Visions Hip-Hop QC: Exhibition is an expansive portrait series opening this weekend at the Phi Centre. Painter Marven Clerveau has curated a ‘visual and sonic journey’ to portray the people who have shaped the hip-hop scene in the province. Marven speaks with artists like Webster, Tammy Tuesdayz and Know Kandu, as well as local music managers. Until March 26.
The 14th edition of Massimadi: Afro LGBTQ+ film and arts festival launches Friday at 4pm, with over 20 films available to stream online, for free! Until March 11
‘Honouring the past, inspiring the future’ is the theme for Montreal’s 31st annual Black History Month, with a jam-packed schedule with a variety of activities in both languages. See a screening of Malcom X at Casa Italia on Jean-Talon. Or join the virtual Afro-Caribbean Fair in Laval on Saturday, 4pm.
The SAT presents -22.7°C, a new immersive show by French music producer Molécule, who journeyed to Greenland to record sounds of the environment on his ‘survival electrokit’. He incorporates Arctic ice, wind and snow into a rich soundscape for your ears while your eyes will be treated to Belgian studio Dirty Monitor’s stunning visuals. Three screenings Tuesday to Saturday, until February 26. (It’s only 40 minutes long, so if you’re still tentative about public events, this is a great place to ease yourself in!)
Geordie Theatre Fest presents fun for the whole family with two streaming shows: on Saturday night, catch Selfie, which features three teens navigating consent and relationships at the start of a new school year (for kids 12+). And lowering the age limit to 5, there’s an adaptation of Robert Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess, fresh as ever after 40 years, Sunday at 1pm. Tickets are $10 per household!
Movie theatres reopened this week! Catch up on all the movies that received Oscar nods this week, like coming-of-age tales Belfast and Licorice Pizza, or spookmaster Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, or Norwegian buzzy film The Worst Person in the World. Or stay in and check out Power of the Dog on Netflix! You can also stream the NFB’s nominated animated short film, Affairs of the Art, about the everyday obsessions of an eccentric family.
The Old Port’s skating rink is also open, with tickets available online. Or warm up at nearby Bota Bota floating spa (the water circuit and restaurant only reopen Monday, but massage treatments are available).
Netflix’s new The Tinder Swindler is picking up acolytes faster than the documentary’s catfishing grifters. In the vein of hustlers and scammers, new this week is Inventing Anna., a fictionalized series about the real-life Anna Delvey, a woman who spun innumerable stories about her past and supposed wealth. Heiress Anna Delvey arrives in Manhattan from Europe to live the high life while founding a new art gallery…that is, until her lies catch up to her!
Walk or drive through Cavalia’s magical Illumi circuit in Laval. If you caught the show last year, it’s nearly entirely a brand new show, with many new ‘universes’ to discover, like the candy blizzard, giant puppies and kittens, an Aladdin-inspired palace and a ‘submarine tunnel’. Until March 13.
Take in the 12th edition of Luminotherapie now lighting up the Quartier des spectacles with cool installations, like Impulse (the lit-up seesaws) and Mathias Gmachl's giant wooden whale, Echoes - a voice from uncharted waters. Until February 27. In the same area, Cyrielle Tremblay's illustrations 100% Chance of Snow is being projected on the BanQ, UdeM building on President-Kennedy and outside the St Laurent metro station. Look up and delight in the colourful snow plows, hedgehogs and winter walks.
The Opéra de Montréal presents two performances available to rent online, Bizet's Carmen and Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.
Run away to the circus, at least metaphorically, with Pointe-à-Callière It's Circus Time! Over 350 objects will explore the 200-some year history of the art in Quebec, through costumes, props, training equipment and more.
It's free to visit the McCord Museum until Wednesday, where you will want to check out the new show Parachute: Subversive Fashion of the '80s. It's a moody, bold look at the style and messaging of the decade through the stylings of Parachute, a made-in-Montreal label created by a British fashion designer and an American architect. Their concept stores were soon found in New York and Los Angeles, and their creations were in demand from the likes of Madonna, Peter Gabriel and David Bowie! And don't miss the harrowing Indigenous Voices of Today, which highlights the voices of people from different Indigenous communities. The show both reveals the craftsmanship of every day traditional objects like waterproof parkas and sewing tools, then explores the exploitation and oppression of Indigenous families and land, then finishes with realistic questions about reconciliation.
Monet - Dr Mitch-approved! The people who brought you the Van Gogh immersive experience now shift their attention to one of the most iconic of the French Impressionist painters, with Imagine Monet. Now on at Arsenal Gallery in Little Burgundy, it's like taking a bath in works by Claude Monet (1840-1926). The roughly 35-minute show introduces you to his work, and then you are immersed in his iconic water lilies and Japanese footbridge scenes, as well as rich snapshots from nature, beaches and busy French streets and ports. A meditative visit with one of the greatest painters. Until February 27.
Exporail, the Canadian train museum in St Constant, has free entry this Sunday. See the current show: Train, a Railroad to Dreams: A World in Miniature. It’s an homage to toy trains… so you start with the smallest of the trains, then pivot to marvel at the 50 life-size vehicles on display in the Grand Gallery.