Culture Queue is a monthly calendar of arts and culture events happening on campus and across Vancouver, curated by reporter Selina Hay.
When I first moved to Vancouver, I, alongside a couple thousand other first-year students, filled our group chats with the same question weekend after weekend: what are we doing tonight? With new events constantly popping up on bulletin boards and Instagram feeds, it can be difficult to parse through the onslaught of activities — especially when tickets sell out before you have a chance to check your class schedule.
Culture Queue provides a monthly overview of the best in arts and culture, so you can mark your calendar before the late-night IKB grinds begin. This edition will focus on the month of August, with events divided into film, visual arts, theatre, music and community.
Events marked with ☆ offer a student discount, those marked with ★ are free for students, and ✪ means free for everyone!
Film
August will offer an excellent lineup of films, ranging from blockbuster must-sees to underground classics. My personal recommendation would be UBC alumna Kathleen Jayme’s Naomi Osaka: The Second Set. I’m a sucker for stories that centre the arc of an ambitious female protagonist, though they often run the risk of overlooking the impossible choices women are faced with in their pursuit of success. I'm excited to see if The Second Set leans into this reality, forcing the audience to reconsider the pressures women face after motherhood.
☆ Naomi Osaka: The Second Set
Date: August 4 at 6:30 p.m.
Naomi Osaka: The Second Set will be shown at the Rio Theatre. The story explores Osaka’s world as a returning tennis champion after becoming a mom — peeling back the layers behind success, ambition and the complexities of motherhood within the public eye. Director Kathleen Jayme will host a Q&A following the film.
✪ Deckchair Cinema
Date: Until August 27
Deckchair Cinema returns to The Polygon this summer to celebrate beloved sports films. The free screenings will take place on the waterfront Cates Deck in front of the gallery, with complimentary popcorn. I’m looking forward to seeing the baseball classic A League of Their Own on the big screen, following the story of the first all-female baseball league in the United States.
90s, Baby!
Date: Until August 31
VIFF Centre’s 90s, Baby! series invites viewers to take a closer look at one of cinema’s most defining decades, one year at a time. Each week of the summer showcases films from a specific year in the 90s, with August beginning in 1996. 1998 in particular will be a stand-out week, featuring Run Lola Run, Rushmore and Buffalo ‘66.
Visual Arts
Several notable visual art exhibitions are coming up on campus — these works all question systems, narratives and power structures. MOA’s exhibition I Use My Haida Eyes is a clear standout for the month. Seeing storytelling potential in every scrap of fabric, artist Jut-ke-Nay Hazel Wilson re-examines her history through a Haida lens.
✪ Fragments and Forms: Attending to the Monumental
Date: Until August 16
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery present Fragments and Forms: Attending to the Monumental. Artists Deanna Bowen, Hazel Meyer and Jon Sasaki leverage their unique artistic perspectives and formal skills to respond to a statue of King George VI being stored on UBC’s campus.
✪ Simranpreet Anand: Living with the Eternal
Date: Until September 6
Simranpreet Anand: Living with the Eternal at The Polygon Gallery investigates the notion of eternity through both a spiritual and industrial lens. Featuring sacred fabrics, Anand — a UBC alum — interrogates the true cost of these materials and their pursuit to last forever.
★ I Use My Haida Eyes
Date: Exhibit closes October 12
I Use My Haida Eyes continues to be shown at the Museum of Anthropology, featuring 51 breathtaking “History Robes” from artist Jut-ke-Nay–Hazel Wilson. The exhibit sees Wilson take an unconventional approach to the traditional button blanket, a cultural robe typically adorned with family or clan crests. Instead, Wilson focuses on the robe’s narrative potential, telling stories from her family’s past in both visual and written form. Read more about the exhibit in our review.
Theatre
One of my favourite theatre venues growing up in Winnipeg was Rainbow Stage — a gorgeous, indoor-outdoor theatrical experience in a provincial park. In doing research for this list, I found out that Vancouver has their very own slate of outdoor theatre experiences. Both Bard on the Beach and Theatre under the Stars take advantage of the beautiful summer weather. I'm particularly excited for the former, as its lineup features celebrated works like Macbeth and Goblin:Oedipus.
☆ Theatre Under the Stars
Date: Until August 22
Theatre Under the Stars is putting up Broadway hit Sister Act and Disney’s The Little Mermaid, alternating shows each night at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park.
Bard on the Beach
Date: Until September 19
Bard on the Beach, located at the BMO Theatre Centre and Douglas Campbell Theatre under the tents at Sen̓áḵw/Vanier Park, features timeless stories with the scenic backdrop of the Vancouver shoreline. Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Antigone are all featured on this year's lineup. However, the standout has to be Goblin:Oedipus. Performed by the company's popular goblin “theatre troupe” — WUG, KRAGVA and MOOG — the production is a comical reinvention of Sophocles’s tragic myth Oedipus the King.
Music
Live music is truly just around the corner during the summer month — you might not even need a ticket to hear it.
The Greatest
Date: August 10 at 7:00 p.m.
American singer-songwriter Cat Power performs her 2006 album, The Greatest, on tour at the Commodore. Singer Chan Marshall’s raspy vocal delivery and vulnerable lyricism creates a distinct sound that lives between indie rock, folk and blues.
✪ Summer Sounds
Date: Until September 26
Summer Sounds at UBC presents its third summer of live music on campus. Located in both Wesbrook Village and the UBLV (outside Body Energy Club), students and local performers share their gifts through free performances all August long.
Community
To close out the recommendations for August, here are a few events for anyone hoping to find a fun trinket to bring home with them.
✪ The Pleasant Day Festival
Date: August 8, 12:00–8:00 p.m.
The Pleasant Day Festival is a neighborhood-wide celebration of community, culture and artistic expression in the Mount Pleasant area. There will be four stages hosting live musical performances, an all-local vendor market and a variety of food truck options.
✪ Steveston Vintage Fair
Date: Until August 30
Give in to your collector inclinations at the Steveston Vintage Fair in Steveston Town Square Park, featuring a wide array of vintage textiles and treasures.
That concludes this month’s edition of Culture Queue. Whether it’s from these recommendations, or your own lineup of events, I hope you find a way to get outside and enjoy our beautiful campus and city this summer. The next time you get a group chat message, you’ll know exactly what to suggest.
Have any tips for September’s Culture Queue? Reach me at s.hay@ubyssey.ca.
