What’s On September 2022: Canadian Arts and Culture in the UK
After a sweltering summer, September brings with it countless arts and culture events to immerse yourself in. We’ve collated some that we’re most excited about, all of which prominently featuring Canada or Canadian talent, that you’ll want to know about. From journeys through the Canadian Arctic to paintings composed by the best of up and coming contemporary Canadian artists, find out where to go this September for a fresh helping of Canadian culture in the UK and beyond.
Shore, installation view, Canada House Gallery.
Shore: Caroline Gagné, Nadia Myre and Anne-Marie Proulx, Canada House Gallery in London
Until 24 September 2022
An exhibition featuring three Quebecois artists who showed work during the 2019 Manif d’art, the Quebec City Biennial, this exhibition takes as its thesis a version of humanity that is a fundamental part of nature rather than one that is placed in an hierarchical order above nature. Photography, video and installation art come together in dialogue to explore raw materiality, reconceive land as a living and communicating whole, and critique the contrived permanence of museum objects.
Barbara Rae, Ice Tracks.
Barbara Rae Exhibition (UNI-Versal), The Sir Duncan Rice Library Gallery, Aberdeen
15 - 17 September 2022
View artworks inspired by Scottish artist Barbara Rae's journeys from Orkney to the Canadian Arctic over the course of 2015 to 2017, alongside North American objects relating to Orcadian explorer of her namesake, John Rae. Journey through the Canadian North with these intertwining works that depict stunning detail and subtle hues across prints and paintings.
Emanuel de Carvalho, Nothing Goes With This Body, 2021, oil on linen.
Emanuel de Carvalho: New State, Guts Gallery, London
9 - 30 September 2022
Sensual paintings, sculptures and a sound installation can be found in this solo exhibition by Canadian artist Emanuel de Carvalho, an exploration of ways that perception might be queered. Soft to the eyes, almost good enough to touch, the subjects of his paintings encapsulate a snapshot composition while nodding to a minimal aesthetic that celebrates the seemingly banal, figures without stark identifying marks presented with the sheen of objects from everyday life. A wall is constructed across the length of the exhibition, acting as a disruptive device that reconfigures the visitors' navigation whilst shielding away the sound installation that plays song samples that are meant to frustrate, stopping before the anticipated crescendo.
Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto
Until 18 September 2022
As far as quintessential contemporary Canadian culture goes, few are as famous as the Toronto International Film Festival. If you’re in Toronto during the next week, be sure to book a ticket to this year’s incredible selection of films and be a part of this iconic festival.
Portrait of Zadie Xa. Photo: Benito Mayor Vallejo.
Zadie Xa: House Gods, Animal Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness, Whitechapel Gallery, London
20 September 2022 - May 2023
Korean-Canadian artist Zadie Xa constructs mythologies that employ artefacts and narratives from her own background, both cultural and personal. For this large-scale solo exhibition, new bodies of work continue Zadie’s works using textiles and painting, forming installations that construct storied environments exploring hybrid and diasporic identities, folklore, religious ceremonies and history. Her soft pieces transform into characters that take on the identities of shapeshifters and tricksters while lighting and audio play with the gallery’s architecture.
Danica Lundy, Overtime, 2022, oil on canvas.
Danica Lundy: Stop Bath, White Cube Bermondsey, London
Until 11 September 2022
For Canadian artist Danica Lundy’s first solo presentation in London, large-scale and smaller paintings depicting her particular visual language, where muted colours meet strange perspectives to create otherworldly compositions filled with movement and narrative. Messy and ethereal, her paintings depict the disorientation of everyday life, pulling motifs from the artist’s own experiences as an athlete and teenager as well as taking on the viewpoint of varied occupations and positions. The results are a collection of fluid, noisy yet serene images that produce an incisive study on subjectivity and perspective.
Material Experiments, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
17 - 25 September 2022
As a part of the London Design Festival taking place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, this demonstration and display of glass-blowing by Canadian artist Omer Arbel references the storied life of Saint Clare and her vigorous displays of courage and subversion, creating delicate glass sculptures during a demonstration in the museum’s John Madejski Garden before being carried into the Santa Chiara Chapel inside the museum.
Alia Syed, Meta Incognita: Missive II. Courtesy of Alia Syed and LUX, London.
Open City: Meta Incognita by Alia Syed, Mimosa House, London
Until 13 September 2022
As a part of Open City Documentary Festival, British artist Alia Syed presents Meta Incognita: Missive II, the second of a triptych of films that employ various parts of the Thames to animate diverse histories. In this film, based on the travels of explorer Martin Frobisher, a speculative future is presented wherein the Canadian Northwest Passage is opened up to heavy trans-continental cargo trade due to the progression of climate change.
The Slocan Ramblers, UK Tour
Until 18 September 2022
Hailing from Toronto, this Juno-nominated bluegrass band will be bringing their folksy yet dynamic sound across the UK this September. Book tickets to be a part of their live performance and indulge in Canadian home-grown musical talent that both draws from tradition and carries itself with contemporary innovation.
Blythe Scott, Come a Little Closer, Mixed Media on Linen. Diptych Size: 193 x 132 cm.
Blythe Scott: Come A Little Closer, Morningside Gallery, Edinburgh
Until 18 September 2022
Cityscapes of colourful nostalgia and satisfying patternations are what Vancouver Island-based Scottish artist Blythe Scott presents in her paintings that evoke a child-like playfulness and the softness of warm textiles. Harbours collide with blizzards of paint strokes and bright hues while geometry melts away into pleasing depth in these compositions that communicate an emotional response to the city of Edinburgh, perhaps influenced by the distance forged between her Canadian residence and Scottish home.