It’s been such a swing from last week to this and spring finally seems to be upon us. Yay. I know how I’ll be celebrating – taking in some awesome art. It’s all here in this week’s Round Up.
LODHO’s Cabaret Returns To Theatre Junction
L’orchestre d’hommes-orchestres (LODHO) returns to Calgary this week with their Cabaret Brise-Jour (Shattered Cabaret): The Music of Kurt Weill.
Photo by Guillaume D. Cyr courtesy of Theatre Junction GRAND
In January 2011, L’orchestre d’hommes-orchestres wowed the High Performance Rodeo with their performance of Tom Waits’ music.
Now they’re back and their show featuring the music of Kurt Weill is one of the most anticipated shows of 2014.
Cabaret Brise-Jour (Shattered Cabaret): The Music of Kurt Weill showcases the great musical outsider and composer who collaborated with Bertolt Brecht on The Threepenny Opera. Weill fled Germany in 1933 and the show features an infusing of his songs with everything from punk rock to hip hop while the eight performers revive the horrors of war, the lights of Broadway and the cozy atmosphere of music halls.
Cabaret Brise-Jour (Shattered Cabaret): The Music of Kurt Weill runs April 9 to 12 at Theatre Junction GRAND. Calgary is Awesome readers also get 10 per cent off tickets; just tell ‘em we sent you.
Other actives for the run include an opening night reception on Wednesday, a pre show talk on Kurt Weill by University of Calgary professor Dr. Maria Euchner on Thursday and a RBC Emerging Artist Workshop with L’orchestre d’hommes-orchestres on Saturday.
Fly With Us Showcases Amazing Mixed-Ability Performance
If you’re a dance fan, you certainly won’t want to miss MoMo Dance Theatre’s show running this week.
Fly With Us brings together an amazing cast of mixed-ability performers along side some of Calgary’s brightest choreographers to create a quirky, unapologetically inspirational show.
MoMo Dance Theatre is one of the few companies in Canada that works with performers who identity both as physically or developmentally disabled. The performers meet and rehearse up to three times a week all through the year joined by special guests.
“This is the freakiest, most loveable ensemble I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with” said choreographer and Artistic Director Mark Ikeda. “No matter what MoMo creates work about, the result I keep hearing is that the performance is both uplifting and so much more artistically successful than most people assume we are capable of, they are blown away.”
The show is a collection of pieces created around the themes of identity and self vs group dynamics. Pieces include work by Betty Mitchell Award winning choreographer Anita Miotti, a piece devised through the Calgary-famous We Should Know Each Other events,and a fan-favourite at the High Performance Rodeo performed as part of ProArts@Noon.
Fly With Us runs at the Vertigo Studio Theatre April 11 and 12 at 8pm, with a pay-what-you-can matinee at 2pm on April 11.
The show is also part of the 2014 This Is My City Festival running until April 17 in venues across Calgary. Details here.
Input Need for ArtsVote
If you’re a regular reader of the Round Up, you know I’m all for making our voices heard and represented. So when I get an email requesting input on my thoughts for the City of Calgary 2015-2018 budget, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you all.
ArtsVote is planning to use the consultations as an opportunity to advocate for additional arts sector funding for the next four years. They’ll be specifically speaking on behalf of the arts sector throughout the budget planning process and are asking for your thoughts in order to provide an informed voice to City leaders.
They’re asking arts sector professionals from a range of disciplines to fill out a brief survey before April 18 and to sign up for their newsletter to stay up to date on their advocacy efforts.
Got Kids? Beakerhead K-12 Program Registration Now Open
If you’ve got school aged children who love art and science, Beakerhead recently opened registration for their 2014 K-12 School Programs and they’re expected to fill up fast. Schools and teachers are also encouraged to check it out.
Beakerhead’s education programs are designed to provide hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, engineering and math by incorporating arts and culture turning STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education into STEAM by adding an A for art and design.
There are a bunch of different opportunities including a three-week summer credit course for high school students, a student ambassador program, field trips, school visits and more.
Space is limited, so register early. Bussing subsidies are available to schools in financial need. Details here.
Arts Out and About
This week is also chock-full of awesome arts events to fill up your calendar.
On Thursday, April 10 AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art is teaming up with Calgary Underground Film Festival to present a one-night-only exhibition of collaborative drawings by Seth Scriver and Shayne Ehman.
The drawings tie into Scriver and Ehman’s TIFF award winning film Asphalt Watches (playing at The Globe Cinema on Friday, April 11 at 9:45pm).
Admission is free and open to the public. It all gets underway at 9pm at AVALANCHE! (BSMT 343 11th Ave SW).
And while you’re at the Globe Theatre (617 8th Ave SW) for CUFF make sure you check out the Seities Pop Up Gallery featuring the original plates, prints + polaroids from their recent publications theme: IDENTITY and theme: FEMININ.
The Seities Pop Up Gallery is open daily April 7 to 13 after 3pm.
Benjamin Bellas’ ONE’S PARENTS ARE GIVEN THE LONE INSTRUCTION TO EACH TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF A POINSETTIA THAT ONE HAS GIVEN TO ONE’S DYING GRANDMOTHER; THE RESULTANT IMAGES ARE PLACED IN FRAMES BUILT BY ONE’S GRANDFATHER TO ONE’S SPECIFICATIONS
Photo courtesy of The New Gallery
On Friday, April 11 it’s opening night for Steven Beckly and Benjamin Bellas’ Soft Movements in the Same Direction at The New Gallery.
The show pairs the work of two artists concerned with representations of intimacy, impermanence, and distance using photography, video and found objects.
Soft Movements in the Same Direction runs April 11 to May 17 at The New Gallery (208 Centre Street SE) with an opening reception this Friday at 8pm. Attendance is free and all are welcome.
Also on Friday is opening reception of the What’s on the Surface? exhibition at Atlantis Fine Framing and Arts Studio (4515 Manhattan Rd SE) from 6pm to 9pm.
The exhibit is put on by the Surface Design Association – an international group connecting fibre and mixed media artists that encompasses the coloring, patterning, and structuring of fiber and fabric.
The show marks the first SDA exhibit in Alberta and includes works from 24 artists with many in attendance for the opening.
What’s on the Surface? runs until April 29 and is open 10am to 5pm Monday through Saturday.
On Saturday there’s a whole bunch of arts goodness happening including the Umbrella Visual Arts Conference.
Elephant Artist Relief (EAR) and Untitled Art Society have teamed up to present a full-day arts conference on April 12. They’ll be addressing the concerns of Calgary’s visual arts communities including relevant issues and provide a forum for their discussion. A bunch of different panels will be going on including one on economic stability for artists will feature moderator Cassandra Paul, administrative director of AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art alongside speakers Punam Gill of PunamArts films and projects; Daniel Kirk, director of Blank Page Studio; Kris Weinmann, project coordinator of Nuit Blanche Calgary; and Tara Westermann, associate director of Barbara Edwards Contemporary.
There’ll also be three Calgary-based artists – Sara Rennie, Alison Stalker, and Lane Shorde – on hand specifically commissioned to contribute to the creative environment of the conference through the production and exhibition of visual and performative works that will be executed on-site for one day only.
It all goes down this Saturday, April 12 from 10am to 6pm at the Cliff Bungalow Arts Centre (2105 Cliff Street SW) The Umbrella Visual Arts Conference is free to attend but donations are welcome. Participants can register here.
The Echo by Fiona Ackerman
Photo courtesy of Herringer Kiss Gallery
If going to exhibits is more your pace, Saturday afternoon has a few to choose from.
Over at the Herringer Kiss Gallery, Fiona Ackerman will be on hand as her exhibition Amplifier opens with a reception from 2pm to 5pm.
Originally from Montreal, Fiona Ackerman is a painter living and working in Vancouver, BC. Her work has been exhibited extensively across Canada and received an honorable mention for the Kingston Prize for Canadian Portraiture in 2009.
Amplifier runs April 12 to May 10 at the Herringer Kiss Gallery (709A – 11 Ave SW) and is open Tuesdays to Friday from 10am to 5:30pm and Saturdays from 11am to 5pm.
Then in the basement of John Fluevog Shoes (207 8th Ave SW), photographer Jeff Cruz is taking over The Peanut Gallery with his ongoing project Festival Nation.
His work explores the culture and movement of transformative gatherings through multiple themes – the act of celebration, the celebration atmosphere, the music, costumes and visuals. His images give an insider’s perspective of the culture and environment at these gatherings.
Festival Nation runs until May 31 at The Peanut Gallery in the basement of John Fluevog (207 8th Ave SW) with an opening reception party featuring live music goes down this Saturday, April 12 from 4pm to 7pm.
And why not crush a cup of wine and take in the Bard’s 450th Birthday Bash on Saturday night?
Calgary’s own Shakespeare Company will be announcing their 18th season at this fundraiser filled with revelry. It all starts off with a performance of the Outreach Program’s production, Much Ado About Nothing. There’ll be a Shakespeare inspired photo booth, raffle and silent auction items including handdrawn sketches of costumes for Land of the Dead and The Winter’s Tale by Ronda Borneman plus ale, food, and, of course, cake.
All money raised will go towards producing the 2014/2015 Season, which Artistic Producer Haysam Kadri will announce exclusively to guests that evening.
The celebration beings at 7pm at the Bridgeland Riverside Community Centre (917 Centre Ave NE). Tickets are $30 each and all the details can be found here.
Do you have something awesome coming up and want to be part of the Calgary Arts Round Up? Drop me a line at amy @ calgaryisawesome.com!