Juno-Award-Winning Lillian Allen to Deliver Reading and Lecture
As part of VIU’s Global Citizens Week, Juno-award-winning poet Lillian Allen will be delivering this year’s Gustafson lecture, as well as hosting a student-oriented poetry reading. Coined the “godmother of dub,” Allen is VIU’s Gustafson Distinguished Poet for 2020-21. The reading will take place on Wednesday, February 10 at 10 am, followed by a Q&A. … Continued
The City of Nanaimo: Resilience Grant 2021
Nanaimo based artists, collectives, and non-profit organizations can now apply for the City of Nanaimo’s 2021 Resilience Grant. The Resilience Grant will provide the recipient(s) with a one-time award of $1k to $5k to support Nanaimo arts and culture among the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting community resilience. Julie Bevan, Nanaimo’s manager … Continued
Global Citizens Week
From February 8 to February 12 you’ll be able to see the world and learn about many different cultures from the comfort of your own home. VIU will be exploring topics of systemic racism and unconscious bias during this year’s Global Citizens Week, a week devoted to exploring issues of global development. This year’s theme … Continued
Lost and Found in Translation
Language is all too often taken for granted here in Canada. It’s easy to grow up in British Columbia and learn English by immersion—just by living in English-speaking communities and going to school. But learning a new language is difficult, daunting, and requires consistent effort. It’s always impressed me that many of my VIU classmates … Continued
Ratatouille:
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into isolation, everyone had to find new ways to stay connected with the people they care about. For thousands of people around the world, a new way to connect and bond came in the way of making a “TikTok musical” about a rat named Remy. Now, the musical … Continued
Mask and Mingle Art Sale
Shawnda Mouffette of Mouffette Arts is having an original pop-up-shop art sale on November 28 and 29 from 1–4 pm. The Mask and Mingle event will be held at Jonny’s Barber Shop located in downtown Nanaimo at 309B Wesley St. Mouffette is a contemporary mixed-media artist, poet, and writer who attends Vancouver Island University. She … Continued
Port Theatre’s Virtual Spotlight Series
After having shut its doors for six months, the Port Theatre reopened at the beginning of October. Because the theatre’s usual 800-person audience capacity has been reduced to just 50, the Port Theatre Society understands that many people won’t be able to attend upcoming shows for a variety of reasons, such as quicker ticket sell-outs. … Continued
HOECUS POCUS Halloween Drag Show
If you thought that Halloween events were canceled this year, you were wrong! The Queen’s, located in downtown Nanaimo, is hosting two Dark CarniEvil themed drag shows put on by Divine Girl Productions on Friday, October 30. The first show runs from 5:30–7:30 pm and the second from 8:30–10:30 pm. Both shows are hosted by … Continued
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of loving the cooler weather fall has brought us here on the Island. It means more indoor time to bake and sit by the fire (or heater, in my case). I recently made these bad boys and needed to share them. They are oh so gooey and … Continued
Music to Help You Focus
I think we can all agree that staying focused and on-task is a little hard these days. Being alone in a house with no other people is a little eerie at times, but then having the TV, a podcast, or the radio on can be too distracting. On the other hand, if you live with … Continued
ImagineNATIVE Festival
ImagineNATIVE Festival is a film, media and arts festival that is will be fully online this year. It will be available worldwide from October 20–October 25. ImagineNATIVE is usually held live in Toronto, but not this year, because, well, you know—COVID-19. In this case though, there is a huge silver lining. For the first time, … Continued
Boarder X
Boarder X is the Nanaimo Art Gallery’s newest art exhibit highlighting Indigenous artists from across Canada that surf, skate, and snowboard. The exhibit shows how surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding can be used to challenge the status quo and start conversations around Indigenous issues. The exhibit is originally from Winnipeg and was organized and circulated by … Continued
Lurk:
Street art has always been highly criticized, feared, and polarized by communities around the world. Maybe because it’s “out there” for everyone to see; maybe because it evokes newfound emotion and conversation—who knows? In my mind, it allows a person’s creativity to bring life to a previously mundane wall or building. Street art is instrumental … Continued
Pop-Up-Shop Art Show
Shawnda Moufette of Moufette Arts is a contemporary mixed media artist, poet, and writer who attends Vancouver Island University. She will be hosting a pop-up-shop sale of her artwork October 9–October 10 from 1–4 pm each day at the Vault Café in Nanaimo. Her newest work is inspired by Montreal, the city where she grew … Continued