What's On This May: Canadian Culture in the UK
We're now more than a third of the way into the year, and I often find that this is around the time when a bit of reflection is warranted. You've done 2022 for a few months, and you might have a general idea of where it's headed, but you still have lots of time to affect the outcome and ensure the year is memorable for all the right reasons. Where will your days lead you?
Along with a long weekend to start us off and tons more sunshine, May is simply overflowing with art to see and exhibitions to attend, all by distinguished Canadian talent or else produced by Canadian organisations. We suggest taking some time to surround yourself with our selection of culture and inspiration and let that be the background to whatever great adventures you’ll embark on. From contemplative photographic art to exhibitions that explore our relationship with technology and nature, you’ll find something to your taste. Read on to discover what’s on this month.
Our Time on Earth, Barbican, London. Preview of Marshmallow Laser Feast, ©Dan Ross, 2022.
Our Time on Earth, The Curve at the Barbican, London
Thu 5 May—Mon 29 Aug 2022
Co-produced by Musée de la civilisation in Québec City, Our Time on Earth is an immersive exhibition that features 18 works to explore the space in which sustainability, climate, humanity and technology intersect. Set between the three themes of Belong, Imagine, and Engage, it takes visitors through a journey that both questions our current systems of valuation and knowledge product and proposes new ways to think, conceptualise, and enact change. Expect meditations on indigeneity, critiques of economic infrastructure, stunning visual experiences, and global perspectives featuring 12 nationalities.
If you’re on the other side of the Atlantic for the duration of the exhibition, fret not, for it will open in Musée de la civilisation in Québec City from 5 June to 17 December 2023 before heading on tour.
JJ Levine, Hubert and Joah 2021, 2021, Photography.
JJ Levine: Queer Portraits, Canada House Gallery, London
Until 2 July 2022
Just opened at the Canada House Gallery, Canadian artist JJ Levine’s solo presentation Queer Portraits celebrates resilience, queerness and community with portraits personal to him. His photographic practice employs traditional photographic techniques and features his friends in the queer community, whom he portrays as a part of an extended chosen family. As a trans man and an active part of the LGBTQ+ community, his images offer an informed understanding of both social and aesthetic dynamics. They feature settings and props carefully chosen by him in order to explore questions concerning private space and its function as a setting for the expression of marginalised identities. Tickets must be booked in advance, but they’re free to book, so be sure to do so in order to see these striking and subtly intimate compositions in person.
Come From Away, Phoenix Theatre, London
Until 15 October 2022
Originally developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project with Canadian producer Michael Rubinoff at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, this musical is based on the extraordinary true story where, following the incidents of September 11, 2001, U.S. airspace was shut down, forcing 4,000 planes to land at the nearest airport. A total of 38 planes landed in the small Newfoundland town of Gander, adding more than 6,000 people to their modest population of 10,000. A story of human kindness, small-town authenticity and Canadian virtues in a time of tragedy, this award-winning theatre show is a unique type of understated uplifting.
Jeff Wall, Trap set. 2021. Inkjet print, 65 3/8 × 70 7/8 × 2 11/16 in. (166 × 180 × 6.9 cm)
Jeff Wall, White Cube Mason’s Yard, London
27 April – 25 June 2022
Canadian Jeff Wall is one of the most celebrated photographic artists of our time, known for his often banal yet strikingly cinematic large-format prints. In another life, when I studied photography in art school, his works were the ones that captivated my imagination and inspired my colleagues to create grand stills that shimmered between documentary and staged. In this exhibition, works spanning the last 20 years are on display, featuring portrayals of nature and characters that you could very well step into. What might you derive from the scene of two men in black tie attire seemingly having an argument, or else a frenzy of branches in which a wooden animal trap can be spotted?
Zadie Xa, Long ago when tigers smoked, 2022. Digital drawing.
Zadie Xa: Long ago when tigers smoked, The Box, Plymouth
02 Apr 2022 - 05 Jun 2022
Textiles, paintings, and sculptures mingle with myth and historical archetypes in Canadian artist Zadie Xa’s solo exhibition at the Box in Plymouth. Taking two artefacts from the Box’s world cultures collection as a starting point, a narrative is woven about legends and the tropes in which certain animals have exemplified throughout history and across both Asian and Western cultures. The two objects, an 1800s tiger puppet from Myanmar and a bamboo pipe from Korea that was acquired in 1910, are also on display, along with tapestries Zadie created that were inspired by traditional Korean patchwork making, each named after a tree native to Vancouver, her place of birth.
Classical Music at Southbank Centre, London
6 and 7 May 2022
In celebration of the late and great Québécois composer Claude Vivier, three concerts will be happening at the Southbank Centre in London in early May. A lesser-known composer who might possess more talent than those who have received more acclaim than he, Vivier embodied the figure of the lonely artistic genius. He travelled widely in throughout his short life of 35 years, was highly regarded but known to be a bit of a chaotic and difficult person, and his legacy lives on as his fanbase grows posthumously. Attend concerts featuring the London Sinfonietta and Canadian musical collective Soundstreams to explore his unique sounds live.
Jersey Boys, Trafalgar Theatre, London
Until 2 October 2022
The legendary story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is told through hit songs you’ll likely remember, even if they were before your time. I first watched this Tony Award-winning musical in Toronto nearly a decade ago. I didn’t grow up with this music, nor was I particularly fond of musicals as a genre of entertainment, but even I was tapping my feet to the familiar tunes and outstanding vocals, directed by Canadian-American talent Des McAnuff. If you’re in London until October, you’ll want to treat yourself to a ticket.
Shahrzad Ghaffari
Some more Canadian art news
Leighton House Museum is set to reopen later this year, and in the meantime, Canadian-Iranian artist Shahrzad Ghaffari has been working on Oneness, an 11-metre-high mural that spans the wall of Leighton House’s new helical staircase. Inspired by a poem by the great Persian poet Rumi that touches on universal themes of love and knowledge, this mural nods to traditional Middle Eastern design with its turquoise blue paint strokes of calligraphy. While we anticipate the reopening of the Leighton House Museum, read about Shahrzad Ghaffari’s work on their website, along with a selection of interviews and feature stories linked at the bottom of the page.