Hello Calgary. I hope the Easter Bunny brought everyone some awesome treats this weekend and you had a great relaxing break from it all. But now it’s time to get back into the grind and what better way to do so than to fill your week up with art? Check it out in this week’s Round Up.
New Queer Canadian Work Debuts
Queer Theatre Creation Ensemble members Matt McKinney, Amy Sawka and Simon Tottrup star in the world premiere of The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus presented by Third Street Theatre.
Photo by Jason Ho courtesy of Third Street Theatre
As local queer company Third Street Theatre continues to grow into a fantastic tour de force in Calgary’s theatre scene, each new production seems more and more gripping.
Take for instance their newest production The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus opening this week at the EPCOR CENTRE’s Motel.
The plot is dramatic – same-sex Christian couple martyred by the Roman Empire – and based on a controversial true story. The three-person historical drama tells the story of two Roman soldiers married by the Christian church in 300 AD. They where then martyred for their faith by the Roman Empire.
Third Street Theatre is dedicated to the positive promotion of queer culture, stories and voices and focuses on production, mentorship and the artistic development of queer and queer-minded talent.
The show marks the second original piece by the Queer Theatre Creation Ensemble. Their first –This Is How I Left – was nominated for two Calgary Critics Awards in 2013 including Best New Script.
Creation Facilitator, Paul Welch says the characters share an indescribable bond and must navigate the treacherous waters of faith and mortality in pursuit of an everlasting life together.
“The power of this bond lies in the question, “What are you willing to die for?” A question far from our current reality when we think about modern day convictions,” he explains.
The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus runs April 23 to May 3 at EPCOR CENTRE for Performing Arts Motel with a special two for one preview on April 22 with a portion of the proceeds going to the Chinook Foundation.
cSPACE King Edward Wants YOU!
Are you a non-profit organization that needs a place to call home?
Well then cSPACE King Edward wants to talk to you.
They’ve announced their final tenant call for proposals for non-profit organizations interested in tenancy – from start-ups to established organizations working within Calgary’s arts, culture and social sectors.
They’re holding information sessions starting this week – Wednesday, April 23, Wednesday, April 30 and Wednesday, June 4 from 2pm to 4 pm.
Current anchor tenants at cSPACE King Edward include: Alberta Craft Council, Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers, EMMEDIA, Fairytales Presentation Society, Maria Montessori Education Centre, Quickdraw Animation Society, Studio C, Untitled Arts Society and WordFest.
cSPACE King Edward is located at 1720 – 30th Avenue SW and all the details can be found here.
Village Gives Back with Growlers for Good
For Village Brewery, giving back to the community has always been a guiding light. So it’s not a surprise that they’ve turned a bad situation in to a chance to do good.
Last month, they erred on the side of caution and recalled their very poplar growlers due to a concern they weren’t up to snuff. They asked the community to return the 1.89 litre jug-style bottles because of a manufacturers defect in the glass.
Now, they’re re-launching them with a special chance to give something back to Calgary’s Theatre community.
“We were very proud of how well everyone managed the chaos that came with the recall and are extremely thankful that our retailers and consumers were so patient throughout the process,” said Jim Button, Village Brewery co-founder in a statement. “To reintroduce the growlers, and to say thanks, we are donating a dollar from each growler purchase to a theatre group of your choice.”
It’s their way of saying thanks to Calgary for your understanding.
The three Calgary theatre groups growler buyers can choose to donate their dollar to are Swallow-A-Bicycle, Loose Moose Theatre and Green Fools / Ghost River and were selected because of their immense talent. With just three groups the donations will be big enough to make a difference.
5,000 growlers were recalled and 5,000 growlers with Growlers for Good stickers will find their way into Calgary liquor stores with the goal of donating $5,000 among the three theatres.
So, how do you help?
Go by a Village Growler with a Growlers for Good sticker. Enter the code found on the sticker at growlersforgood.com and choose which theatre group will get $1 from Village Brewery.
Then enjoy your beer.
Holy Books Batman
Everyone knows I love a good book and I love to share that passion with anyone who will listen.
So when I found out this week was so packed full of literary events that I didn’t know which ones I wanted to attend – I knew I had to share it with you.
On Tuesday, April 22 Calgary’s own Rosemary Nixon (author of Are You Ready to Be Lucky?) will be reading alongside bestselling author Miriam Toews at the Calgary Public Library’s John Dutton Theatre (2nd Floor, 616 Macleod Trail SE).
Presented by Calgary Public Library and Pages on Kensington, the event is free all you have to do is RSVP here.
Also on Tuesday is the launch of Don Smith’s Mississauga Portraits: Ojibwe Voices from Nineteenth Century Canada.
Presented by Chinook Country Historical Society Program in collaboration with Glenbow Museum the book centres on John Neagle’s 1829 portrait of Henry B.Steinhauer (Shahwahnegezik) which was presented to the Glenbow 35 years ago by then Lieutenant Governor Ralph Steinhauer, great-grandson of the subject.
The launch includes a talk from the author and focuses on Henry B.Steinhauer and his two sons, Egerton and Robert Steinhauer, the subject of the final chapter in the book.
Then, on Saturday, April 26 the national Spur Festival (a festival of politics, art, and ideas) is coming to Calgary’s River Cafe for Books and Brunch.
Featuring Greg Bechtel (Boundary Problems) in conversation with Christian Bök (Eunoia) and Eric Friesen, it uses the narrative form to explore complex subjects and difficult topics.
Tickets are $50 and include an awesome brunch to nosh while expanding your mind.
And if you’re doing a bit of spring cleaning Calgary Reads knows exactly where to bring those books you’ll never read again.
The annual CBC – Calgary Reads Book Sale is coming fast – May 23 and 24 – and this week their collection drive begins.
Starting this Wednesday, April 23 you can bring your gently used books and DVDs to the Calgary Food Bank (5000 11 Street SE, warehouse door 3) Monday through Fridays until May 9. Then collection switches over to the book sale site, the Calgary Curling Club from May 10 to 18.
Head here to find out all the details and while you’re there sign up to be a volunteer. Not only will you be helping a great organization, you’ll even get an early crack at the books during their Thursday night pre-sale – admission by invite only.
Arts Out and About
Another week, another batch of awesome arts events…
Over at the Glenbow Museum, they continue to bring us top notch programming to complement their exhibitions and this Thursday, April 24 join them, Contemporary Calgary and Made in Calgary: The 1990s curator Nancy Tousley for a discussion with a trio of top Calgary talent: Bart Habermiller, Tim Westbury and Xstine Cook.
They’ll be discussing the impact of Graceland, the former junkyard Habermiller transformed into a seven-acre alternative arts space in the 80s and 90s with Habermiller talking on the installation art, Westbury the studio experience and Cook performance art.
The talk gets underway at 7pm on Thursday, April 24. It’s free for members and just $5 for the general public.
NOT TO BE MISSED: Russell Leng’s Sudden Death opens this week AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art.
Photo by Russell Leng courtesy of AVALANCHE!
Then on Friday, April 25 head to 343 – 11th Avenue SW for not one, but two show openings.
In the basement you’ll find AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art and their presentation of Sudden Death by Russell Leng.
The show employs parody, appropriation and visual translation to address themes of winning/losing, waiting and the psychology of competition. Artist Russell Leng uses video – Boxing (2013) – to suspend the moment of decision in a boxing match, presenting both the victor and loser on either side of the referee. The looping video draws upon anticipation and waiting where both success and failure are presented.
It also includes abstract paintings, sculpture and installation that reveal that the sporting and art worlds are more connected than we thought.
After checking that out, head upstairs to see Sarah Burwash’s The Summit at Untitled Contemporary Art Main Space.
For The Summit, s a body of watercolour drawings and installation work is presented that draw from personal and primary source research to give voice to dormant and disguised histories. It examines how these might be portrayed through human interactions, social behaviour and relationships to wilderness, gender and physicality.
Both opening receptions run Friday, April 25 from 8pm to 11pm and are free and open to the public. Sudden Death and The Summit run April 25 to May 24. AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art is open Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm and Untitled Contemporary Art Main Space is open Wednesday to Friday 11am to 4pm and Saturdays 12pm to 5pm.
And last, but certainly not least, if you’re looking to get your hands dirty this weekend you should head to the John Snow House and help out with their spring yard clean up.
The site is maintained by The New Gallery and they need a hand to get ready for their summer residency programming and they need your gardening and landscaping expertise to get the JSH yard looking spiffy.
Lunch will be provided 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!