Local artists Connie Chapman and Maureen Sugrue unveiled a new exhibition at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt on March 20. Journeying Inward is an invigorating collection of abstracts, inspired by Coast viewscapes, that unite textiles, photography, and printmaking.
Chapman, a graduate of Emily Carr University, weaves silk and cotton threads into cloth-printed photographs. The three-dimensional effect of works like Portal are at once intoxicating and steadying, thanks to their rich palette of earth tones.
Sugrue is originally from New Zealand, and was shaped by Maori art of the Land of the Long White Cloud. Her combination of machine and hand stitching, together with collage, produces nuanced landscapes that mirror the dimensionality of the natural world. The seductive complexity of patterns in works like Memories of Good Times offers comforting communion with the organic plane.
A well-tempered tempered birthday celebration
Nikki Weber, a pillar of the Sunshine Coast music scene, celebrated her 95th birthday on March 19 with appropriate fanfare. Among the artists performing in her honour at the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre were Miles Black, Trudi Diening, Definitely Divas and The Wildflowers.
Weber has led numerous choirs, duos, trios, quartets and jazz groups, never charging for her services—and leading the way, by doing it for the love of music!
Lunar probes launched by Peach
The Gibsons Public Library is presenting a live performance by Vancouver musician, composer, and activist Earle Peach and his partner Barbara Jackson.
Earle and Barbara (known as the musical duo Songtree) will read and sing selections from Peach’s new book, Questions to the Moon: Songs and Stories, describing how music drives his social and environmental activism, and his deep belief that “everyone has the right to create beauty.”
The performance takes place at the library on March 26 at 2 p.m. Registration is required; a Zoom broadcast will also take place. Proof of vaccination is required. Contact the library to register: 604 886-2130.
Rose returns to her roots
The Sunshine Coast Film Society is presenting the 2018 musical drama Wild Rose, directed by Tom Harper and staring Jessie Buckley as Rose-Lynn Harlan.
After her release from jail, the rebellious, free-spirited Rose-Lynn tries to rectify her chaotic life in Glasgow, Scotland. She reconnects with her children and her disapproving mother (Julie Walters) and returns to Glasgow’s “Grand Ole Opry” and her true passion: belting out songs and rekindling her dream to become a country singer at the real Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee.
There are two screenings of Wild Rose: Saturday, April 2 at 2 p.m. at the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt, and Monday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse. Proof of vaccination is required and masks are recommended. Tickets are available at the door. The movie is for patrons 18 years and up; details can be found at www.scfs.ca.
Lay out the good placemats
Tickets for the Driftwood Players’ production of A.R. Gurney’s play The Dining Room are now on sale. The nostalgic comedy of manners premieres on March 31 at 7:30 p.m., with a total of seven evening and matinee performances also scheduled at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse (April 1 to 3 and 7 to 10).
More information and tickets ($25) are online at www.driftwoodplayers.ca; tickets can also be purchased from the Gibsons Florist and Sechelt’s Strait Music.
Museum fans can handle history
The Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives is running a membership drive in anticipation of its Annual General Meeting on April 20. An opulent gift basket, filled with $200 of history-themed items, will be presented to a new member or renewing patron.
Memberships can be purchased online at www.sunshinecoastmuseum.ca.
