What's On February 2023: Canadian Culture in the UK
Ready to temper all that start-of-the-year productivity with some cultural respite? In the days leading up to February, and throughout the month, Canadian culture will be surfacing in the UK in the form of humour, movement and discerning artistic expression. Immerse yourself in the mastery of brush strokes influenced by Canadian landscapes, get lost in the poetry of dance inspired by a Canadian legend, or else contemplate the contemporary condition through thought-provoking photographic practices particular to Canadian art history. Read on to find out what you need to add to your cultural diary this February.
Peter Doig, Alpinist, 2022, Pigment on linen, 295cm x 195cm © Peter Doig, All Rights Reserved.
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig, The Courtauld
10 Feb - 29 May 2023
Situated on the top floor of Somerset House in London, the new Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries will be home to a major solo exhibition of internationally acclaimed artist Peter Doig, whose celebrated paintings have been a staple in the artistic canon of recent years. With several years spent in Canada before and during his artistic career, Doig’s artworks often take on subject matters that reveal a nostalgic ardour for the country’s varied landscapes.
Dance me - Music by Leonard Cohen, Sadler’s Wells, London
7-11 February 2023
Leonard Cohen’s music is moving and deep on its own but paired with masterful choreography and dynamic dramaturgy, it transforms into something profound and resonant. Performing artists from Ballets Jazz Montréal and Robomagic take the stage this February at Sadler’s Wells to produce a show approved by the great Canadian musician himself during his lifetime, joining dance, music, and arresting visual flair to bring out a side of Cohen’s work as yet unseen. And if you’d like to make a big night of it, with Canadian friends, the Canada Club is hosting a special evening. Don’t miss your opportunity to see the London Premiere Tour and gain exclusive access to a Canada Club pre-performance reception, Q&A and meet-and-greet with Alexandra Damiani (Artistic Director), Marie-Joëlle Tremblay (Executive Director), and the dancers of Ballets Jazz Montréal. Tickets are £165 and available through the Canada Club.
Jon Rafman, film still from Minor Daemon Vol 1, 2022.
Jon Rafman: Minor Daemon Vol 1, 180 Strand, London
2 February - 25 March
Canadian artist and filmmaker Jon Rafman will be premiering his 2022 film in the UK this February. Taking up the big screen at 180 Strand in London will be a continuation of his mesmerising and uncanny practice that blurs fiction with critique, and surreal settings with palpably familiar tropes. Minor Daemon Vol 1 follows the journey of two friends playing video games in a "Hieronymus Bosch-like hellscape", rendered using consumer animation technology to produce a narrative that both disturbs and captivates.
John Hartman, Canadian b. 1950, Esi Edugyan, Victoria, 2018, oil on linen, 48 x 54 inches, Private Collection. Photo credit: Joseph Hartman.
John Hartman: Many Lives Mark This Place, Canada Gallery, London
Until 1 April 2023
Literature meets fine art in this painting exhibition by Canadian artist John Hartman, taking place at Canada Gallery at Canada House in London. Canadian authors are portrayed in the locations from where they derive inspiration, forging an intimate connection between people, places, and the influence they have on literature. The result is a tapestry that weaves together authorship, space, and the intangible threads of narrative surfaced through the detailed brushstrokes of a seasoned and celebrated Canadian painter.
Tom Stade: The High Road, multiple locations
Until March 2023
If you feel like you’re in need of a good laugh to break the tension of January blues, you likely aren’t alone. For those after a bit of humour with a particular Canadian flair, Edinburgh-based BC-born comedian Tom Stade will be taking the stage across the UK in February with hilarious stand-up acts featuring his engaging way of story-telling.
Rodney Graham, Paddler, Mouth of the Seymour, 2012 – 2013. Painted aluminum lightboxes with transmounted chromogenic transparencies; triptych.
Rodney Graham: Getting it Together in the Country, Hauser & Wirth Somerset
28 January - 8 May 2023
A creative tour de force, Canadian artist Rodney Graham passed away last year, leaving behind his well-established legacy within the Western contemporary art canon. In dialogue with the rural setting of the gallery, this exhibition, which Graham had worked on prior to his passing, features his iconic lightbox photography with works created between 2011 and 2013. Expect larger-than-life images that continue to depict him as an array of characters, a framework through which he examines and comments on the world around us.
Cirque du Soleil: ‘Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities’, Royal Albert Hall, London
Until 5 March 2023
The Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil group is synonymous with high-quality entertainment that merges astounding acrobatics with crowd-pleasing theatrics. For this limited-time showing, in celebration of the Royal Albert Hall's 150th anniversary, Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities tells the tale of imagination and wonder set in a wondrous world of steampunk aesthetics. Join the Seeker, the protagonist of the show, on an adventure that opens up inspiring new worlds of strange and wondrous characters.
The Marvellous Myth Hunter, Southbank Centre, London
12 February 2023
For families and kids, the Marvellous Myth Hunter and the Southbank Centre in London is a free storytelling event that takes audiences on a voyage throughout the far reaches of the world and into the depths of myths and monsters. Dive into Norse mythology, meet ancient gods in the Congo and learn about lore from the Anishinaabe in Canada. Fully interactive and filled with adventure, you’ll want the young person in your life to bring their game face.
Film still, Crash, Canada/UK 1996 Dir David Cronenberg 100 min digital presentation.
Film Screening: Crash, Barbican, London
14 February 2023
For those who want to get a little weird this Valentine’s Day, the divisive cult classic by the Canadian father of body horror David Cronenberg will be playing at the Barbican. Based on the J. G. Ballard novel of the same name, Crash opens up a bizarre world of lust and violence that defy all clichés. See it on the big screen for an atypical date night.