By: Alison Wick, Arts Editor
FIC Art Exhibit on Mental Health, July 2-5
On Tuesday, July 2, the Fraser International College is hosting an opening reception for their art exhibition, Breaking the Silence: Reflecting on Mental Health. The event is sponsored by My SSP and keep.meSAFE in collaboration with guard.me insurance and seeks to start open conversations about student mental health and well-being.
The exhibit will feature “paintings, poetry, music, sculpture, film, and more” according to Nadine Dodd, the media contact for the event. Additionally, a performance and discussion will be held every lunch hour during the week-long run of the exhibit. The event and exhibition are meant to connect FIC students, and the SFU community at large, over the real struggles being faced by those living and learning at SFU. The work is entirely done by FIC students, staff, and instructors.
The Breaking the Silence: Reflecting on Mental Health exhibition will open on Tuesday, July 2, from 12 to 2 p.m. and the exhibit will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the rest of the week in FIC Lounge 2200.
Clueless at the Vancouver Art Gallery — July 3
For the second time, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) is hosting eight Summer Movie Nights at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) plaza. The free summer series is kicking off this Wednesday with a screening of ‘90s cult classic Clueless. The event is outside and open to all ages — although the shows start after sundown, which is 9:20 p.m. this week. The DVBIA is putting on a film every Wednesday until August 21 in the recently renamed šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square on the North Side of the VAG between Howe and Hornby.
This is one of many outdoor film screenings happening in Vancouver this summer. The Evo summer series with Fresh Air Cinema is back every Tuesday from July 2 to August 20 at Second Beach in Stanley Park, Sunset Cinema is returning to Queen Elizabeth Park on July 17, Waterfront Cinema starts July 11 at Canada Place, and other weekly series throughout the Metro Vancouver area will be showing free outdoor films all summer. The R2R Film Festival for Youth is also bringing back its Outdoor Summer Film Series in August, showing three independent festival films and hosting animation workshops at Ron Basford Park on Granville Island.
Clueless will be playing in the šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square on the North Side of the Vancouver Art Gallery and is set to screen after sunset which is expected to be around 9:20 p.m. on the third.
Woodward’s Community Singers weekly Thursday workshops
Originally formed in 2009 in anticipation of SFU Woodward’s opening, the casual choir has moved from Harbour Centre to Woodward’s to its current space at SFU 312 Main St. Since February, this weekly workshop has been running there every week with support from SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement.
The class is free, neither sign-up nor experience is required, and drop-ins are encouraged. The workshop is run like a choir rehearsal, with a director instructing the usual 25–30 participants. The style of music sung in the choir includes “gospel, folk, popular, and contemporary traditions,” according to their event page, and it’s further described as “informal, fun, playful, and profound.”
They operate year-round, but the Woodward’s Community Singers are entering their last month of weekly workshops for the summer, so there are only four more chances for intrigued novice or experienced singers to join.
The Woodward’s Community Singers workshop is this Thursday, July 4, at 6 p.m. on the ground floor of 312 Main St (access from Cordova entrance). They will meet at the same place and time on July 11, 18, and 25 (the final day).
