• Price Free

From cold and snowy to warm and wet, the vast improvement in Calgary’s weather calls for everyone to get out and enjoy it. And what better way to do so than to check out a free event or two?

Here’s what’s on our must-see list this week:

ProArts Presents John Rutherford

January 18, 2017, 12:10pm
Cathedral Church of the Redeemer (604 1st St. SE)
Free

Hear Calgary bluesman John Rutherford at this free lunch hour concert presented as part of the High Performance Rodeo. With work laced with the spirit of the blues, Rutherford fuses a broad range of influences to create a sound that is distinctly his own.
proartssociety.ca

Book Launch & Signing: ةيلمع Operación Opération Operation 行 动 Oперация

January 18, 2017, 7:00pm
Shelf Life Books (100, 1302 4th St. SW)
Free

Poet-provocateur Moez Surani launches this book-length poetic inventory of contemporary rhetoric about violence and aggression. It uses the evolution of the language used to name military operations conducted by UN Member Nations since the organization’s inception in 1945. The event will include a reading by Moez, followed by a Q&A moderated by Marcello de Cintio.
facebook.com

Artist Talk: Tania Bruguera

January 19, 2017, 6:00pm
Glenbow Theatre, Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
Free

Internationally acclaimed artist Tania Bruguera, who is currently running for the Presidency of Cuba, will speak in Calgary about the role that art and artists can play in today’s society. Part of the Public Art and Social Practice workshop series jointly offered by the Illingworth Kerr Gallery (IKG) and The City of Calgary Public Art Program, the event is free and the theatre has a limited capacity. Guests are asked to arrive early to secure a seat.
calgary.ca

Interplay: An Arts Exchange with Studio Y Creations

January 19, 2017, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Optimist Gallery, In-Definite Arts Society (8038 Fairmount Dr. SE)
Free

Bringing together developmentally disabled and non-disabled artists, In-Definite Art Society and Studio Y Creations have teamed up to explore shared ideas. Check out this cool arts exchange at its reception.
indefinitearts.com

Single Onion #137

January 19, 2017, 7:00pm
Shelf Life Books (100, 1302 4th St. SW)
Free

The Single Onion returns for 2017 with this evening curated by Shafraz Augustine Ladak and featuring Zaire Sealy and Mel Vee. Join them to explore the perspectives that other cultures bring to our diverse community.
facebook.com

#boxtape

January 19 –  28, 2017, 12:00pm
Various locations in the +15
Free

Using clear packing tape and a shared sense of labour, hospitality and dance, join L’Equipe Boxtape to build a sculpture with tape in a performance environment. This free lunch hour event is part of the High Performance Rodeo. Audience participation is a must.
hprodeo.ca

Long Lunch Quick Reads Presents ‘t/here’ two-homed tales

January 20, 2017, 12:00 – 2:00pm
Loft 112 (112, 535 8th Ave. SE)
Free

What could be better than a long lunch filled with poetry? Loft 112 invites writers and readers to come, read, and take home a beautiful chapbook of poetry from katie o’brien. Drop in or pull up a chair and stay a while. You can even bring your own lunch or pre-order one for $10 by emailing loftonetwelve@gmail.com.
facebook.com

Earthlings: Roger Aksadjuak, Shuvinai Ashoona, Pierre Aupilardjuk, Shary Boyle, Jessie Kenalogak, John Kurok, Leo Napayok

January 20, 2017, 6:00 – 10:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free

Head to the Esker Foundation to check out this new show organized by Shary Boyle. From distinct cultural and geographical positions, the artists in Earthlings share an intuitive and labour-intensive approach to materials and narrative imagery. Explore their detailed figures and transformations bridging reality and myth.
eskerfoundation.com

Studio Warming

January 21, 2017, 1:00 – 4:00pm
cSPACE King Edward (125, 1721 29th Ave. SW)
Free

Artist Paula Timm is celebrating her new collaborative arts studio space at cSPACE King Edward this weekend with this drop in event.
facebook.com

Prison, Maps, & Health: Keisha Williams interviewed by Sheena Hoszko

January 21, 2017, 1:00pm
Loft 112 (112, 535 8th Ave. SE)
Free

Join Toronto-based health organizer and artist Keisha Williams as she is interviewed by Sheena Hoszko about her artist practice, health promotion, and anti-prison work. After the talk participants will be invited to use paper and other materials to map architectural spaces, from both memory and provided floor plans.
thenewgallery.org

The Veronicas

January 21, 2017, 10:00pm
Laycraft Lounge, Arts Commons (205 8th Ave. SE)
Free

The first annual awards ceremony that celebrates the spirit of recognition—raise a glass to the talented Calgary theatre artists we adore. Join the High Performance Rodeo as it toasts every last one of them in 30 seconds each.
hprodeo.ca

Double Launch: German Rodrigues & J. Pablo Ortiz

January 24, 2017, 7:00pm
Shelf Life Books (100, 1302 4th St. SW)
Free

A unique evening of Spanish language literature, join Shelf Life Books as it celebrates the launch of German Rodriguez’s The Time Between His Eyes (El tiempo entre sus ojos) and J. Pablo Ortiz’s Open Sea (De mar abierto).
facebook.com