SEPTEMBER 23, 2023 - JANUARY 21, 2024 Curated by Guest Curator Kathryn Bridge Victoria-born and raised, Sophie Pemberton was the middle daughter, her father’s favourite, and a determined personality. Despite episodes of debilitating illnesses and family tragedies, she pursued a serious international artistic career with paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy and Paris Salon. A portraitist by training, she was also a landscape painter of great talent. Through her international connections and friendships forged at art school in England and France with the advantages of birth and position, Pemberton aimed to become a professional artist, a career not readily accomplished by a woman at this time in history. This exhibition discusses Pemberton’s life, her family and social networks, her art training and accomplishments, and the historical times in which she lived. It includes women’s suffrage, the rise of modernism, the role of post impressionism in Canada and within Sophie’s own world, and of the influence she brings to today’s world. This exhibition is generously supported by the Gallery Associates. Image Credit: Sophie Pemberton, Driveway of Groos Mansion on Newport Ave., Victoria, oil, 45.7 x 61.7 cm. Gift of George and Lola Kidd. AGGV 1995.040.001

Renate MacKenzie & Valerie Kuehne are offering a treat for your eyes - beautiful art for your home and unique gifts for family and friends. You'll find brilliant fused glass, bibrant watercolours, pastels and oil paintings. Whether you prefer delicate & gentle or bright & bold artistic styles, you'll find them here! Come by and enter our free art draw!

Curated by Nellie Lamb Opening Friday, June 9 @ 7pm Deluge Contemporary Art 636 Yates St, Victoria BC | deluge.ca Gallery Hours: Wed to Sat, noon to 5pm “My stories and pictures emerge out of arrays or lists. They are a condition of compilations. I add one thing to the other until a kind of catastrophe occurs. The catastrophe is a picture or story. Of course, stories and pictures can be invented, for once a model exists variations can be contrived from it. But this is not the process I refer to. What I’m interested in is the condition that existed before the picture and story emerged and how this emergence occurs.” – A Menu for Sunset, Fred Douglas My memories of my dad, Fred Douglas, are of a man deeply engaged with the ongoing flow of life. He was an autodidact and polymath with a sharp wit. He was interested in utopias and the design of clothes, cars and everyday things like menus. He was excited to think and learn. He was incredibly genuine, often contrarian, sometimes messy and could be loyal to a fault. There was little boundary between Fred’s art, teaching and life. Since his death in 2005, the bulk of Fred’s work and effects have been inaccessible or maybe lost. The work of preserving a legacy, which requires dwelling on both the past and future, was perhaps not suited to him. The art and other items in this mini-retrospective come from the personal collections of Fred’s friends, family, students and colleagues. Some of the work is in draft form or otherwise incomplete or imperfect but I find that out of it, particularly when I arrange these objects in groups, a sense of my dad emerges: not an absolute uncontested image of the artist but a fleeting thing that coalesces only to dissolve and nonetheless feels exactly like him. Nellie Lamb is a curator, writer, and elementary school teacher living on the land of the Lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations (Victoria, BC). Her work as a teacher, writer and curator often deals with notions of place. As a teenager, Fred Douglas was a self-described "hooligan" who spent his time racing stock cars in Vancouver's East Side. Through the 1950s and 60s, he worked as a sign painter, commercial photographer, and exhibition designer. During this time, he explored abstract painting and performed poetry at the Cellar Jazz Club. In 1972, he co-founded the Leonard Frank Memorial Society of Documentary Photographers, a street photography group concerned with the “unglamorous depiction of everyday life.” Those who remember Fred from this time tell stories about him and his friend Curt Lang - particularly their creativity and proclivity for mischief. Between painting and writing poetry, they worked as night-time janitors at the Vancouver Art Gallery. While on the clock the duo wrote the “janitor’s report” – reviews of exhibitions left for staff to find the following morning. In return, they would receive notes begging them to clean. From 1980 to 2000, Fred taught photography and drawing at the University of Victoria. He believed art education should “allow students to flower in relation to their own sensibility.” His former students have spoken of his ability to nurture their understanding of their own imaginative capabilities through engagement with current critical theory. In his later artistic career, he was concerned with combining “pictures and stories,” which created an imaginative space in which “the act of constructing meanings becomes an active part of the subject.” Bodies of work from this time include Redeemed Plates (a series of photographs of decorative brass plates found in thrift stores and yard sales that interested Fred for their banal, dead imagery that he sought to enliven through a process of photographing the plates and painting the photographs), Crossfade (a series of painting and photograph diptychs that are poetic little worlds rendered in the style of mid-century commercial art), and The Van (a 1963 Morris van outfitted as a camper van for the purpose of photographing but reluctantly exhibited as an installation/performance piece). After retiring from teaching, he focused on the production of Flutter, a now-lost “magazine” about Vancouver, which brought together hand-tinted photographs, photograms, drawings, paintings, digitally produced images and writing including a narrative sourced from a practice of lucid dreaming. Fred died in 2005, aged 69 before completing Flutter.

Canadian violinist Philip Manning is equally at home performing as a solo, orchestral or chamber musician. While studying on a full scholarship at Duquesne University, Philip won the Duquesne Concerto Competition and was also awarded the honour of being Concertmaster of the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra for the duration of his time there. Having studied with renowned violin masters such as Ann Elliot Goldschmid, Pinchas Zuckerman, Jonathan Crow and Terrence Tam among others, Philip won a violin core chair with the Victoria Symphony in 2016. Named one of the CBC’s “Hot Canadian classical musicians under 30”, cellist Hannah Craig was the only Canadian cellist to be invited to the 2016 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival as a Fellow. During her undergrad years at McGill’s prestigious Matt Haimovitz Studio, Hannah was a member of Haimovitz’s Grammy nominated cello ensemble; UCCELLO. Since 2019, Hannah is one of the youngest tenured members of our own world-class Victoria Symphony. Tickets & Program: https://www.artsandculturecolwood.com/classicalconcerts

The Canadian Club of Victoria, presents Lisa LaPointe, Chief Coroner of British Columbia - The Opioid Crisis What Can be Done? June 13th from 11:45 AM - 2:00 PM at The Hotel Grand Pacific 463 Belleville Street In 2018, under Lisa’s leadership, the Coroners Service was awarded the inaugural Premiers Award for Evidence-Based Design for its analysis and timely reporting of data on illicit drug overdose deaths in the midst of a public health emergency. Tickets available via Eventbrite: search, The Canadian Club of Victoria

Gage Gallery Arts Collective July 11-30th, Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Opening reception, Thursday, July 13, 5 to 8 p.m. Join artist Anita Boyd at her upcoming show at the Gage Gallery in beautiful Bastion Square, in downtown Victoria, B.C. BODY//ENERGY is an exploration of inner worlds, represented by suggestions of living, active, body interiors. Organs and energy are all constantly morphing. The activity is ceaseless and connected to a bigger wholeness. These abstract paintings suggest the enormity of the enterprise that makes us the phenomenal beings we are.

With a formal education in creative writing, Bruce began wood carving in the early 1990s, working in the forest industry, and later entering a career in public service. Now retired, Bruce's passion for wood carving has flourished. View Bruce's sculptures on The Avenue Gallery's website: https://theavenuegallery.com/artists/sculptors/edmundson-bruce/ The Avenue Gallery, 2184 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria, BC V8R 1G3

Ship Point – Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27 Noon – 5pm FREE TO ATTEND https://jazzvictoria.ca/harbour-blues/ Come down to Victoria’s beautiful inner harbour and listen to local artists perform on the outdoor stage at Ship Point, in free-to-attend performances starting from noon until 5:00pm on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27 as a part of the Harbour Blues n’ Roots Festival 2023! Featured artists include: Claire Coupland, Big Hank & The Kingpins, Garret T. Willie, and Bill Johnson & Shades of Blue on Saturday, August 27. On Sunday, August 28, featured bands include: The Smokestacks, Melissa Endean, Beautiful Maladies, and Brett Smith-Daniels. Food vendors and beverage garden on site! For more information, visit: jazzvictoria.ca

$28 (service charges may apply) https://jazzvictoria.ca/boy-golden/ Winnipeg-born singer-songwriter Boy Golden’s purpose is to enjoy each day and make good music. Since releasing his debut album, Church of Better Daze in 2021, he’s played major summer festivals and toured with The Sheepdogs. With hopeful, fresh, and upbeat songs, such as “KD & Lunch Meat” (featured on the Zone 91-3 and charted to #1 on Alternative Radio), the blues- and country-tinged harmonies of Boy Golden are most heavily inspired by the blues-inflected style of J.J. Cale — even down to his use of a drum machine as the rhythm section. However, Boy Golden’s general love of old country, blues, and rock 'n roll permeates everything from the jam band-style instrumentation to his vocal delivery. Opening for Samantha Fish ft. Jesse Dayton on Friday, August 25.

$28 (service charges may apply) https://jazzvictoria.ca/mazacote/ Juno-nominated Mazacote is a hard-hitting, six-piece world/Latin band with deep roots in the music of Nicaragua, Mozambique, and Colombia. Inspired by Afro-Caribbean percussion and tropical party sounds, they play brass-heavy Latin dance beats with a socially conscious message. Mazacote features powerful vocals combined with driving AfroCuban percussion and brassy mambos. They come out swinging hard, introducing their own take on some of salsa’s hardest grooves. Mazacote IS a Latin dance party!

$39 (service charges may apply) SAVE BIG! Buy all 3 nights AT SHIP POINT at checkout for $99! (SERVICE CHARGES MAY APPLY) https://jazzvictoria.ca/allison-russell/ Formerly from Montreal, four-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell is a tour de force whose debut album, Outside Child, received three Grammy nominations for “Best Americana Album,” “Best American Roots Performance”, and “Best American Roots Song.” Some of her awards include “Album of the Year” at the 2022 Americana Music Association Awards, the Polaris Music Prize longlist, a Grammy nomination alongside Aoife O’Donovan, and two Juno Awards, being the first Black artist to ever win a “Contemporary Roots Album of the Year” in Juno history. Russell will release new music later this year, which you can witness at her debut in Victoria at the Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival! Opening for this evening will be The Blue And Gold, a musical collaboration between Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Ndidi O and folk/roots guitarist/banjo player Trish Klein.

$39 (service charges may apply) SAVE BIG! Buy all 3 nights AT SHIP POINT at checkout for $99! (SERVICE CHARGES MAY APPLY) https://jazzvictoria.ca/fantastic-negrito/ Hailing from Oakland, California, three-time Grammy award-winning blues/soul/rock singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito’s music transcends from foot stomping blues to a funk stampede. He won the Grammy award for “Best Contemporary Blues Album” for three albums, for The Last Days of Oakland (2016), Please Don’t Be Dead (2019), and Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? (2020), and has now released his extraordinary 2022 album, White Jesus Black Problems. Despite a troubled childhood, a doomed major label deal that briefly put him off music, and a near-fatal car crash, Fantastic Negrito would go on to win the first ever NPR Tiny Desk Contest in 2015, tour with Sturgill Simpson, Chris Cornell, and most recently Bruce Springsteen, collaborate with Sting and E-40, launch his own Storefront Records label, and perform at Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Newport Folk, Byron Bay Blues, and other major festivals. Don’t miss out on Fantastic Negrito and his band’s return to Victoria! Opening for this evening will be blues singer-songwriter Ndidi O, a two-time Juno-nominated and WCMA “Blues Artist of the Year.”

Singer-songwriter/guitarist Samantha Fish, the world’s No. 7-ranked blues guitarist according to Guitar World, is a multi-award-winner from Missouri who unleashes a bold collision of blues, soul, punk, funk, and fantastically greasy rock ‘n roll. Her latest album, Death Wish Blues, ultimately opens the blues genre to entirely new audiences and is a collaboration with vocalist/guitarist Jesse Dayton, who has recorded with the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, toured as a guitarist for seminal punk band X, worked with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and released many albums. Catch their electrifying brand of blues/rock-and-roll from their new album and more as Samantha Fish, Jesse Dayton, and their band make their debut in Victoria at Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival! Opening for this evening will be Winnipeg-born rock/blues/country singer-songwriter Boy Golden.

Celebrate the end of summer on a high-note with Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival (formerly Vancouver Island Blues Bash), happening Friday, August 25 – Sunday, August 27, 2023. This festival will bring the “blues in all shades for your soul” and include more genres such as roots, country, world, and folk music. Performances on the main outdoor stage at Ship Point include Samantha Fish ft. Jesse Dayton, Fantastic Negrito, and Allison Russell at Shop Point, you’ll be rockin’ and groovin’ on the dance floor in Victoria’s inner harbour and at Hermann’s Upstairs! Since its beginning, Harbour Blues had grown into a key aspect of the local and national blues scene and is enjoyed by over 20,000 people each year. The three-day festival over the last weekend in August has free programming during the day, and ticketed performances on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Nights. More information at jazzvictoria.ca!

http://www.artopenings.ca/alison-bigg.html Alison Bigg shares her journey into hearing loss using wit, wisdom and a collection of devices called “auricals” (artist’s word). A series of prints called #lostfoundsound showcase her technical excellence and 3D printing.Bigg believes that our society has a type of communal deafness cause by information overload. With Auricals, she invites us to navigate the important difference between hearing and listening. Victoria Arts Council, 1800 Store Street, Victoria, BC V8T 4R4. Phone: 778-533-7123 Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 12:00-5:00.

Exploring the elements through Yoga, Nature and Human made objects with the wet Collodion Photographic method.