SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING
November is an exceptionally busy month at ArtSpring, and this week starts us off with a jam-packed schedule of multi-media events, visual art and opera.
In addition to What These Eyes Have Seen: Witness to War exhibition that opens Nov. 5 with a launch event on Nov. 6 and a film and music evening on Nov. 9, this week brings two major events on Saturday, Nov. 8: the opening reception for Vox, ArtSpring Presents’ evocative photography exhibition, and the second Met: Live in HD opera screening of the season, La Bohème.
Vox
An exciting new photography exhibition opens this Saturday at the ArtSpring gallery. Curated by Zoe Zafiris-Casey as part of ArtSpring Presents, Vox showcases contemporary photographers from across Canada who use the lens to explore and make sense of life in uncertain times.
As the exhibition’s name suggests, Zafiris-Casey has placed voice — the unique perspective of each artist — at the heart of Vox, which is Latin for voice.
“Collaborating with these artists and asking them to contribute pieces for this show that truly communicate what they want to say — their unique voices — has inspired an achingly beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition,” said Zafiris-Casey.
She said her curatorial process was sparked by the “intimate and unapologetic” work of Kali Spitzer, whose exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria served as a major inspiration. The final selection features a diverse range of styles, each adding a vital layer to the overall conversation. Sage Szkabarnicki-Stuart offers vibrant, edgy work described as “visual commentary on existing and questioning one’s way in our world.” Whitney Lewis Smith’s pieces are noted for their “delicate and mystical beauty,” which give the viewer pause. Rydel Cerezo, a former Salt Spring National Art Prize finalist, “continues to intrigue with his powerful figurative work.”
The exhibition also features Francis Willey, a Calgary-based artist currently part of the Sex and Politics exhibition of Paris Photo week, as well as riveting new work from talented Southern Gulf Islands photographers Seth Berkowitz, Susan Huber, April Winter and John David James.
With Vox, ArtSpring Presents aims to bring the kind of high-quality art that its theatre programming is known for into the gallery space.
“As ArtSpring brings national profiles to the theatre, we also want that aspect in visual arts programming,” Zafiris-Casey explained. “It’s part of the ArtSpring mandate — to make visual arts programming, and to raise the bar on that programming. It’s my mandate to bring artwork to our island that we wouldn’t necessarily have a chance to see.”
Vox officially opens with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 8. The exhibition runs in the ArtSpring gallery from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily until Nov. 22.
La Bohème
Franco Zeffirelli’s spellbinding production of Puccini’s La Bohème hits the ArtSpring screen this Saturday as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD season.
According to the opera company, the timeless and tenacious La Bohème is the world’s most popular opera, and its enduring appeal is clear. Set in the 1830s, La Bohème focuses on the loves and losses of a group of young artists navigating bohemian life in 19th-century Paris. With its focus on the “small people,” Puccini’s term for the opera’s very ordinary and relatable characters, La Bohème’s joys and tragedies remain as relevant today as they were when it premiered in 1896.
La Bohème is the most-staged opera in the Met’s history, with a total of 1,373 performances as of June 2023. Zeffirelli’s production is renowned for the hyper-realistic, immersive detail of its staging. In addition to having incredible staying power on opera stages around the world, La Bohème is the foundation for the plots of the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! and the 1996 musical Rent.
This performance stars soprano Juliana Grigoryan and tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the enamored and ill-fated leads, Mimi and Rodolfo, and is conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson.
Showtime is 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This performance will be sung in Italian.
Tickets are available through ArtSpring, both online and at the box office during open hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.