Progressions
Friday, April 26
Doors 6:00 pm
Ceremony 6:30 pm
Visual Art year-end art exhibition and awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of Art students.
Contact: Visual Art Program Chair, Justin McGrail, Justin.McGrail@viu.ca; and Jason Gress, Jason.Gress@viu.ca
Through the Shadowland
Saturday, April 27
1:00 pm
A locally-made documentary film mental health, suicide loss, and healing with horses.
Contact: Anastasia Hirst, Anastasia.Hirst@hotmail.com
West Coast Jazz Festival
Tuesday, April 30, and
Wednesday, May 1
West Coast Jazz Festival is a 2-day Regional Festival for Musicfest Canada. The festival features high school jazz bands, jazz combos, vocal jazz ensembles, rock bands and R&B groups from all over Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Celebrating International Jazz Day, it also features lunchtime concerts with festival adjudicators performing, including some of our esteemed Vancouver Island University Jazz faculty.
Contact: Volunteer Festival Chair and Organizer, Sarah Falls, gsfalls@shaw.ca
Graphic Design Grad Show
Thursday, May 2
6:00 pm
An exhibition of Graphic Design’s graduating class’s work and skills with a brief keynote from a local designer.
Contact: Kevin Mazutinec, Kevin.Mazutinec@viu.ca
Winds of Change
Wednesday, May 8
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Winds of Change documentary followed by Q&A with Daniel R. Elliott, Stz’uminus First Nation watercolour artist and descendant of residential school survivors. Daniel wants to take people on a healing journey, but first, he’s asking people to confront the history and impact of residential schools head on, and not look away. Daniel, whose father is from Stz’uminus First Nation and whose mother is Scottish, has always felt like he was straddling two worlds. In the 1990s, he went through a spiritually transcendent experience in a sweat lodge that allowed him to feel, for the first time, at home with who he is as an Indigenous person of mixed ancestry. “My art is about helping people forge a new relationship,” said Daniel. “I’ve tempered all this pain and sorrow with hope. That was hard to do. I want to explore how this healing can happen, how we can bridge Canadian educational structures with Indigenous knowledge, how we can find a way to put that together in a good way.” Daniel will also be selling his book Truth, Art and Reconciliation: The Winds of Change Project in the lobby.
Theatre One
6 Guitars
Thursday, May 9, 7:30 pm
Friday, May 10, 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 11, 2:00 pm
A pitch perfect blend of music, comedy, and so much more. Chase Padgett, semi-finalist on Season One of Fox’s newest reality singing show Alter Ego, delivers a virtuosic performance as he becomes six different guitar playing characters – each representing a different genre: Blues, Jazz, Rock, Classical, Folk, and Country. As the show unfolds, the audience is treated to the stories and songs each character has earned and learned over a lifetime of music. From a 20-year-old aspiring rocker to an elderly Blues man who’s seen it all, these original characters bring fresh fun to the styles we all love. Packed with plenty of laughs, great tunes, and moving musical stories, 6 Guitars is an unforgettable night out for any music lover at heart.
Crimson Coast Dance
Plastic Orchid Factory’s entre chien et loup
Saturday, May 25
7:30 pm
Between dog and wolf is an expression from old French commonly used to describe a time of day when the light is so dim you can't distinguish a dog from a wolf. Twilight, dawn, dusk. The gloaming. In this new solo work, Gnam embodies multiple layers of the dog and wolf expression to expose his process of making a solo during a pandemic.
Funding provided by Heritage Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, City of Nanaimo, Province of BC/BC Arts Council, and the Dance West Network.
Vesna Ukrainian Dancers
Sunday, May 26
2:00 pm
Performance by Ukrainian dancers, singers, possible musical guest performer.
Contact: Leanne Pachlock, vesnadancers@gmail.com
Helix Dance Theatre
Season End Performances
Friday, May 31
7:00 pm
Contact: Deena Carl, helixdancetheatre@gmail.com
Trade Sampler
Thursday, June 6
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Train in Trades, Trade Sampler, Certificates Students and Parents 2024/25.
Contact: Associate Dean of Trades and Technology, Paul Mottershead, Paul.Mottershead@viu.ca
Claro Learning Centre
Graduation
Tuesday, June 18
1:00 pm
Contact: Amy Jones, Amy.Jones@clarolife.ca
VIU High School
2024 Graduation
Thursday, June 20
1:00 pm
The High School at VIU celebrates its 2024 Graduates.
Contact: The High School Principal, Catherine Brazier, Catherine.Brazier@viu.ca
National Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Friday, June 21
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Film screening, soup, and Bannock.
Contact: External Events Coordinator, Kara Walsh, Kara.Walsh@viu.ca