library. Conceived by British-Canadian-Taiwanese writer Jessica J. Lee and produced by Artangel, an organisation that connects groundbreaking artists with unconventional spaces, A Thousand Words for Weather works with seven other poets of varying mother tongues to produce a shared, multilingual weather “dictionary”. Through listening pods installed throughout the library, visitors will be able to engage with a sound work derived from the dictionary by sound artist Claudia Molitor, with a system designed by software architect Peter Chilvers that responds to the weather outside.

Canadian Films at the Barbican, London

23rd and 30th June 2022

The Barbican often comes up in my lists because their cinemas frequently feature Canadian films that are difficult to find elsewhere. June is no exception, with two films, including a short film part of an event series, that were produced in Canada. The short film is Loving Our Language: Pride in Disability Culture (2019), taking a look at queerness and disability, and is a part of Oska Bright Film Festival 2022, celebrating queer freedom, on 23rd June. Then, Brown Girl Begins (2019) will be screening on the 30th of June. A Canadian science fiction that can be considered a prequel to Brown Girl in the Ring, a 1998 novel by Jamaican-Canadian writer Nalo Hopkinson this Afro-futurist tale tackles issues of poverty and touches on topics of magical realism and folklore.

Thrush Holmes, Glacier, 2022. Acrylic, oil, and neon on canvas mounted to panel with artist's frame. 183 cm x 152 cm.

Thrush Holmes: What’s it all for? at Unit London

31 May to 2 July 2022

Back when I lived in Toronto and was pursuing an arts degree, Canadian artist Thrush Holmes was a controversial figure, and becoming a big deal in the international art scene. He reportedly dropped out of the Ontario College of Art and Design, then went on to sell his large painted canvases on eBay to the likes of Hollywood celebrities for a hefty amount. This was before he started incorporating neon lights into his paintings, which has now become a staple of his work. In What’s it all for? at Unit London, Holmes continues his bold, gestural compositions that take on both familiar subject matter and idiosyncratic movement.

Machine de Cirque, Sadler’s Wells Peacock theatre, London

1 - 11 June 2022

Dance and humour combine in this impressive performance by Canadian circus company Machine de Cirque at dance theatre Sadler’s Wells this June. Straying from their conventional programming of contemporary dance, you can expect everything from acrobatics to juggling in a show that combines the talent and grace of dance with the humour, upbeat atmosphere and accessibility of a circus performance.

Adrian Stimson, Manifest Buffalo: A Bison Dream Past 1, oil and graphite on canvas.

In case you missed it: Adrian Stimson’s Manifest Buffalo: A Bison Dream

In May, Canadian Indigenous artist Adrian Stimson had his first European exhibition with Gurr Johns, a gallery in London run by and the art advisory and auction agency of the same name. In this painting exhibition, canvases portray bison against snowy white-grey landscapes, captured in frames alongside pipelines, nuclear explosions, and other artefacts that speak to the residual colonial violence of past decades and centuries. You can read more about the exhibition in this article from CBC news.

What’s on June: Canadian Culture in the UK