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Events
Events happening today
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March 19, 2020 April 30, 2020
Craigdarroch Castle play: Finding a Voice: Gender, Sexuality and Music Through the work of Elinor Dunsmuir
Craigdarroch Castle has long been dedicated to telling the stories of the Dunsmuir family and other Castle residents over the years. Now it’s created a singular show about a particular character and taking it on the road.
Finding a Voice: Gender, Sexuality and Music Through the work of Elinor Dunsmuir offers new insight into the family and the times through the story and music of the coal baron’s talented granddaughter. It runs March 19 to April 30 at Craigdarroch Castle.
Using photographs alongside text and information panels, interspersed with three listening stations and two interactive workstations, where visitors can listen to and work within Elinor’s compositions, a picture emerges of Elinor’s attempts to break free from her easeful but rather proscribed life.
Elinor was a granddaughter of the Dunsmuir patriarch Robert and his wife, Joan. She was the sixth child (and fifth of eight surviving daughters) of Robert’s eldest son James and his wife, Laura. She grew up with everything but was a square peg in British Columbia society of the day. Despite her intelligence, there was no role for her in the family business. She studied music in Europe and became an accomplished musician and composer.
Elinor chose to march to her own drummer, cutting her hair short, wearing men’s clothes, smoking cigars and developing a taste for drink and gambling. Her circle in Europe accepted her homosexuality and she became known in the casinos as la riche canadienne. Poor health and dwindling finances ultimately brought her back to Victoria, where she lived at Hatley Castle with her mother, Laura. Elinor died of a stroke in 1938 at 52.
“Tying into broader issues around social change and identity, the exhibition will look at Elinor’s works from a musicological perspective, as well as using Elinor’s life as a framework to explore how her experience -- as both a woman and a member of the LGBTQ2 community -- shaped her life and her experience as a composer,” says exhibition curator Danielle MacKenzie.
After its run at Craigdarroch Castle, Finding a Voice: Gender, Sexuality and Music Through the work of Elinor Dunsmuir moves to the Courtney Museum, where it will be on display from June 29 through October 19, 2020.
Craigdarroch Castle is grateful for Government of Canada funding through the Access to Heritage Component of the Museums Assistance Program.
For more information, visit www.thecastle.ca.
Upcoming Events
April 06, 2020 April 19, 2020
DR. JANET RAY is a physician who works exclusively in mental health and substance use at an acute medical detox unit in Victoria for VIHA. She doesn’t have an art background, and she’s stretching herself to take on the role of organizer for a unique and discussion-provoking Victoria art exhibit curated by Melissa Lem, physician and board member of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).
Green Party MP Elizabeth May will be the keynote speaker at the opening of “Life in the Sacrifice Zone” on April 6; Lem will also speak about why CAPE physicians are alarmed about fracking, the process by which natural gas is being extracted from the “Sacrifice Zone” in northeastern BC. Fifth-generation farmer and artist Karl Mattson will be present, and his three functional Life Pod sculptures are the focal point of the exhibition. Fashioned of salvaged materials from oil-and-gas-industry scrapyards and farmyards, they are designed to serve as self-contained breathing apparatuses in the event of a lethal sour gas leak or rupture of the pipelines that surround his family farm in Rolla, BC. Large-scale colour photographs of subjects near fracking sites, and written essays about their stories will also be featured, along with film and video.
"Life Pod–Executive" by Karl Mattson
“This is a pretty overwhelming topic, to tell the truth,” Ray acknowledges. “It’s like an ambulance in the rearview mirror; you don’t really want to pull over—‘Maybe I don’t have to stop what I’m doing, it might turn the other way.’”
The UN Intergovernmental Panel Report from 2018 was Ray’s ambulance. “As a physician…I should know what to do in an emergency. If something’s hemorrhaging, you gotta stop it.” She says the first thing CAPE wants to do is inform people. The second “is to create a venue where you can give and receive support for the climate crisis issue—a meeting spot where you can turn that awareness and support into action.” A list of MLAs and MPs, along with letter-writing paper and envelopes, will be on hand at the exhibit so people can “write to their representatives and let them know how they feel about fracking in Northeast BC.”
“Life in the Sacrifice Zone,” Arts Centre at Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, 3220 Cedar Hill Rd, April 6–19 daily. Opening night April 6 at 7pm, tickets at eventbrite.ca.
Upcoming Events
April 18, 2020 April 19, 2020
Earthfest: Creative Climate Solutions Showcase
April 18-19
This April marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Creatively United for the Planet is celebrating with a blossoming new relationship that will include an all-ages festival featuring world-class speakers and performers, as well as exhibits, workshops, interactive art displays, electric vehicles, food trucks, tours, Indigenous wisdom and more.
Thanks to a new partnership with the Gail O'Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Series, Creatively United will be sharing in the launch of this series. The Legacy Series aims to encourage a transition to carbon neutrality by combining success stories with the the creative imagination of the performing arts.
The main festival will take place at the beautiful 69-acre Empress Acres farm, 2974 Haslam Rd., in the Cedar area (between Ladysmith and Nanaimo), Saturday, April 18th and Sunday, April 19th, from noon to 5 pm, where displays, workshops and concerts will be held.
The Victoria Chamber Orchestra with violinist Nikki Chooi, Order of Canada recipient Ann Mortifee and guitarist Ed Henderson, and UN climate and water specialist Bob Sandford, are among our esteemed world class speakers and entertainers.
Prior to the festival, our festival partner Wildwood Ecoforest Institute, will host events from 10-11:30 am, both April 18+19th, at one of Vancouver Island's most stunning remaining old growth forests located at 2929 Crane Rd.
Admission is free, plus there are some ticketed events.
Our website is being updated daily with new information about workshops, presenters and performers joining us, so be sure to check out our festival page at CreativelyUnited.org.
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April 19, 2020 05:00 PM April 20, 2020 12:00 AM
Painting Your Own Flower Arrangement (PNTGw265-6)
This unique workshop will introduce you to the art of flower arranging (floral design) and provide you with ideas on how to approach painting your floral creation. The first part of the day will be focused on making a floral arrangement by learning the classical “Dutch Master” design. You will learn professional tricks and rules of floral design and complete an arrangement that you can take home at the end of the day. You will paint your floral arrangement in the second half of the workshop using an expressive personal approach, with your design as an inspiration, or starting point. Participants will be encouraged to interpret what they see as opposed to painting exactly what is in front of them. All flowers and vessels will be provided. The flowers will be a seasonal mix. Some experience recommended.
Apr 19, 2020 Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Jillian Player
Tuition: $125.00 (6 hrs) Material Fee: $40 (for flowers and vessel).
http://vancouverislandschoolart.com/workshops_wi20det.html#PNTGw265-6
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April 19, 2020 08:00 PM 11:00 PM
Abstract Drawing (DRWGw166-3)
The very first drawings we ever do as children start off as abstract mark-making or scribbles. This workshop focuses on using lines and marks to make abstract compositions that are as fresh and lively as those first scribbles of a child. The afternoon will consist of three different drawing projects that involve developing scribbles into a drawing; using a geometric design as structure and working with the process of ink washes to create an expressive abstract surface. Suitable for beginners.
Apr 19, 2020 Sunday, 1pm - 4pm
Wendy Welch
Tuition: $85.00 (3 hrs) (materials included)
http://vancouverislandschoolart.com/workshops_wi20det.html#DRWGw166-3
Upcoming Events
