Arts

After more than a year of cancelled live performances, Victoria’s theatre scene is coming back to the stage, at least in part. This year’s Fringe Festival features a mix of live and virtual performances that include political deportation, sharks, rockstars, lawyers, and more; this year’s Fringe has it all. Bema Productions founder Zelda Dean is […]

Whether it’s a song, novel, or screenplay, nothing brings out its creator’s thoughts and emotions like the craft of writing. And this month at Deluge Contemporary Art, Jo Ying Peng has curated an exhibit dedicated to deconstructing the act of writing as a way to shape identity. Why This Word runs until Saturday, August 21 […]

A new art exhibit that follows stories from Black women such as Sylvia Stark, who was born enslaved in Missouri, is opening on Sunday at the Royal BC Museum. Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum is being presented by the BC Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS) in partnership with the museum and runs […]

I’ve talked here before about my love for writing reviews of live theatre and of how distressing it was for me to have to put that writing on hold while COVID-19 took over. Finally, it appears that COVID’s disruptions might be on hold for the moment, which means that Blue Bridge Theatre is boldly stepping […]

Canadian artist and Victoria resident Emily Carr may have painted her scenes close to 100 years ago, but her work has never been more relevant than it is today, says Art Gallery of Greater Victoria acting chief curator Nicole Stanbridge. Stanbridge is also co-curator of a new exhibit, Emily Carr: Seeing and Being Seen, at […]

Victoria-based figurative painter Lisa Hebden became interested in the idea that sparked her current exhibit, Swimmers, while in Argentina in 2012. It was a hot summer and she spent a lot of time in pools; she wanted to delve deeper into how the connection to ourselves changes when we’re in the water, our skin distorted […]

I love live theatre. I love the anticipation of a night out, watching excited actors come alive in their roles, the admiration I feel for the work and creativity put into the sets and costumes, and, most of all, the telling of stories. Needless to say, I was heartbroken when COVID-19 put an end to […]

In order for an artist to make good art, they really need to be willing to dive into challenging themes. Think of the classic example of William Shakespeare’s depressing break from comedy while he did the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, or, to give a more modern example, Dennis Lehane’s dark description of human nature […]

The Homeless Gospel Choir This Is a Protest Song (A-F Records) 2/5 Derek Zanetti is a singer/songwriter from Pittsburgh who has travelled the world singing acoustic punk rock protest songs. Many of his songs deal with global politics, addiction, and mental-health struggles. The live This Is a Protest Song has a very unique tone and […]

When the pandemic put a wrench in live theatre, it threw local director Fran Gebhard for a loop. Through her master’s degree, teaching theatre at UVic, and directing, she has devoted her entire life to the theatre. Now, after 15 months off from live shows, Salt-Water Moon—a love story set in Newfoundland in the 1920s—is […]