Local Arts Happenings
A few local events that you won't want to miss!
Today’s Citified post is arriving in inboxes much earlier than usual because I don’t want you to miss out on some important arts events and performances happening this month.
First off, if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend attending a performance of Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers, and Little Brothers hosted by Green Light Arts. The play, written and performed by Makambe K Simamba, is described as “a protest for all Black life beyond headlines and hashtags, a prayer for all families left behind, and a promise to the community that all Black lives matter.”
As outlined in The Observer, the play follows 17-year-old Slimm, who finds himself in his first moments in the afterlife. The 70-minute performance tells Slimm’s story as he reconciles with the fact that he has just died, while also reflecting on the life he lived and his death. The play’s author (and sole performer) Makambe K Simamba, says, “We remember these folks for the deaths they didn’t choose, rather than the lives they lived, and I want us to hold space for the validity of those lives, and allow ourselves to feel whatever emotions emerge as we process our relationship to issues on a larger level.”
There are three performances left: tonight (hence the timing of this week’s post), Friday, and Saturday. Ticket prices are available on a scale and can be purchased here. Please note that the play deals with racism, racialized police violence, gun violence, discussions of religion and death, racialized language, swearing, and Marijuana use.
The Journalism Film Festival kicks off today and provides “an opportunity for you to get together with like-minded people and celebrate the contribution that quality journalism makes in our lives....or it's just a chance to get out of the house and watch a movie on a big screen.”
Wednesday is International Women’s Day. Why not celebrate it at the Princess Cinema, watching Sarah Polley’s Women Talking. Admission is free with a donation to Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. Reserve your seat.
This Thursday, Alysha Brilla is playing a free concert at THEMUSEUM. Mandippal opens, starting at 7pm. While the event is free, you must register to attend.
March means Femme Folks Fest and this is their biggest festival yet! Between March 8th and 20th, you can attend 39 events at various locations throughout Waterloo Region. You can attend events such as Witches in the Woods which is a delightful, heart-warming telling of the classic Grimms’ with contemporary resonances. Check out the full event listing here.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery has a number of upcoming events and exhibitions of note as well. While it may be too late to catch today’s Stroller Tour, visit the KWAG website to stay up-to-date on these regular tours which allow you to visit the Gallery with your little ones and enjoy some adult conversation and coffee!
Next month the KWAG welcomes Ugandan-Canadian artist Jessica Karuhanga. The exhibit, Blue as the insides, opens April 8th. “Through poetic invocations of cultural symbols, artifacts and rituals, Karuhanga creates immersive sensorial environments. These settings collapse linear embodiments of time and uncover aspects of histories and relations that are otherwise hidden or unknown.”
Kitchener City Hall is host to two art gallery spaces, the Rotunda Gallery and the Berlin Tower Artspace. The latter is displaying the work of Sharl Smith this month. “Through a process called bead-stitching, Sharl produces sculptures by hand-stitching glass beads together, one bead at a time. This exhibition will compliment an installation of life-size beadwork sculpture using mirror polished stainless-steel spheres at City Hall.” You can learn more about Sharl Smith and her work, here.
If you are looking for some light-hearted fun, with lots of laughs, head over to the Pinch Comedy website. There you can find various improv classes available (I have done several and I highly recommend them!). If you’re not ready to be an active participant, then why not watch others take the stage instead? Pinch is offering their next Together We’re Boisterous show at TWB this Saturday. As well, the next Pinch Cabaret is scheduled for March 25th. That show includes performances by folk singer Ben Caplan, the Sonike Uke Ensemble, drag queen Melody Bijou, and much, much more!
This week’s recommended listen is the classic ‘Womyn’ by Alysha Brilla.