There’s a few big art events kicking off in Ottawa this weekend with their own constellation of mini-events to choose from!

This week at the National Gallery, is the opening of the much-anticipated exhibition of international indigenous art, Sakahàn, at the National Gallery of Canada. Check out the opening on Thursday evening to see the show for free and hobnob with the artists. The National Gallery has also organized a symposium on Friday afternoon in conjunction with the exhibition. They have invited several speakers to reflect on indigenous contemporary art and the timeliness of the show, and the afternoon will conclude with a public conversation between the curators and artists.

On the other side of the river, Daïmôn has organized a three-day symposium on video art and experimental cinema called CHEMINS DE TRAVERSE. This looks super-interesting, with the three days divided into the themes of creation (Thursday), history (Friday), and dissemination (Saturday). There will also be performances and experimental projections in the evenings! Check out the full line-up here.

Also this weekend, Chinatown Remixed launches on Somerset! Local artists like Melody McKiver and Marc Adornato descend on Ottawa’s Chinatown to animate the neighbourhood with music, visual arts, and more! The official vernissage is on Friday afternoon, so go wander around in search of local art!

On Wednesday, the new show at Patrick Mikhail opens. Check out photographs and videos in View: Jessica Auer, Thomas Neuhbühler, and Andrew Wright. Not much information yet, but keep an eye out. 

This will be the last Ottawa Art Scene for a couple weeks, since I’m away on summer vacation (eager, I know) but I’ll be back in June!

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It’s going to be a chilly weekend, apparently, so why not spend some time indoors with art??

If you can’t wait until tomorrow’s premiere of The Great Gatsby, get your Roaring Twenties fix (and support an excellent cause) at the annual Ottawa School of Art fundraiser, J’Adart 2013. Drop by the Karsh Masson Gallery for live music, art activities silent and live auctions, and more!

On Saturday, Ottawa Art Gallery has invited a couple professional art appraisers to the gallery for Spring Cleaning: An Art Appraisal event. Bring those paintings and sculptures that have been kicking around your house (or your grandparent’s house) and see if you can fund that trip to Europe you’ve been dreaming about. Check with your grandparents first.

If that painting you found on the road during move-out weekend isn’t worth as much as you thought, drown your sorrows that night at Partyy, which has moved to Mugshots to take advantage of their rad courtyard. The art activity this month is tie-dye, so bring an old tshirt as well as your dancing shoes!

On Sunday afternoon, the curators of Charles Stankievech / The Soniferous Æther of The Land Beyond the Land Beyond will be giving a tour of the film installation. If you haven’t seen this work yet, seriously go. Seriously.

On Wednesday night, Carleton U. Art History prof. Ming Tiampo will be giving a lecture Library and Archives Canada on Ai Weiwei and the relationship between art and politics in China. Check out the lecture and then go to Toronto in August for the AGO exhibition, Ai Weiwei: According to What?. 

Have a fun weekend everyone!

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Happy May!  Along with celebrating this swift transition into summer, there’s plenty to do this week in the art scene!

Northern Scene is still going strong, and you can check out a free screening of short films at SAW Video tonight about the vital role that blood plays in the lives of northern communities. Films by Zacharias Kunuk and Marie-Hélène Cousineau (who will both be there!) are featured among many others.

On Saturday, head over to the Ottawa Art Gallery for a panel discussion on Inuit Fantastic Art (fantastic as in fantastical, rather than amazing, which I’m sure the works are anyway…). OAG has invited specialists to discuss the history of Nunavik (Northern Quebec) sculpture from the 1960s to the present day.

Forget hockey playoffs, Art Battle has finally come to Ottawa! You can catch the event on Sunday afternoon, when 12 painters will compete for the cash prize and a spot in the National Championships in Toronto. You can enjoy the excitement of the event and even bring one of the paintings home afterwards if you bid during silent auction.

On Tuesday afternoon, the National Gallery of Canada is hosting “The Walrus Debate: Does Canadian Culture Need Protecting?” with panelists Sara Angel, Randy Boyagada, Laurie Brown and Charles Foran. This will definitely be interesting.

And don’t forget, the deadline for Nuit Blanche Ottawa + Gatineau is fast approaching! Artists, curators, hype people - get your application in by May 27th!

Image: Aisa Qumaaluk Sivuaraapik, Ijitualik (One-Eyed Figure), 1969. Stone. Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, Ottawa Art Gallery.

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There is SO much going on this week in Ottawa, it’s hard to know where to begin!

Northern Scene kicks off tonight at the NAC and continues until the end of next weekend. I’ve written up what I’m looking forward to in theatre, music, visual arts, and film but I limited myself to two picks for each category and there is SO much more to do. Be sure to check out the full list and see what appeals to you! Definitely participate in SWARM to get the best bang for your buck (especially since it’s free!): many of Ottawa’s art galleries will be open late and offer tours, creative workshops, music, and performances. Bike, walk, or take the free shuttle buses!

Tonight, Charles Stankievech will be giving an artist talk, which will combinine archival material, scientific theories, geopolitical maps and the artist’s own fieldworks, and reflect on ideas of military colonialism and communication technology embedded in the sublime landscape. There will also be a sneak peek of his newest installation, The Soniferous Æther of The Land Beyond The Land Beyond, which will be on view at the City Hall Art Gallery.

On Friday night, be sure to drop by La Petite Mort to check out new works by up-and-coming Ottawa photographer Olivia Johnston. In FALLEN, Johnston’s considerable skill in portraiture is focused on female figures from the Bible - think Eve, Jael, and all those other names from Sunday School. Their stories are often those of rape, sacrifice, and silence, and Johnston’s powerful photographs call upon the viewer to reflect on how the Bible has influenced perceptions of womanhood, even until today. More from Peter Simpson here. 

Besides SWARM, CUAG has three (!) events coming up this week, so take your pick! For Dorset Seen, we are screening a film, Kinngait: Riding Light into the World, and Q&A with the director Annette Mangaard on Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday, artist Tim Pitsiulak will be joined by NGC curator Christine Lalonde for a conversation about his large-scale drawings. On Tuesday, the curator of Dawson Gold, Heather Anderson, will be joined in a conversation with installation and performance artist Valerie Salez. Salez will also be at the NAC on Friday night for the SWARM after party to lead a fun workshop, inspired by life in the Yukon.

That’s it for now! Have a good week eveyone, and hope to see you tomorrow night at CUAG! Did I mention we’re giving out swag bags? CUAGSWAGBAGS?

Image: Olivia Johnston, Susanna (Katelin), 2013. Photograph.

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How about celebrating with a walk in Gatineau Park or visiting the Canadian Museum of Nature (free today!)? And this weekend, check out the Living Green Expo!

Shuvinai Ashoona, Wold View, 2011. Lithograph. Now on view at the National Arts Centre, as part of Inuit Ullumi: Inuit Today: Contemporary Art from TD Bank’s Inuit Collection.

Carleton University students: Scholars Portal has put together a guide with resources on climate change, environmentalism, agro-farming, and more!

How will you be spending Earth Day?

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CUAG has two exhibitions for Northern Scene - Dorset Seen and Dawson Gold - but there are a TON of other events happening in Ottawa for the cross-disciplinary arts festival. In case you need it, here are our picks for Northern Scene’s Music offerings! I had a great time Youtubing everyone, and here’s who I’m looking forward to the most. 

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6Ottarts, Northern Scene,

CUAG has two exhibitions for Northern Scene - Dorset Seen and Dawson Gold - but there are a TON of other events happening in Ottawa for the cross-disciplinary arts festival. In case you need it, here are our picks for Northern Scene’s Visual Arts offerings! (Obviously this was a super-difficult one for us!)

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